Jewel: I'm finally back with the new chappie! Yay!
Background Person: And there was much rejoicing… (It's a line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail… don't ask)
Vash: That was weird…
Jewel: Anyway, read on! Oh yeah… and Rock Bands 4ever!
Geney-babe: Jewel, don't type my name like that! Anyway, here's the disclaimer…
*Bullets are heard as "Jewel Does Not Own Trigun," appears on the screen of her laptop.*
*More bullets are heard as "Jewel Does Not Own The Outlaw Star Copyrighted Commercial Intros," appears*
Jewel: On with the show…
Part 6
Death to Those Who Choose It
Vash stared at the two with confusion and a twinge of jealousy.
Jewel pulled away and promptly slapped Yanako across the cheek.
"What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled, outraged by Yanako's actions.
"He was right, your lips are soft," he sneered as he put a hand to his cheek.
Jewel looked as though she would kill Yanako, and she nearly did.
"You bastard! How dare you do such a thing!" she yelled, ignoring the implication of Knives's comment. Yanako snickered.
"So you do avoid talk of Knives. He doesn't like to go unnoticed you know, well, at least not by you," he smirked.
Vash took this as his cue to step into the conversation. "Okay then, we'll be off now. Don't want to be late for the…"
"Can it, Vash the Stampede," Yanako said. Jewel was reminded briefly of Legato when Yanako said "Vash the Stampede." Then it her like a dodge ball.
"You're Legato's brother."
"Half-brother," Yanako replied in haste.
"Surprising that your working for Knives, especially since you vowed to never work for anyone your brother, sorry, half-brother knew. So, what dirt does he have on you?" Jewel asked.
"It's none of your fucking business."
Vash was starting to fidget. Usually he would have done his all-time famous "Love and Peace" pose, but Jewel was seeming to handle the situation quite well, if you were trying to start a war.
"Well, my guess is that this has something to do with your brother," Jewel snapped back in retaliation.
"I said it's none of your fucking BUSINESS!" Yanako screamed, enraged that she would dare speak of his half-brother in his presence.
"I'll choose what is and isn't my business!" she yelled.
Vash was getting nervous and decided to slip away unnoticed. He slid out the door and headed to the hotel.
About thirty minutes later, Jewel arrived.
"Uh, I'm afraid to ask about what happened," Vash said, cowering slightly.
"Nothing, we verbally sparred for another ten minutes and then I gave up and went to the nearest donut shop."
"Yeah, Love and Peace prevailed!"
"Not quite…"
"Wait, did you say donuts?"
"Yes, I just love the delicious delectable. Even if I don't have to eat in order to survive."
"A fellow Donut-lover!" Vash screamed. He threw his arms around Jewel in glee.
And who would've thought that at this moment, Meryl walked into the room.
"Vash! Will you ever stop…" she stopped mid-sentence.
"Uh, hi Meryl," Jewel said as she tried to wave, but Vash was holding her too tight.
"Uh, hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said. Then she gave a nervous laugh. Vash let go of her and walked over to Meryl.
"Hello Meryl! Where's Millie? Please don't hurt me for running off, Jewel, or should I say, Julia, over there already thwacked me in the head for that!" Vash said hurriedly.
"I should thwack you in the head, you idiot!" Meryl said as she twitched angrily.
"Wah!" Vash whined.
'It's gonna' be a long day,' Jewel thought to herself.
One hour later:
"So she does remember you, strange, the memory erasing I did to her didn't hold its ground," Xenobia replied.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'll just have to kill her," Yanako replied, annoyed with the young tramp.
"Those were not his orders. He said to bring both Jewel and Vash to him."
"Whatever."
"You know, you act like your four, even though your seventeen," Xenobia replied sardonically.
He slapped her. "Shut up you little bitch! Don't tell me to act my age when you're a fifteen year-old passing as a twenty-one year-old whore!"
"Dammit! Don't slap me so hard!" she retaliated as she got up off of the ground.
"I'll slap you as hard as I damn well please!" He stormed off, leaving an angry Xenobia by her lonesome.
"All contestants please report to the…" the speaker began.
He was quickly drowned out by the sound of hundreds of people running to the contest area.
Jewel and Vash were the first to arrive. The rounds would begin soon…
One Hour Later: Results:
Round One: Yanako the Bulls-Eye
Round Two: Vash the Stampede
Round Three: Xenobia the Demoness
Round Four: Jewel the Inferno
"Jewel, you're round with Yanako's in two hours," Vash said.
"Don't remind me. I already hate the guy."
"Do ya' have to kill him?" Vash asked her.
" I don't kill anymore. I haven't killed anyone since I was with L…" she clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Who?" Vash questioned.
"No one, no one," Jewel answered.
"Jewel, what are you hiding?" he asked.
"Oh look, a man with free donuts!" she screamed, pointing towards the other side of the street. Vash looked to where she was saying and she fled to the hotel.
"Hey, there's no free…" he began to say as he turned around. "Jewel!" he yelled.
"Whew, I think I made it. I hope he doesn't know where I am," Jewel said as she closed the hotel door behind her.
"There you are my beautiful Jewel…" a voice came from behind her. A chill went down her spine as she slowly turned around.
"Knives…" she whispered.
He approached her, but rather than retreating, she stayed.
"Ah, so you do have a backbone," he commented with a sneer.
"Why do you want me anyhow?" she asked.
"Well, isn't it obvious."
"Stop stalling."
"While I can replicate myself, I am only capable of making male replicates. With you I can create female copies as well."
"You expect me to duplicate myself for the likes of you?" she asked incredulously.
"No, more than that. Why have copies of just yourself when you can have a plant with both our DNA."
Jewel's jaw dropped.
"Where are they?" Knives questioned, growing impatient.
"Who?" Jewel interrogated back, already knowing the answer.
"Don't be a smart-ass with me. Where are the twins?"
He kicked her in the knees, but she didn't budge.
"I'm not telling you." She pulled out her gun and held it to his chest. "While I'm unable to kill, I'm perfectly capable of injuring you… or even better, paralyzing you," she said as she turned him around and held the gun to the center of his spine.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me." She cocked the gun. They each stood there for a moment, testing the determination of one another.
"What are you waiting for? Shoot if you're going to, I don't have all day."
Jewel pulled the gun to her side.
"That's a good girl," Knives replied as he took the gun from Jewel, "Now why don't you come with me?"
She pulled up her left arm as it changed into a gun. She held it to his head.
"Well, isn't that the arm I gave you?" Knives said.
"Yeah, right after you lopped off my real one."
"Do you want to know why I did that?"
"It doesn't really matter…"
Knives grinned maniacally as he snapped his fingers. A figure stepped out from the darkness in the corner of the room. It was Xenobia.
"Xenobia here was given the power to…"
"Erase memories," Jewel finished.
"Yes, and it's all because of your arm dear Jewel. While you came to me willingly, I knew that you would leave once given the opportunity, so I gave her your powers in order for them to be used for my purposes."
Xenobia grinned. "Yes, thank you, Mistress Jewel."
Jewel was on the verge of blowing everyone to kingdom come, but as she began to pull the trigger, Vash entered the room.
"Jewel…" he began. And then he saw the scene before him.
"Knives," he said through gritted teeth. Knives arose from the floor to greet his brother.
"Hello dear brother, have the humans been treating you well?" he asked smiling. Jewel shivered. Whenever he smiled, she was briefly given the thought of a Cheshire cat gone Satanist.
"Why yes they have," Vash replied.
"Xenobia, erase all of Jewel's memories subsequent to when she met Legato."
"Yes, Master," Xenobia replied as she bowed her head. Jewel's body was bound by an invisible force, making her unable to move..
"Hey, why can't I…"
And then, another figure appeared from the darkness. One, under any other circumstances, she would have been happy to see.
"Legato," she said inaudibly.
"That's right, I'm back. And this time, I won't let you show me up."
"Legato…" Jewel said as tears swelled in her eyes.
Vash was confused. ~What happened between her and Legato? Wait, why am I thinking about that? It's nice to know that I'm not a killer, but how did he survive?~ Vash thought to himself.
"After being shot point-blank in the skull, I was barely alive. A young woman found me and nursed me to health. My powers were near depleted, but they still remained intact. I rested in order to regain my powers at full aptitude," Legato answered. "But as for your question about Jewel and I… if she's able to remember, then she can tell you… If you're still alive."
"There is only death to those who choose it, dear brother," a voice said from the doorway. Everyone directed their attention to the voice. It was Yanako the Bulls-Eye.
"Why Yanni, how nice of you to join us," Legato replied.
"Don't call me Yanni, dammit. It's Yanako the Bulls-Eye, soon to be Yanako."
Everything went silent for a moment and then the rest happened in a blur of red and other colors.
First, Jewel somehow managed to break free from Legato's mental hold. Then both Knives and Vash begin to let bullets fly. Jewel took this moment to get her gun from Knives and made a blind shot for Xenobia, hitting her in the shoulder with enough force to bring her down. Yanako and Legato began a war of their own. Three more shots sounded and then the room went still.
The dust from the floor began to settle. The aftermath lay before them.
Xenobia was hurdling in pain, clutching her shoulder in an attempt to cease it. Knives was lying on the floor, two bullet wounds could be seen in his left leg. Legato, on the other hand, survived intact, except for a bullet graze on his right cheek.
"Damn you, Vash," Knives said as he clasped his injured leg in his hands.
Vash was panting, but Jewel was focused on the person lying on the floor next to him… it was Yanako… and he was barely alive…
"Le…Legato, you… you bastard…" Yanako said, breathing heavily all the while.
Legato grinned. "Such language from a boy of your stature. It's too bad that your dear Ronara won't remember you… or the fact that she bears your child…" Legato said. A young, bound, and gagged woman entered the room, knocked out from Legato no doubt. Xenobia took to her feet and attempted to walk to the young woman, who could now be identified as Ronara. Xenobia spread her fingers on both sides of Ronara's head.
"No… not Ronara…" Yanako began.
"Hah, why erase the memories when I can do something better…" Legato stated as he advanced towards Ronara.
"NO!" Yanako screamed. "Don't hurt her! She did nothing wrong!"
"Who said I was going to hurt her?" Legato asked.
"I won't let you kill her!" Vash, Jewel, and Yanako said in unison. The volume of their remark was enough to bring Ronara to her senses.
"Yanako?" she said sleepily.
"Ronara honey, I'm here," he said, relieved that nothing had happened to her yet.
Jewel seized the moment to take a shot at Legato. She succeeded and her shot hit him in the hip. He screamed in pain. Vash helped Yanako off of the floor and Jewel went to Ronara.
"Who are you?" Ronara asked her.
"I'm a friend of Yanako's."
"I hope you're not like his other friends…"
"I'm not. Now let's get out of here."
The four of them left the hotel as fast as possible and headed to Meryl and Millie's small house on the outskirts of town.
"Meryl! Millie!" Vash called.
"What? Keep the noise down, would…" Meryl begin as she opened the door.
"We need your help," Vash replied.
"I can see that. Let's hurry and get them inside."
"Meryl, is Mr. Vash here?" Millie asked, but Meryl didn't need to answer. Millie helped Vash and Meryl with Yanako.
"What about her?" Meryl asked, nodding towards Ronara.
"I'm fine, but please help my fiancée," Ronara pleaded.
"Of course we will."
Jewel and Ronara followed Meryl into the bedroom where Yanako had already been lain on the bed.
"Jewel, go get some more bandages," Meryl instructed. Jewel nodded and ran to the bathroom.
'Yanako… just remember. There is only death to those who choose it,' she thought to herself. 'Just to those who choose it.'
Jewel: Aren't I mean? Another cliffy!
Katana/Prayne/Ryine: You baka!
Vash: LOVE & PEACE!!!!!!!!!!
Geney-babe: That was odd… Hey, I told you to stop typin' my name like that!
Jewel: Why can't I show my affection… *eyes tear up*
Vash: *runs to Jewel and hugs her* It's okay, you've always got me!
Geney-babe: Watch it buddy…
Vash: You're the one telling' her you don't want to be called her pet name for you!
*guys start fighting*
Jewel: Oh well, anyway…
SOON TO BE POSTED BY THE LOVELY JEWEL LILKA XENOBIA STARWIND:
"New Found Love," an Outlaw Star Fanfic
"Muimi Yuuggi: Pointless Play," a Fushigi Yuugi fanfic that focuses on them as Sailor Scouts…
AND BY THE ANIME SISTERS JOINT EFFORTS:
"Meet the Anime Sisters"
"The Anime Sisters and the Outlaw Encounter"
"An Anime Sister's Christmas"
"Snow Falling on Cedar Trees," a Tenchi Muyo and Inuyasha crossover…
Jewel: Well, I'm going to try and put a fanfic up for each Anime that I've seen. Wish me luck! Oh, and the next chapter won't be for a while because I have school, a novel, debate tournaments, Anime sleepovers, Anime Sisters, an Anime Sisters, redesigning of my room, "Human Zoo, (my rock band, I'm lead singer)," and a boyfriend occupying 127% of my time… if that makes any sense…Cya soon!