Running his hands through his short crop of black hair, Wolfwood released a small groan of exasperation. He was in need of a long bath, as he could barely tolerate the smell any longer. That weird black cat didn't even bother coming around anymore, probably offended by the odour. He pressed a bent cigarette to his lips and lit the end with one of the few remaining matches he had left, which cast an orange glow across his face.
"...can't say I didn't try to help..." He cast a sideways glance at his "friend", knowing he was not in the best of moods for a joke right now. The look he received, however, was one he was not expecting. The usual was an empty stare with down-turned eyebrows. This…this was a look of utter sadness and despair. Like a child that had just lost his brand new toy.
This was not the Vash he remembered. Of course, he was not surprised at this reaction of his, as his mind fell back to what occurred two days ago.
"You...I know you..."
"I don't think so, m'am. Never seen you before in my life."
"I'm sorry. You looked like someone I once knew. A long time ago."
He was never close to the tiny insurance girl, but he knew how much she tugged on the broom-head's heart strings. For he, too, had left a girl behind to wait for him. Milly…I wonder where she is now…what she's doing…
-o-Flashback-o-
"Wolfwood! WOLFWOOD!" The voice was recognizable, but it seemed to be hidden behind a wall of thickness.
What's wrong with my ears?
"Hold on…you have to…"
Is…is he crying…?
Despite feeling numb all over, despite being surrounded by an inky blackness, Wolfwood could tell he was being picked up and carried out of…
Where am I…?
A dull chorus of bells echoed.
…the church…
What passed for an eternity was filled with the periodic muted sounds of the wind and crunching footsteps. Other times, he fell unconsciously into silence. Unbeknownst to him, Vash was falling headfirst into the jaws of the lion.
"Knives, you have to."
He only replied with a harrumph.
"Do it or else-"
"Or else what? You'll shoot me?"
A trickle of bubbles rose around Knives' body, as he was surrounded by an eerie blue-green glow. Tubes and wires of various shapes and sizes protruded from his body through the wall of the glass chamber and were connected to various mechanical devices of advanced technology. A constant hum filled the room, like a quiet audience cheering to the two combatants on.
"A mere spider…a traitorous one at that." His glance fell onto the limp body of the priest who had once served him so well. "You're willing to save him despite how false he was to you? You can't keep saving everyone regardless of their bad intentions towards you, dear brother."
"…yes I can. It's the way Rem would have-"
"Do NOT utter that name in front of me again!" His shouts echoed around the metal abode, and the bubbles in his chamber increased with his anger. A period of silence fell before Knives spoke again. "Fine…go ahead. Save your precious priest. It will do you no good in the long run."
Vash nodded a thank you and muttered under his breath: "…or so you would like to think…"
Wolfwood awoke to a cool sensation surrounding him, his vision tinted with a blurry green. Through the rising bubbles, he noted the wavy outline of the familiar red and blond. He had saved him yet again…?
'That's twice now, Broom head. And I want payback…'
After his recovery, long scars dotted his torso from the removal of the bullets embedded deep within his tissues. He was beginning to mirror the Humanoid Typhoon.
-o- End Flashback-o-
'This is the only way I can think of paying you back, Broom head…' He knew that Knives was wreaking havoc within Vash's mind, and he had been tempted to succumb to Vash's screams of agony to be put out of his memory. But that was not how the once sixty billion double dollar man would have reacted if the roles were reversed. No. He would have gone out of his way to find some way of curing this problem. But to see Vash in this state of ultimate despair, to see him being eaten away by his own mind…it was difficult for Wolfwood to restrain himself sometimes. This was not what Vash deserved. Not when he had saved so many lives through his peaceful ways. He awoke from his thoughts by the mild mumbling coming from the ragged form of his friend.
"You haven't eaten in a while…" Wolfwood pulled out a box of somewhat freshly baked donuts and a flask of water from a large brown paper bag, crinkled beyond repair from repeated usage. He nudged the seemingly lifeless brown mound, urging to eat something. As expected there was no response. "C'mon…you have to eat…"
"Leave me alone!" Vash batted the food out of Wolfwood's hands with a quick swipe. "Leave. Me. Alone." He stared with hateful eyes, which fluctuated between the normal turquoise and icy blue. This occurred more often, regardless of Vash's mood, meaning he would soon lose to Knives' will.
"I can't do that." Wolfwood responded sternly. He salvaged what he could of the sand-covered food and replaced them back into the bag. "You wouldn't have given up on me. Plus you know why I'm here. To help you. To help Meryl. To make up for being such a sneak."
"Shut up! You can't save my pitiful brother. I will show him how stupid his ideals are! I will show him that he will receive nothing but pain living among these pitiful humans!" A brief pause accentuated Vash's return to himself. "He's right…every one who touches me dies." If it were possible, Wolfwood swore he saw Vash sink even lower into his brown rags. "Meryl will only die too…and her son as well…"
"Doesn't anyone trust the word of a priest anymore? She's not going to die. Not if you don't give in to Knives."
"Not give in?" A feral laugh escaped his lips. "How can he not? When I've proven everything he has denied so far?"
"Really. Then why does he keep going to back to her? Why does he yearn to ask for her forgiveness?"
"Only because I allow him to." A victorious smirk covered Vash's face.
"Or because he has a firm grasp on hope." A smile of victory spread across Wolfwood's own face as the smirk disappeared. "Either way, Vash is not going to let you win, knowing full well that he would be surrounded by countless dead bodies again."
"Ah yes…that was indeed a beautiful sight…maybe seeing something like July again wouldn't be so bad…" His body shook either from laughter or with fear, Wolfwood wasn't sure. But what he did know was that things were going to become progressively worse from here on, especially with Vash losing more and more of himself to his brother.
Why is that I always run into so much trouble when your around?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
*breathes a sigh of relief* Finally! I'm sorry to all those I've kept waiting for so long. I was really stuck on what would happen next, but I realized I should focus more on what's going on between Vash and Wolfwood. And I bet you didn't expect Wolfwood to come back! ;3 Again, I'm really really sorry for taking so long to add the next chapter. But hopefully, getting back into the swing of writing again, I can continue with this fic. ^_^ Maybe next chapter will be an all-out mind battle between Knives and Vash. Why is Knives just waiting idly by and not taking action? When will Meryl tell Vash how she really feels? How will Aki react when he realize Vash is not his real father? And why is Legato trying to get into Wolfwood's pants?! O_O No no, I kid. Legato's staying dead. Regardless of what some of you might want. Please note that there are three quotes in here that are actually from the show. Find them and…um…that makes you really smart! ^_^;
Thanks for reading and I hope you come back from more. ^_^x
