A/N: Uhh…hmm…got nothin' to say other than that I am glad so many people enjoyed Meryl's little 'conversation' with Knives. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. I wasn't sure if it was going to be dumb or something, but I'm glad people liked it.

Read and review please!

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Along Came A Spider

Chapter Ten: BEFORE THE STORM

My wounded brother was laying before me, resting in an attempt to recuperate from his battle against my creation. The women were absent, and although I did not know exactly where, I knew they were in the apartment. Neither were going to leave Vash alone, especially with me present, for a long period of time, so I needed to take that moment, possibly the only one that will be open to me, to learn something, anything, from Vash concerning Cherub.

I stood looming over the still figure of my twin. That word, twin, meant so little. Only in sleep did we resemble each other in any way, and even then we were discernable from one another. While I slept still and sound, Vash would squirm and drool. "Vash…Vash, wake up." I shook him, and his eyes slowly opened.

"I-is it breakfast already?" Vash, still half asleep, mumbled.

A sigh escaped my lips. It's always food with you, Vash. "Vash, snap out of it!"

His eyes widened and he regained full consciousness. "Knives? What is it? Where are the—"

"The humans are fine," I interrupted him, "They are in a different room; the kitchen, probably. I woke you up because I want to know, because I need to know.

"What happened before, during, and after the battle at Augusta?"

Vash's blue eyes stared at me for a few long moments. "Why do you need to know?"

"Damn it, Vash, tell me!"

"Fine…" his voice filled with loss, he began, "At first, it was a normal fight. Well, as normal as fighting a copy of yourself stuck in a child's body can be, anyways. He was as fast, if not, faster than either of us, and he was a quick thinker, too.

"After he got a hold of my gun, I thought he was going to use it to blow me away right there and then, but, he used it to grow those two wings," I looked at Vash in silent confusion, but allowed him to finish, "as for the rest, it's pretty obvious. Angel Arm, boom goes Augusta!" Vash spread his fingers out in an imitation of an explosion. "…Again." He added after.

"Two? Two wings? Are you sure about that, Vash? You didn't miscount, did you?" I stared into his eyes as I asked, my face showing only grim seriousness.

Vash gently laid back down and closed his eyes. "Trust me, bro, I got a very nice look at him. He had two big, silver wings. His hair got quite a bit blue, as well." He opened one of his eyes to look at me, "And, yes, I am sure of it. I'll never forget that kid."

Thoughts raced through my mind. Two wings? That's not what I had anticipated when I created him! Maybe I miscalculated the outcome of his transformation? After a few moments, another notion crept into my skull, which left me gaping. Maybe I miscalculated the stimulus it would take for him to change…

"Vash!" my voice sounded unusually desperate, "tell me, where did he go after he used his Angel Arm? Do you know?!"

Casually, as if it was of no importance to him, Vash opened his eyes, and looked at me. "What are you going to do after you find him?"

I snorted, "What do you think I'm going to do?"

"Do you really want to keep your crazy nightmare going?"

I stood up straight and looked down my nose at him, "We have gone over this enough. You know my answer."

"So…you're going to kill them all? And me, too?" He sighed at my lack of an answer, "what if it came down to killing the girls? Could you pull the trigger to end Millie and Meryl's life?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out. My legs shook a bit and my stomach ached, but at the moment I could not figure out what was the cause. "I…" why can't I say it? I never had a problem before killing, much less admitting to wanting to do it, so why can't I say it?!

"Yes," I finally managed, but my voice cracked slightly. What is the matter with me?!

Vash laid back down with his eyes closed. A dimwitted smirk was on his face, as if he was smiling at something that only he understood. "If I remember right, before I blacked out back in Augusta, I saw Cherub flying south-west."

"South-west?" In my mind I saw a picture of a map of the area, and there were a few scattered towns and cities in the direction Vash spoke of. There was one city, though, that stood out in my mind, one that made perfect sense. I smirked, "Thank you, brother."

I turned to leave, and as I did so Vash's voice sounded over my shoulder, "Knives, I know you'll make the right choice."

I slowed, but did not turn to look at him. I shook my head, forgetting what Vash had just told me and continued out of the room. I headed directly for the closet that held, not only coats and other normal apparel that one would find, but also the weapons of each of our weapons.

I quietly opened it, and pushed some of the hanging coats out of the way, searching. I found Vash's revolver, but it was, to me, useless without its ability to grow the Angel Arms, so I tossed it back in. The cross punisher, although powerful, was still damaged from the fight, and was drastically low on missiles, so I decided to leave it there. I let out a short laugh as I ignored the stun gun completely; of what use would something incapable of harm be to me?

I stopped as my hand brushed against Meryl's coat. What the… I thought as I looked into it to look for what solid object my hand had bumped into. My eyes widened a bit as I saw the dozens and dozens of derringers resting in their holsters. To put such a large number of guns to good use, one would have to be fairly dexterous and very quick. I had not known that she carried such a large number of guns, by I decided to leave them. In larges numbers such as that they were fairly useful, but they were still week.

What could possibly be so weak as to die from a simple shot from a tiny derringer? I thought. I would eventually learn the irony of that statement and never forget it.

I decided to carry my weapon only. The black colt revolver, which would allow me to grow my powerful black and red Angel Arm. That was all I needed and wanted. I stuffed it into the holster-like pocket at my thigh and after shutting the closet and ambling to the door, I thanked my luck for allowing me to not come into contact with the humans before I left.

Of course, my luck is as good as my brother's.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Even without turning, I knew it was Meryl. Even after we had saved Vash, she had not gone back to her original, easily-frightened self; instead she still treated me like I was nothing more than a ill-mannered child. I looked over my shoulder and saw her, along with Millie by her side.

"Where do you think? I'm leaving this dying city and finding—"

"What about your brother, Mr. Millions?" Millie cut me off hurriedly.

I turned my body around to address them directly. "What about Vash?"

"What do you mean 'what about Vash'?" the shorter one's voice dripped with hate, "Any idiot with eyes can see he needs all the help can get!" she added shortly after, "Not to mention, it's your fault that he's like this…"

"My fault?" I laughed, "I didn't make him travel across the desert to do something that didn't need to be done."

Crossing arms, Meryl retorted, "Vash is always trying to clean up your messes, Knives; this is no different than what he's been doing ever since you caused the Fall. Hell, he's more like a father that keeps helping his good-for-nothing son than he is a brother of yours."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the door, but I stopped when Millie spoke again. "But…Vash, your brother, he's hurt; why are you leaving, Mr. Knives?"

"Why should I stay? He brought this upon himself for disobeying me." I heard a short laugh behind me that must have came from Meryl. In my mind I could picture her shaking her head in contempt. "There's no reason for me to be here; none at all." I reached for the doorknob.

"But…he's the only family you have. Without him…you're alone…"

I turned to look at Millie after she said this, and thought about it for a moment. I turned back to the door after glancing at Meryl. As I opened the door I spoke, without turning to them, "You're free to try to stop me; Although I'd suggest against it."

I stood for a second, and once I was sure that they would not try anything foolish such as that, I felt an odd sense of relief. I quickly walked through the door and shut it behind me.

Within a few minutes, I was out of the dying city of Inepril heading south-west towards where I was sure Cherub was awaiting me. Despite this, an unexplainable feeling of insecurity entered my system.

Had I become unsure of myself?

Did I fear the possible results my actions may have?

Only time would tell.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"So he just up and left?"

"Yeah, the jerk just left his hurt bother—who he himself hurt—for who-knows-where," Meryl answered Elizabeth. "I honestly don't know what's wrong with that man. It seems like no logic can get through that thick skull of his."

"When did he leave?"

"Oh, I don't remember exactly, but it was last night." They were both sitting at a small table in the room that was being used as Vash's bedroom. Meryl did not want to further hurt his wounds by moving him to a real bed, so he slept on the large couch that occupied much of the space.

After getting an unusually large number of pudding packages, Millie sat down with the coffee-drinking women to eat her snack. Meryl glanced at her partner's face and noticed the worried expression that had been on her face since that jerk, Knives, left. I can't blame her. I've been just as worried as she is about what that man is capable of and what he's willing to do,

Once she set her mug onto the table, Elizabeth asked Meryl, "Don't you think someone should try to stop Knives? If he's as dangerous as you and everyone else thinks, he should be locked up or something."

"What's the point?" Meryl sighed. "Won't do any good. He'll either be let go, or he'll escape, and either way, he won't have changed his mind on anything. And I thought Vash was stubborn."

"Hey…that's…cold…" Vash mumbled half asleep from the couch. The women laughed at him and the gunman quickly returned to snoring peacefully.

"I still don't think that it's safe for a madman like that to be running around," Elizabeth said as she stared into her cup.

Shrugging, Meryl took another sip of her coffee. "There's not really much we can. I'd really prefer to stay here and watch over Vash than go chasing after his crazy brother while we don't have a clue as to where he went."

"But, Meryl," Millie, who had been quiet for a long time, spoke up, "Mr. Vash probably knows where he went, and he doesn't need a lot of people to take care of him."

"That may be true," Meryl conceded, "But I still don't want to go chasing that psycho across Gunsmoke. I hope that thing he's after kills him. He'd deserve it for what he has put Vash through all his life."

"Mr. Vash wouldn't like it if Mr. Knives died. He still cares about him like a brother should." Millie eyes were opened wide in worry. Elizabeth looked from her to Meryl, who sighed.

"That's one of the things I don't understand." She looked at Vash, "Why does he still care about that good-for-nothing nut case?"

"Because," Millie said straightforward and matter-of-factly, "Like I said to Mr. Knives, without one, the other has no family; they're closer than most brothers, but Mr. Millions doesn't know it."

After looking at her partner for a moment, Meryl sighed. I have been doing that too much lately. "I'd still like to know where that man went."

"South-west…" the women turned to Vash, who lied still on the couch. "he went South-west."

"Oh, yeah," Meryl rolled her eyes, "that tells us a lot, now doesn't it?" Vash smirked. "Ugh, just go back to sleep!" she tried to hide her smile as she turned to Millie, but the odd expression on the big girl's face made Meryl quickly replace the smile with a look of curiosity. Millie appeared to have cheered a bit up and had a sense of relief in her eyes. What's gotten into her? Meryl thought to herself.

"I'll go get some more coffee, Meryl," Millie said quietly, as if she didn't care whether Meryl heard her or not, and left the room. The shorter woman decided to ignore the unusual behavior.

A few hours later, the short insurance girl was explaining one of her 'adventures' with Vash to the Plant engineer. Elizabeth laughed a bit, "He entered a quick-draw contest with a hangover?"

"Sadly, yes. I don't know what was worse, the drinking and vomiting the night before or the fact that he entered a contest with the name 'Vash the Stampede' where everyone could see it. "Although I have to admit it wasn't his fault entirely…"

"Then whose fault was it?"

"You know that priest I told you about?"

"Ah," the engineer laughed, "Sounds like a good guy, though. Too bad I couldn't have gotten to meeting him."

"Yeah…" Meryl squeezed her coffee mug to the point that it appeared that she was going to crush it. "I still want to bash him over the head for what he put Millie through."

"But he does sound like a good guy…reminds me quite a bit of Vash…"

"If you mean the perversion, the drinking, the gun fighting, the complete lack of common sense, the urge to run into danger to make things worse, and the stubborn attitudes, yes, they were a lot alike. But," Meryl's grip relented on the poor cup. "You're right, they are pretty good guys, despite all that. Even I have to admit it."

Meryl saw a huge grin on the face of the supposedly sleeping gunman and, reaching to her side where a couple of small pillows from the couch were piled, she tossed one of the feathery soft cushions like a missile at the Vash's face. "What did I say about you getting some sleep?!" She heard a snicker and turned to see Elizabeth laughing. "What is it?" Meryl asked.

"Oh, it's-it's nothing…" the other woman covered her mouth. After she got her snicker in check, she said "Millie was lucky."

"Yeah, Wolfwood had a certain thing about him. If only a few certain men could be a little more like him!" She threw another pillow at Vash.

"Hey, I didn't do anything that time!" the man whined.

"But you're still awake!"

"I…uh…" he quickly laid back down grumpily and laid so that his back was to the women. Elizabeth snickered again, but Meryl didn't bother asking, since she new the other woman wouldn't answer.

"Speaking of Millie," Elizabeth spoke again, "Didn't she go to get some coffee about two hours ago?"

Eyes wide, Meryl sat up, "You're right, what could she possibly be doing?" she got up and left the room. The tiny kitchen was vacant. After checking the small bedrooms, which were also devoid of the tall insurance girl, Meryl went to the door that lead to the hallway that connected the other hotel rooms together. On the door was a piece of paper.

Soon after she tore it from the door, Meryl realized that it was a note, and from Millie no less. It was only a few lines of words, which appeared to have been written in a hurry.

'To Meryl,

Wanted to help Mr. Vash.

Went to stop Mr. Knives.

Took the pudding.

P.S. don't follow!!'

Meryl almost fainted, but instead she got up her nerves and rushed to the closet. As she guessed, Millie's stun gun was the only thing missing, other than the revolver Knives took. She grabbed her white, derringer-laden cloak and swiftly put it on.

As she rushed back into the living room area, Elizabeth gave Meryl a shocked look. "Going somewhere?"

"Quick! Elizabeth, what is South-west of here?!" the normally calm woman was frantic and shouted at the other.

"Hey, what's with all the yelling?" Elizabeth sounded slightly insulted.

"It's Millie; she's gone, apparently looking for Knives." She slammed her fist onto the small table. "She somehow must have figured out where that Cherub thing was going."

"Well, you yourself told me, more than once, that Millie is much, much smarter than she lets on."

"I know, but…" Meryl shook her head. "I'm going to go find her, and, um…" she seemed uncomfortable about speaking the next thing on her mind.

"Yes, I'll make sure Vash doesn't go chasing after you trying to be a hero and only to collapse down the stairs and break his neck. You don't have to worry, I'll take care of him."

A smile grew on the short woman's face. "Thanks. Now, please, is there anyplace south-west of here that is unusual? Like a city or a town that  something as unpredictable as one of Knives's cronies would go to?"

A wrinkle of thought crossed Elizabeth's brow. That did not long last, for she her eyes quickly widened as far as they could go in realization. "How could it have slipped my mind!" she looked at the worried Meryl, "Cherub headed for Augusta because that's where that Angel Arm was fired…"

"Yes, yes, I now. Now tell me, what place is he heading for now?"

"…July."

Meryl ran off yelling her thanks over her shoulder. Quickly, she was gone from the hotel entirely and within the confines of the car, racing down the vacant streets of the dying city Inepril. Millie had enough of a head start the even on foot she must have made it outside of the city.

Back in the apartment, Elizabeth left to the apartment next door, asking her the other engineer, Germane to come over to keep her company while she made sure the injured Vash didn't get the urge to rush after Meryl's aide when he awoke.

But, unknown to her, Vash had not fallen asleep the entire time she spoke with Meryl, hence the man had heard everything, but he was able to hide his reaction from them due to the fact that he had his back to them the entire time. His eyes were red and the pillow his head rested on had become damp. He spoke to no one in particular, his voice cracking from his emotions:

"Please…please Knives, make the choice you know is right…for you, for me, for the girls…"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Perched high a giant rock outside of the area that had once been the great City of July, Cherub the Seraphim stared into the night sky. The cold desert wind, the same wind that had covered much of the city in sand, beat against his lean frame. Despite this, he did not shiver, did not flinch.

"With him gone," the winged boy spoke into the cold air, "With the Humanoid Typhoon's reputation struck down to a minor zephyr, and his life cut at the root, father will be searching for me." He flapped his wings so that the sand they collected shook off.

"I must be at my fittest when I contact him; I must prove that I am as strong as he hoped me to be." The Gung-Ho Gun stared at his right hand as he flexed it open and closed. "And to do that, I must destroy all that remains of his legend. I must destroy what made him such a terror and what had sewn so much awe into the people of this tiny world."

The long blue and blonde hair dangled gently flapped around his head due to the desert wind. The devilish eyes of the angelic creature shot up to the magenta body that flew in the night sky. The deep wound gashed into the object was plainly visible and to and lesser being would have seemed impossible or frightening that it could exist, much less have been created by a individual that walked upon their world.

"If I do this…If I destroy it…" A horrible smile grew across the boy's face, "it will rain hellfire upon the world!"

The silvery wings on his back stretched out behind him, and he spread his legs to give himself the sturdiest stance he could muster. His left arm was placed rigidly to his side. Cherub shot his right arm into the air, as if to reach for the magenta orb in the air. His fingers were splayed apart and he yelled to the Fifth Moon, his target.

"THIS IS TO THE LEGACY OF VASH THE STAMPEDE!!"

Once again, as with the time at Augusta, Cherub's eyes glowed a ghastly tint of blue and energy flowed from his pores. The skin on his right arm turned silver, and the entire limb elongated and changed form. The gigantic form of the Angel Arm replaced his normal, human-like appendage. The silver and blue weapon, identical in every way to Vash's, glowed with a horrible radiance.

The energy shot out in one wide ray of power, shooting into the sky towards the Fifth Moon, the satellite that held the mark of the Humanoid Typhoon.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Meryl sped out of Inepril as a brilliant ray of light shot from the direction of where she was heading. Losing almost all control of her vehicle as she stared in shock and fear at the needle of energy that stabbed into the eye-like moon, she came close to hitting the very woman she left to search for. Slamming on the breaks as she neared the bag-carrying Millie, Meryl jumped out of the car and rushed to her partner. "Get in the car!"

"But…but, Meryl," Millie seemed afraid that the woman would not let her continue to stop Knives from finding the source that created the energy.

"Get in, we need to stop Knives before that idiot gets to whatever the Hell is doing that!!" she jabbed a finger up to the moon, which was being pummeled by the power, and the was already a crater twice the size of that which Vash had created.

Surprised by her little friend's choice, Millie rushed over, hugged her, and then quickly jumped into the passenger seat. Meryl, after sparing a glance at the moon, got back into the car and drove away.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

I stared in awe at the sight before me. Standing atop a tall dune only a few miles from my destination, I watched as the energy ate away at the moon. The beam was twice as wide as that of my own or Vash's and was much brighter on top of that.

I laughed silently to myself. I must be the only person on this world that really knows what's happening to that moon, I thought happily to myself.

To anyone else, it appeared no different than when Vash's Angel Arm had struck that moon, but I could tell that that was not the case. The moon was soon to die rather than receive another minor wound such as the one it received from the original Augusta incident.

The laser was not just creating a crated on the surface like before, but it had, in actuality, drilled into the core. As I stood there watching and waiting, I could only think of the center of the moon and how it was heating to an unbearable temperature and soon it would not be able to take much more.

After a few minutes, it happened.

I wished that space could carry sound, for I wanted nothing more than to hear that explosion, one that had dwarfed anything seen, felt, or heard on this planet, and one that rivaled even the great atomic weapons used on the dead planet of Earth.

The source of the Angel Arm blast, content with his work, stopped firing.

The moon had shattered as if it were nothing more than glass. The moon was no more, replaced with only its splintered remains. Pieces, from my calculations, ranged form that of thomases to the size of one of the SEEDS ships.

The magenta light of the Fifth Moon glowed in the sky no more, and never will again.

I rushed to the jeep I had stolen from Inepril, and jumped into the seat, quickly driving off as quickly as it possibly could.

I, oddly enough, was not pleased.

Ever since I had left the city, a strange feeling, one that resembled fear or worry, had been in my stomach, but now, after witnessing that spectacle involving the death of the moon, it had worsened.

Along with the prior knowledge that Cherub had two wings, the calculations of the energy given off by the boy confused me. "Only fifty-five percent output!? That cannot be right!" But I knew my estimates were correct.

Cherub had not yet fully reached his peak and I wanted to know why.

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A/N: Odd…Originally this was going to be the shortest chapter, but now it's the longest one yet. @_@ Sorry for the delay concerning updating, I'm…hmm, what's the word?

Oh, yeah.

Lazy.

Well, nothing else to say except review, please!