-----Chapter 8: Realization-----
(One more time If you wish to send some form of comment, be it hate mail, or reviews, you can send it to me via Email at Chaotichappenings@yahoo.com ....damn I'm a shameless beggar)
The suns break over the horizon. The light shines through the window rousing Vash from his slumber. Looking to his side, he sees Gina, head resting atop an ocean of black hair. Vash's arm carresses her shoulder, as he gently kisses her cheek. She is awakened by the light peck, And she returns the gesture in kind. Soon this degenerated into a repeat of last nights activities, the two lovers not even being touched by the massive amounts of alcohol that they had consumed the night before, not even the smallest trace of a hangover.
Dawn passes, and their embrace continues for hours.
-----Later outside the Hotel.-----
Vash and Gina stand outside, looking at the spot where, the night before, Morphia the Dreamer had been knocked unconcious by the falling debris. The grass of the lawn has been destroyed by the rubble. Looking up Vash sees that a sheet has been used to patch up the hole in the wall.
Vash: "It seems that we have been noticed, wouldn't you agree?"
Gina nods, as Wolfwood and Millie come down from their room. Gathering in the courtyard, the two couples start to walk through the city, looking once more for clues to the wherabouts of Haryusa.
The town of Dembrey is a large one, built around three seperate plants, the town was able to grow ,flourish and spread out, while so many other cities were confined to a small area. In the center of the town, is the largest body of water on the entire planet, a lake formed in the crater of a crashed spaceship. The lake itself measures over five hundred yarz in diameter, and holds millions of dallons of water. The citizens, overjoyed to have a lake, and such a large one at that, made it into a park, and now it has become the biggest tourist attraction on the planet. People from around the world come to see Kakouko Park.
This park is where the group heads first. After the failure at the bar last night, the decide that the massive appeal of the park might just draw someone with the knowledge the seek. Sitting at a table near the lake, they discuss their plans for the day. The shade from the trees provides a welcome relief from the constant heat of the twin suns. As they are discussing, a man in a neatly pressed brown suit, and a brown tie casually makes his way up to them. His mop of brown hair lay limp against his forehead, pressed up against his face is a pair of thickly rimmed glasses. His brown eyes seem dark and lifeless. Walking up to the table, he places his brown briefcase on the table, which finally draws the attention of the gathered foursome. Finally he looks at Millie.
Man: "Are you Millie Thompson?"
Millie: "Wow! How'd you guess?"
Man: "I'm Mr. Brown, from the law firm of Black, Blue, and Brown. I've come to you with a matter of great importance."
Wolfwood: "Cut to the chase, Mr. Brown."
Mr. Brown: "I come here today as the executor of the will of one Ms. Meryl Stryfe."
Millie: "Ms. Meryl's...will?"
Mr. Brown: "Yes. As you may know Ms. Stryfe had no living relatives, and so upon her death she has willed that you Millie Thompson, become the sole beneficiary of her entire estate."
Vash: "Estate? The insurance girl had an estate?"
Mr. Brown: "Yes her wealth may not have been extraordiary, however, between her ambulatory lifestyle, and her thrifty lifestyle, she was able to save up a substantial portion of her money....not to mention her life insurance. Working for an insurance company she understood the importance of a good life insurance plan."
The gathered four, sit there with mouths agape. Picturing the money in their heads, slowly smiles begin to form on Vash's and Wolfwood's faces. Gina takes on a more thoughtful expresion. Millie remains there, mouth agape, seemingly clueless to what is going on.
Wolfwood: "So, how much does this estate come to?"
Mr. Brown: "The total is aproximately $$500,000 , after fees."
Millie: "Wow!!! That's a lot of pudding!"
A loud crash is heard as Vash and Wolfwood fall out of their chairs, landing flat on their backs, groaning loudly as they lie there. Gina meanwhile just stares at Millie, a vein in her forehead throbbing. Mr. Brown just stares, dumbfounded. Amazed beyond belief that she could really be that naive. Sighing, Mr. Brown opens his briefcase, and produces a pen, offering it to Millie, he then produces a piece of paper, and instructs her to sign it. His job complete, he grabs his satchel, hands it to Millie and walks away.
Gina: "Not exactly what we were looking for, but it will do."
Vash: "Wow!! We can eat for years on this!!!"
Millie: "PUDDING!"
The happy scene is destroyed by a loud crack, and then the table they were sitting at, splits in half. While the two halves are still falling away, Vash is already on his feet, gun ready looking for the source of the attack. The source does not take long to make itself known. In the distance, Brilliant Dynamites Neon walks towards them, gun barrel still smoking. Laughing, he fires again. Vash dodges the bullet, and fires a shot of his own. The bullet flies wide, as Neon dodges to the left.
Neon: "Vash. I told you I would return, and this time I will take your life. Prepare yourself!"
Neon lets off another shot, again Vash dodges. They go back and forth like this one dodging the others bullet, only succeeding in destroying the trees. They each exhaust their bullets and reload. Wolfwood, Millie, and Gina stand back, avoiding getting caught up in this confrontation.
Vash: "You are good."
Neon: "I know!"
The bullets continue to fly, neither man getting injured. Bystanders flee in terror, not wanting to get hit by the multitude of bullets flying everywhere. Eventually Neon runs out of bullets to even reload his gun. Giving up the thought of a fair fight, Neon pulls the Micro-Uzi he had kept concealed under his jacket.
Neon: "Now You die, Vash the Stampede."
Leveling the Uzi, Neon doesn't aim it at Vash, instead, he takes aim at Gina, hitting her in the leg. As Vash runs over to help her, Neon makes his move. He Brings the Uzi to bear on Vash, and pumps off round after round. Bullets puncturing his arms, leg, and torso. blood flies, and Vash falls to the ground, next to Gina.
Neon: "I did it, I killed Vash the Stampede!"
Wolfwood: "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Already the cloth has been removed from the cross punisher, and Wolfwood effortlessly raises it, as Millie pumps out a shot from her stun gun. The Stun gun blast hits him square in the face, knocking him up against a tree, before he has a chance to slump to the ground, the cross punisher begins its work. Rapidly punching holes in the flesh of Brilliant Dynamites Neon. Blood streaks the grass, and tree bark. When the Cross Punisher finally runs out of bullets, Neon's body finally slumps forward, still breathing, but only barely.
Gina: " SOMEBODY GET A MEDIC!"
Vash remains on the ground nearly motionless. The wounds he has suffered are incredibly severe, the pool of his blood too large to be safe. Gina kneels at his side, openly weeping. Wolfwood, lowers the Cross Punisher and comes over to Vash's side. Millie, slings her stun gun back over her shoulder, and steps over as well. Using cloth ripped from her clothes, Gina begins bandaging Vash's wounds, completely ignoring her own wounds. It soon becomes obvious that he has more wounds then she has clothes. Seeing this, Wolfwood grabs the cloth he uses to cover the Cross punisher, rips it, and begins using that to bandage Vash's wounds as well.
Soon Vash is covered nearly head to toe with various colored cloth. The bleeding slows, however it is unclear whether or not it is due to the bandages, or lack of blood. Wolfwood picks him up and takes him back to the hotel. Placing him in the bed, Wolfwood steps back to make room for Gina. She sits down on the bed rubbing a damp cloth over Vash's blood stained face. She remains there even after Wolfwood and Millie have taken their leave.
The all night vigil is a long and laborious, but Gina sits there, waiting for some sign that he will wake up. His brown beads with sweat all night, and his body is afflicted with fever. Gina does all she can to comfort him, but he is totally unresponsive. Finally, dawn breaks, and light floods the room, and still Vash is showing no sign of recovery. Gina's eyelids feel heavy, and she lies hereself down next to Vash, and promptly falls asleep.
-----Weeks later-----
Gina, still rather groggy from the night before, keeps her eyes shut, hoping to get back to sleep. however the voices she hears in her room, rouse her from sleep, and put her on the ready. One voice in particular, makes her sit bolt upright in bed.
Gina: "VASH!!!! You're awake!"
Gina can't help herself, she leans over and hugs him tight. In her arms, his body stiffens, even as a loud moan escapes his lips. Remembering his condition, she quickly lets go.
Vash: "Wolfwood, Millie. Can you leave the two of us alone. I want to speak to Gina privately. Thank her for watching over me all night long."
Vash's voice is weak, but it still carries a note of command. Wolfwood and Millie listen, and leave the room. At last Vash and Gina are alone in the room.
Gina: "Vash...I'm..."
Vash: "Don't say anything right now. I have to talk to you."
Gina sits on the bed. She finds herself listening to Vash, not because there is a need to, but because she wants to, no, she needs to. She has to know what it is that he wants to say.
Vash: "Gina, long ago, there was a woman I loved. She was my whole reason for existence. I never got to tell her how I felt, Knives took her away from me, and then killed the last remaining blood relative she had. For the longest time I dwealt on my loss, it consumed me. My life became near meaningless without her."
Gina: "Vash, why are you telling me this? What does any of this have to do with me?"
Vash: "I let the first woman I loved get away. I don't want to make the same mistake twice. Gina, what I am trying to say is, I love you. I don't want to lose you."
Gina: "Vash...."
Vash: "Gina, Will you marry me?"
-----End chapter 8-----
(One more time If you wish to send some form of comment, be it hate mail, or reviews, you can send it to me via Email at Chaotichappenings@yahoo.com ....damn I'm a shameless beggar)
The suns break over the horizon. The light shines through the window rousing Vash from his slumber. Looking to his side, he sees Gina, head resting atop an ocean of black hair. Vash's arm carresses her shoulder, as he gently kisses her cheek. She is awakened by the light peck, And she returns the gesture in kind. Soon this degenerated into a repeat of last nights activities, the two lovers not even being touched by the massive amounts of alcohol that they had consumed the night before, not even the smallest trace of a hangover.
Dawn passes, and their embrace continues for hours.
-----Later outside the Hotel.-----
Vash and Gina stand outside, looking at the spot where, the night before, Morphia the Dreamer had been knocked unconcious by the falling debris. The grass of the lawn has been destroyed by the rubble. Looking up Vash sees that a sheet has been used to patch up the hole in the wall.
Vash: "It seems that we have been noticed, wouldn't you agree?"
Gina nods, as Wolfwood and Millie come down from their room. Gathering in the courtyard, the two couples start to walk through the city, looking once more for clues to the wherabouts of Haryusa.
The town of Dembrey is a large one, built around three seperate plants, the town was able to grow ,flourish and spread out, while so many other cities were confined to a small area. In the center of the town, is the largest body of water on the entire planet, a lake formed in the crater of a crashed spaceship. The lake itself measures over five hundred yarz in diameter, and holds millions of dallons of water. The citizens, overjoyed to have a lake, and such a large one at that, made it into a park, and now it has become the biggest tourist attraction on the planet. People from around the world come to see Kakouko Park.
This park is where the group heads first. After the failure at the bar last night, the decide that the massive appeal of the park might just draw someone with the knowledge the seek. Sitting at a table near the lake, they discuss their plans for the day. The shade from the trees provides a welcome relief from the constant heat of the twin suns. As they are discussing, a man in a neatly pressed brown suit, and a brown tie casually makes his way up to them. His mop of brown hair lay limp against his forehead, pressed up against his face is a pair of thickly rimmed glasses. His brown eyes seem dark and lifeless. Walking up to the table, he places his brown briefcase on the table, which finally draws the attention of the gathered foursome. Finally he looks at Millie.
Man: "Are you Millie Thompson?"
Millie: "Wow! How'd you guess?"
Man: "I'm Mr. Brown, from the law firm of Black, Blue, and Brown. I've come to you with a matter of great importance."
Wolfwood: "Cut to the chase, Mr. Brown."
Mr. Brown: "I come here today as the executor of the will of one Ms. Meryl Stryfe."
Millie: "Ms. Meryl's...will?"
Mr. Brown: "Yes. As you may know Ms. Stryfe had no living relatives, and so upon her death she has willed that you Millie Thompson, become the sole beneficiary of her entire estate."
Vash: "Estate? The insurance girl had an estate?"
Mr. Brown: "Yes her wealth may not have been extraordiary, however, between her ambulatory lifestyle, and her thrifty lifestyle, she was able to save up a substantial portion of her money....not to mention her life insurance. Working for an insurance company she understood the importance of a good life insurance plan."
The gathered four, sit there with mouths agape. Picturing the money in their heads, slowly smiles begin to form on Vash's and Wolfwood's faces. Gina takes on a more thoughtful expresion. Millie remains there, mouth agape, seemingly clueless to what is going on.
Wolfwood: "So, how much does this estate come to?"
Mr. Brown: "The total is aproximately $$500,000 , after fees."
Millie: "Wow!!! That's a lot of pudding!"
A loud crash is heard as Vash and Wolfwood fall out of their chairs, landing flat on their backs, groaning loudly as they lie there. Gina meanwhile just stares at Millie, a vein in her forehead throbbing. Mr. Brown just stares, dumbfounded. Amazed beyond belief that she could really be that naive. Sighing, Mr. Brown opens his briefcase, and produces a pen, offering it to Millie, he then produces a piece of paper, and instructs her to sign it. His job complete, he grabs his satchel, hands it to Millie and walks away.
Gina: "Not exactly what we were looking for, but it will do."
Vash: "Wow!! We can eat for years on this!!!"
Millie: "PUDDING!"
The happy scene is destroyed by a loud crack, and then the table they were sitting at, splits in half. While the two halves are still falling away, Vash is already on his feet, gun ready looking for the source of the attack. The source does not take long to make itself known. In the distance, Brilliant Dynamites Neon walks towards them, gun barrel still smoking. Laughing, he fires again. Vash dodges the bullet, and fires a shot of his own. The bullet flies wide, as Neon dodges to the left.
Neon: "Vash. I told you I would return, and this time I will take your life. Prepare yourself!"
Neon lets off another shot, again Vash dodges. They go back and forth like this one dodging the others bullet, only succeeding in destroying the trees. They each exhaust their bullets and reload. Wolfwood, Millie, and Gina stand back, avoiding getting caught up in this confrontation.
Vash: "You are good."
Neon: "I know!"
The bullets continue to fly, neither man getting injured. Bystanders flee in terror, not wanting to get hit by the multitude of bullets flying everywhere. Eventually Neon runs out of bullets to even reload his gun. Giving up the thought of a fair fight, Neon pulls the Micro-Uzi he had kept concealed under his jacket.
Neon: "Now You die, Vash the Stampede."
Leveling the Uzi, Neon doesn't aim it at Vash, instead, he takes aim at Gina, hitting her in the leg. As Vash runs over to help her, Neon makes his move. He Brings the Uzi to bear on Vash, and pumps off round after round. Bullets puncturing his arms, leg, and torso. blood flies, and Vash falls to the ground, next to Gina.
Neon: "I did it, I killed Vash the Stampede!"
Wolfwood: "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Already the cloth has been removed from the cross punisher, and Wolfwood effortlessly raises it, as Millie pumps out a shot from her stun gun. The Stun gun blast hits him square in the face, knocking him up against a tree, before he has a chance to slump to the ground, the cross punisher begins its work. Rapidly punching holes in the flesh of Brilliant Dynamites Neon. Blood streaks the grass, and tree bark. When the Cross Punisher finally runs out of bullets, Neon's body finally slumps forward, still breathing, but only barely.
Gina: " SOMEBODY GET A MEDIC!"
Vash remains on the ground nearly motionless. The wounds he has suffered are incredibly severe, the pool of his blood too large to be safe. Gina kneels at his side, openly weeping. Wolfwood, lowers the Cross Punisher and comes over to Vash's side. Millie, slings her stun gun back over her shoulder, and steps over as well. Using cloth ripped from her clothes, Gina begins bandaging Vash's wounds, completely ignoring her own wounds. It soon becomes obvious that he has more wounds then she has clothes. Seeing this, Wolfwood grabs the cloth he uses to cover the Cross punisher, rips it, and begins using that to bandage Vash's wounds as well.
Soon Vash is covered nearly head to toe with various colored cloth. The bleeding slows, however it is unclear whether or not it is due to the bandages, or lack of blood. Wolfwood picks him up and takes him back to the hotel. Placing him in the bed, Wolfwood steps back to make room for Gina. She sits down on the bed rubbing a damp cloth over Vash's blood stained face. She remains there even after Wolfwood and Millie have taken their leave.
The all night vigil is a long and laborious, but Gina sits there, waiting for some sign that he will wake up. His brown beads with sweat all night, and his body is afflicted with fever. Gina does all she can to comfort him, but he is totally unresponsive. Finally, dawn breaks, and light floods the room, and still Vash is showing no sign of recovery. Gina's eyelids feel heavy, and she lies hereself down next to Vash, and promptly falls asleep.
-----Weeks later-----
Gina, still rather groggy from the night before, keeps her eyes shut, hoping to get back to sleep. however the voices she hears in her room, rouse her from sleep, and put her on the ready. One voice in particular, makes her sit bolt upright in bed.
Gina: "VASH!!!! You're awake!"
Gina can't help herself, she leans over and hugs him tight. In her arms, his body stiffens, even as a loud moan escapes his lips. Remembering his condition, she quickly lets go.
Vash: "Wolfwood, Millie. Can you leave the two of us alone. I want to speak to Gina privately. Thank her for watching over me all night long."
Vash's voice is weak, but it still carries a note of command. Wolfwood and Millie listen, and leave the room. At last Vash and Gina are alone in the room.
Gina: "Vash...I'm..."
Vash: "Don't say anything right now. I have to talk to you."
Gina sits on the bed. She finds herself listening to Vash, not because there is a need to, but because she wants to, no, she needs to. She has to know what it is that he wants to say.
Vash: "Gina, long ago, there was a woman I loved. She was my whole reason for existence. I never got to tell her how I felt, Knives took her away from me, and then killed the last remaining blood relative she had. For the longest time I dwealt on my loss, it consumed me. My life became near meaningless without her."
Gina: "Vash, why are you telling me this? What does any of this have to do with me?"
Vash: "I let the first woman I loved get away. I don't want to make the same mistake twice. Gina, what I am trying to say is, I love you. I don't want to lose you."
Gina: "Vash...."
Vash: "Gina, Will you marry me?"
-----End chapter 8-----