-----Chapter 15: Angel Vs. Dragon Part 1-----
The bus rolls slowly through the sandy dunes. Wolfwood's hands hold the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip, as he fights to hold back the tears that are fighting to free themselves. The others are doing the same, except of course, for Gina, who is making no effort to restrain her tears, as she stares bleakly back at the spot where she had last seen her husband. The ships still hovers over the horizon, but now her husband is no longer visible amongst the sea of sand. A long wail of pure despair escapes her lips, as Millie moves to her side, in an effort to comfort her.
Millie: "Mrs. Gina! Mr. Vash wouldn't want you to cry. You know that, don't you?"
Gina can only manage a weak nod, as the fat tears continue to roll down her cheeks, leaving behind red, bloodshot eyes.
Millie: "Then you should cheer up. Mr. Vash isn't going to die! He's been in so many bad situations, he can get out of this one, too!"
The words fall on deaf ears, Gina remains distant. The only thing that matters to her, is now Iles behind them, and she may never see him again. The despair gnaws hungrily at her soul. As it is about to become to much, her eyes widen even more at the sight of the explosion.
-----Aboard the Dragonfire-----
Haryusa begins to scan the desert, looking for a first target. It is true that he did not need the Dragonfire to rain destruction down upon the masses. However, his destruction of all humanity will now be much faster since he can now fly high above the arid desert landscape. It makes him sad, that this ship was built with absolutely no weapons. Stupid peace-loving idealistic humans.
Haryusa also has few worries about his siblings coming in and trying to stop him like Dabrine had. When he needed the ship fueled, he had tricked each and every one of them into entering yet another Bubble Now they were all trapped, yet again, until the conquest of the planet was over. At which point he shall free them all, and once more act the part of their savior.
Haryusa: "Heh. Now there is nothing to stop me, and my goody-goody 'I can't kill' brother will never be able to stop me, because of the fact that I have our siblings in here with me. Victory is mine."
The celebration is cut short, as an explosion rips through the hull of the ship, and shortly afterwards, gravity exerts its will on the Dragonfire, which slowly plummets to the ground.
-----On the ground-----
Vash: "Haryusa, today you die."
The glow around each of his arms increases, as the guns slowly lengthen. The ever widening barrels continue to move away from his body, as the metal of the gun fuses with his flesh. From each shoulder sprouts a large feathery wing. The wings spread out behind him, as the glow moves to the barrel of each gun. Soon the gun tips are glowing, each with the intensity of the twin suns.
Vash's mind races over the events of his recent past, and most notably stops on the death of Meryl. Tears well up in Vash's eyes, as he thinks of this poor woman, a woman who had reminded him so much of Rem. A woman who had become so much like his own sister. Now she lay only a few feet below ground, dead at the hands of his monstrous brother. Vash thinks back to his wedding day, and how Haryusa's friends had ruined that as well.
The thought of Haryusa taking away anymore of his friends or loved ones, drives Vash. His rage fuels his twin arm cannons, and he slowly lifts off the ground on his newly acquired wings. The guns shift aim. No longer do they aim at the cockpit, but mearly at the engines.
With a shriek of pure agony, Vash lets the cannon's fire, and completely obliterates the rear of the ship. The resulting explosion is tremendous, and propels the ship towards the ground it had just recently escaped from.
-----The bus-----
Gina: "Turn around!"
Wolfwood: "Gina, you know I can't do that. Broomhead would have my ass for lunch if I put you in danger. Besides that, I am not going to put my children at risk either."
Millie smiles at that, then adds her own argument.
Millie: "Turn around, Mr. Vash may need us."
Wolfwood sighs,and puts on the brakes, and motions for everyone to get off. Alpris is the last to leave.
Alpris: "Good luck, may we meet again some day."
With a smile and a salute, Alpris exits, leaving Gina, Wolfwood and Millie all alone aboard the bus. Wolfwood, slowly turns in his seat, and stares at his passengers. Gina stares back, tears still running down her face, but now a look of determination filled her bloodshot eyes. Millie, just stared, with the hope and determination that always filled her eye. With a sigh, Wolfwood returns to the wheel, and turns the bus around.
Wolfwood: "So which one of you is going to take the blame for this?"
-----Vash, still in the air-----
Vash watches silently, as the ship plummets. The trajectory of the ship, tells him it will crash harmlessly in the desert, which suits him just fine. Vash is mildly distraught by his recent actions. He had let his anger get the better of him, and, if he hadn't stopped himself, he may have taken four lives. While he may be aiming to take the life of Haryusa, he will not take the lives of Hagime, Yoshin, and Raphel.
As the ship makes it's spectacular reintroduction to the ground, Vash flies over to it, ready to seak out his quarry. Vash watches as the shp digs an Ile long trench into the desert, the combination of the friction, and the heat of the still flaming ship leaving a wake of glass behind the ship. The fires slowly die, and the ship slowly comes to a stop. Vash lands on the ground behind the ship, and enters through the hole he had just made.
Vash: "Haryusa, this ends here and now. NOW GET OUT HERE YOU BASTARD!"
-----Back in the ruined city-----
Salphae, Iode, and Mikil watch as Vash destroys the ship. They watch as he flies after it. They wait.Patience comes easily to one that has lived almost two hundred years in a giant glass Bubble. So they bide their time, and when they think it is safe to proceed, they set about with their portion of the plan. They all fly over towards the ship, where they begin to seek out their brethren, while Vash heads towards Haryusa.
The three siblings work their way steadily through the ruined starship, checking hallways, and rooms for their other brethren. The search goes on, as they travel deeper and deeper into the bowels of the ship. In a room, deep below the main deck, they find what they are looking for.
The hall they find themselves in is empty, save for three large Bubbles. A quick examination, reveals that the Bubbles contain their three siblings. In short order, the siblings are free again. They stretch breifly, and then smile at each other, glad to be reunited once more.
Hagime: "I am saddened that Dabrine is no longer with us, but at least you three are still here."
Iode: "Yes, her death makes what we must do a little harder, but it can still be done with just us six."
They all nod in agreement, a look of sadness crosses each of their faces.
Salphae: 'Isn't there another way, must we do it like this?"
Mikil: "You know it can not be. We must do this, to save them, and to redeem ourselves."
Salphae hangs her head, and sets out with the others to prepare for the grim task ahead. They continue walking, even as more explosions rock the starship.
-----The Bridge of the Dragonfire-----
Haryusa rubs his head, a small trickle of blood runs from his busted nose. The crash had caught him off-guard and had jostled him around fairly well. Now, as he slowly regains his footing, he looks at the blackened monitors.
Haryusa: "That good-for-nothing bastard actually took me down. It's a pity I have to kill him now."
Turning around, he prepares to leave the bridge, and head off in search of his brother, when his plans are suddenly changed in a whirlwind of gunfire.
Vash: "Going so soon? I thought we could talk about the past a little, you know, shoot the shit."
Vash punctuates his words with bullets, each of them barely missing Haryusa, who is now dancing around to avoid the flurry of lead. All the while a smile plays across his lips, and an evil glint glows in his eyes.
Haryusa: "So my lovey-dovey brother wants to fight? You going to kill me brother? Do you have what it takes?"
Vash: "Make this easy on both of us, and just shut up and die!"
Haryusa: "Now now, dear brother. Shouldn't we take this outside?"
Without waiting for a response, Haryusa ducks out the door, and runs down the twisting corridors, heading for the ships exit.
Vash: "The chase is on."
-----Outside the Dragonfire----
The bus pulls to a stop outside the damaged ship, and Gina rushes out before Millie or Wolfwood can stop her. She stands before the gaping hole, looking for the man she loves so dearly.
Gina: "VASH. Where are you Vash?"
A movement inside catches her eye, and she stares as the dark shape resolves itself into the shape of a running man, a man who is deffinately not her Vash. She turns to run, even as another running figure catches her eye, the flash of crimson is all she needs to see to know that Vash is still alive. She sighs with relief and starts to run back to the bus.
Vash sees Gina standing there, and redoubles his efforts to stop Haryusa. Haryusa, sensing the change, looks at this girl before him, and realizes what must have set off his brother.
Haryusa: "Well brother, it seems we have another player in this game of ours, but that isn't fair, you have me outnumbered."
A loud crash echoes throught the corridor, and Gina's body is catupulted towards the Bus, a stream of blood trailing from her demolished shoulder.
Vash: "NOOO!"
Haryusa, makes his escape, as Vash rushes to his wife's side. Holding her good arm, he holds on to her, willing her to stay alive, even as shock begins to claim her. Her right arm now hangs lifeless by her side, unmoving, unfeeling. Her eyes glaze over as conciousness takes it's leave. Tears streaming down his face, Vash places her down, and looks pleadingly at Wolfwood.
Wolfwood rushes over, and begins to tend to Gina's wounds, as Vash turns back towards Haryusa, who has taken a perch atop a nearby sand dune.
Haryusa: "Damnation. I seem to have missed the bitches heart, I'll just have to try harder this time."
Haryusa once more raises his gun, and takes aim, but Vash runs inbetween him and his wife, and with a snarl of rage, rushes towards Haryusa.
As he runs, a glow surrounds him, first a pure white light. However, as it grew in intesity it's color changed as well.
Vash: "You bastard. You are going to pay dearly for that."
The glow reaches a point where it would blind the casual observer, and then, with a Flash of Crimson, brighter than a thousand suns, Vash, is gone.
----end Chapter 15-----
(Auxiliary Pronunciation Guide:
Dabrine- Duh-Bree-nuh
Hagime- Ha-jee-mee
Yoshin- Yo-Shin
Iode- Eye-o-da
Salphae- Sal-fay
Haryusa- Hair-ee-oo-suh
Mikil- Mee-Kill
Raphel- Ray-fell
Alpris- All-Pree
End Auxiliary pronunciation guide}
The bus rolls slowly through the sandy dunes. Wolfwood's hands hold the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip, as he fights to hold back the tears that are fighting to free themselves. The others are doing the same, except of course, for Gina, who is making no effort to restrain her tears, as she stares bleakly back at the spot where she had last seen her husband. The ships still hovers over the horizon, but now her husband is no longer visible amongst the sea of sand. A long wail of pure despair escapes her lips, as Millie moves to her side, in an effort to comfort her.
Millie: "Mrs. Gina! Mr. Vash wouldn't want you to cry. You know that, don't you?"
Gina can only manage a weak nod, as the fat tears continue to roll down her cheeks, leaving behind red, bloodshot eyes.
Millie: "Then you should cheer up. Mr. Vash isn't going to die! He's been in so many bad situations, he can get out of this one, too!"
The words fall on deaf ears, Gina remains distant. The only thing that matters to her, is now Iles behind them, and she may never see him again. The despair gnaws hungrily at her soul. As it is about to become to much, her eyes widen even more at the sight of the explosion.
-----Aboard the Dragonfire-----
Haryusa begins to scan the desert, looking for a first target. It is true that he did not need the Dragonfire to rain destruction down upon the masses. However, his destruction of all humanity will now be much faster since he can now fly high above the arid desert landscape. It makes him sad, that this ship was built with absolutely no weapons. Stupid peace-loving idealistic humans.
Haryusa also has few worries about his siblings coming in and trying to stop him like Dabrine had. When he needed the ship fueled, he had tricked each and every one of them into entering yet another Bubble Now they were all trapped, yet again, until the conquest of the planet was over. At which point he shall free them all, and once more act the part of their savior.
Haryusa: "Heh. Now there is nothing to stop me, and my goody-goody 'I can't kill' brother will never be able to stop me, because of the fact that I have our siblings in here with me. Victory is mine."
The celebration is cut short, as an explosion rips through the hull of the ship, and shortly afterwards, gravity exerts its will on the Dragonfire, which slowly plummets to the ground.
-----On the ground-----
Vash: "Haryusa, today you die."
The glow around each of his arms increases, as the guns slowly lengthen. The ever widening barrels continue to move away from his body, as the metal of the gun fuses with his flesh. From each shoulder sprouts a large feathery wing. The wings spread out behind him, as the glow moves to the barrel of each gun. Soon the gun tips are glowing, each with the intensity of the twin suns.
Vash's mind races over the events of his recent past, and most notably stops on the death of Meryl. Tears well up in Vash's eyes, as he thinks of this poor woman, a woman who had reminded him so much of Rem. A woman who had become so much like his own sister. Now she lay only a few feet below ground, dead at the hands of his monstrous brother. Vash thinks back to his wedding day, and how Haryusa's friends had ruined that as well.
The thought of Haryusa taking away anymore of his friends or loved ones, drives Vash. His rage fuels his twin arm cannons, and he slowly lifts off the ground on his newly acquired wings. The guns shift aim. No longer do they aim at the cockpit, but mearly at the engines.
With a shriek of pure agony, Vash lets the cannon's fire, and completely obliterates the rear of the ship. The resulting explosion is tremendous, and propels the ship towards the ground it had just recently escaped from.
-----The bus-----
Gina: "Turn around!"
Wolfwood: "Gina, you know I can't do that. Broomhead would have my ass for lunch if I put you in danger. Besides that, I am not going to put my children at risk either."
Millie smiles at that, then adds her own argument.
Millie: "Turn around, Mr. Vash may need us."
Wolfwood sighs,and puts on the brakes, and motions for everyone to get off. Alpris is the last to leave.
Alpris: "Good luck, may we meet again some day."
With a smile and a salute, Alpris exits, leaving Gina, Wolfwood and Millie all alone aboard the bus. Wolfwood, slowly turns in his seat, and stares at his passengers. Gina stares back, tears still running down her face, but now a look of determination filled her bloodshot eyes. Millie, just stared, with the hope and determination that always filled her eye. With a sigh, Wolfwood returns to the wheel, and turns the bus around.
Wolfwood: "So which one of you is going to take the blame for this?"
-----Vash, still in the air-----
Vash watches silently, as the ship plummets. The trajectory of the ship, tells him it will crash harmlessly in the desert, which suits him just fine. Vash is mildly distraught by his recent actions. He had let his anger get the better of him, and, if he hadn't stopped himself, he may have taken four lives. While he may be aiming to take the life of Haryusa, he will not take the lives of Hagime, Yoshin, and Raphel.
As the ship makes it's spectacular reintroduction to the ground, Vash flies over to it, ready to seak out his quarry. Vash watches as the shp digs an Ile long trench into the desert, the combination of the friction, and the heat of the still flaming ship leaving a wake of glass behind the ship. The fires slowly die, and the ship slowly comes to a stop. Vash lands on the ground behind the ship, and enters through the hole he had just made.
Vash: "Haryusa, this ends here and now. NOW GET OUT HERE YOU BASTARD!"
-----Back in the ruined city-----
Salphae, Iode, and Mikil watch as Vash destroys the ship. They watch as he flies after it. They wait.Patience comes easily to one that has lived almost two hundred years in a giant glass Bubble. So they bide their time, and when they think it is safe to proceed, they set about with their portion of the plan. They all fly over towards the ship, where they begin to seek out their brethren, while Vash heads towards Haryusa.
The three siblings work their way steadily through the ruined starship, checking hallways, and rooms for their other brethren. The search goes on, as they travel deeper and deeper into the bowels of the ship. In a room, deep below the main deck, they find what they are looking for.
The hall they find themselves in is empty, save for three large Bubbles. A quick examination, reveals that the Bubbles contain their three siblings. In short order, the siblings are free again. They stretch breifly, and then smile at each other, glad to be reunited once more.
Hagime: "I am saddened that Dabrine is no longer with us, but at least you three are still here."
Iode: "Yes, her death makes what we must do a little harder, but it can still be done with just us six."
They all nod in agreement, a look of sadness crosses each of their faces.
Salphae: 'Isn't there another way, must we do it like this?"
Mikil: "You know it can not be. We must do this, to save them, and to redeem ourselves."
Salphae hangs her head, and sets out with the others to prepare for the grim task ahead. They continue walking, even as more explosions rock the starship.
-----The Bridge of the Dragonfire-----
Haryusa rubs his head, a small trickle of blood runs from his busted nose. The crash had caught him off-guard and had jostled him around fairly well. Now, as he slowly regains his footing, he looks at the blackened monitors.
Haryusa: "That good-for-nothing bastard actually took me down. It's a pity I have to kill him now."
Turning around, he prepares to leave the bridge, and head off in search of his brother, when his plans are suddenly changed in a whirlwind of gunfire.
Vash: "Going so soon? I thought we could talk about the past a little, you know, shoot the shit."
Vash punctuates his words with bullets, each of them barely missing Haryusa, who is now dancing around to avoid the flurry of lead. All the while a smile plays across his lips, and an evil glint glows in his eyes.
Haryusa: "So my lovey-dovey brother wants to fight? You going to kill me brother? Do you have what it takes?"
Vash: "Make this easy on both of us, and just shut up and die!"
Haryusa: "Now now, dear brother. Shouldn't we take this outside?"
Without waiting for a response, Haryusa ducks out the door, and runs down the twisting corridors, heading for the ships exit.
Vash: "The chase is on."
-----Outside the Dragonfire----
The bus pulls to a stop outside the damaged ship, and Gina rushes out before Millie or Wolfwood can stop her. She stands before the gaping hole, looking for the man she loves so dearly.
Gina: "VASH. Where are you Vash?"
A movement inside catches her eye, and she stares as the dark shape resolves itself into the shape of a running man, a man who is deffinately not her Vash. She turns to run, even as another running figure catches her eye, the flash of crimson is all she needs to see to know that Vash is still alive. She sighs with relief and starts to run back to the bus.
Vash sees Gina standing there, and redoubles his efforts to stop Haryusa. Haryusa, sensing the change, looks at this girl before him, and realizes what must have set off his brother.
Haryusa: "Well brother, it seems we have another player in this game of ours, but that isn't fair, you have me outnumbered."
A loud crash echoes throught the corridor, and Gina's body is catupulted towards the Bus, a stream of blood trailing from her demolished shoulder.
Vash: "NOOO!"
Haryusa, makes his escape, as Vash rushes to his wife's side. Holding her good arm, he holds on to her, willing her to stay alive, even as shock begins to claim her. Her right arm now hangs lifeless by her side, unmoving, unfeeling. Her eyes glaze over as conciousness takes it's leave. Tears streaming down his face, Vash places her down, and looks pleadingly at Wolfwood.
Wolfwood rushes over, and begins to tend to Gina's wounds, as Vash turns back towards Haryusa, who has taken a perch atop a nearby sand dune.
Haryusa: "Damnation. I seem to have missed the bitches heart, I'll just have to try harder this time."
Haryusa once more raises his gun, and takes aim, but Vash runs inbetween him and his wife, and with a snarl of rage, rushes towards Haryusa.
As he runs, a glow surrounds him, first a pure white light. However, as it grew in intesity it's color changed as well.
Vash: "You bastard. You are going to pay dearly for that."
The glow reaches a point where it would blind the casual observer, and then, with a Flash of Crimson, brighter than a thousand suns, Vash, is gone.
----end Chapter 15-----
(Auxiliary Pronunciation Guide:
Dabrine- Duh-Bree-nuh
Hagime- Ha-jee-mee
Yoshin- Yo-Shin
Iode- Eye-o-da
Salphae- Sal-fay
Haryusa- Hair-ee-oo-suh
Mikil- Mee-Kill
Raphel- Ray-fell
Alpris- All-Pree
End Auxiliary pronunciation guide}