Hello! It's Stelmaria and Zuka here. Hey guys we're REALLY SORRY about the update delay. But we were just taking our time and making the story extra special. The good news is that we finished the next three chapters, so we'll be updating every week from now on. We really hope you enjoy this next part.... The story definitely gets more intense! Love and Peace!
Disclaimer: We do not own Trigun or Vash or Meryl or Knives in any way..... *Lassoes Vash around the neck and makes a mad dash for the exit...... Mean government officials take us down with stun guns* Damn, Zuka... we were SO close that time! *Sighs*
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Chapter 4: Captured
Meryl, Vash and Milly all stood in silence. Fallen rubble and debris scattered around them. Dust swirled through the air, scratching the throat and burning the eyes. Knives lay amidst them all, blissfully unaware. Meryl stumbled over and nudged him experimentally with her foot. Knives groaned slightly, then went still.
"Oh great," Milly moaned. "What do we do with him now?"
"I say we leave him!" Meryl declared.
"We can't! He's helpless out here!"
"So what, Milly?"
"Hey girls," Vash said sternly. "He's my brother and I care about him, even if he is a jerk."
"Well then, we'll have to drag him!" Meryl replied reluctantly.
"Hey, you there! What do you think you're doing?" A harsh voice suddenly interrupted.
Turning back they saw two men approach from the still dusty street. One was older with salt and peppered hair. He was dressed in a tan suit, and had a well-kept appearance. Meryl felt the guilt seep back into the pit of her stomach as she realized he seemed quite familiar. He happened to be the manager of the recently deceased hotel behind them. Her dread worsened as she noticed the man accompanying him.
He was tall, dark, and a shiny sheriff's badge glinted off his coat. Things were not going to end happily.
"My hotel!" cried the hotel manager. "Running this place has been my life's work, my sole ambition! Who did this? It was YOU wasn't it?"
He pointed at Vash, Meryl, and Milly, still frozen in place above Knives. They miserably attempted to smile innocently.
"You've destroyed my livelihood! You'll pay for this!" He pulled a gigantic rifle seemingly out of nowhere. "Now DIE you bastards!" He screamed in insane rage. Without pausing he fired off three rounds in their direction.
"Ahhhh!" Vash let out a girly high pitched scream.
Everything erupted into instant motion. Vash and Meryl easily dodged the bullets sprinting away with hands in the air. Milly stayed a split second longer looking undecidedly at the unconscious Knives.
"Don't worry, Knives," she whispered. "We'll come back for you later."
Another shot rang through the air, whizzing by her head. In another moment Milly was gone, hard on the heels of Vash and Meryl. The sheriff gave chase as they all left the raving manager in a cloud of dust.
The three compadres ran through the streets as if the devil himself was on their heels. Behind them, shots still sounded, the occasional bullet flying by. Vash led the way, being most experienced in these mad dashes for freedom.
'Whew,' Vash thought as he ran. 'That was a close one. I kinda feel sorry for the poor manager man. After all, it was an accident. I'll have to talk to Meryl soon. Until then, she'll have to keep her temper under control. Easier said then done!'
Thinking fondly of the fiery insurance girl, he looked back to make sure she was all right. Instantly he froze. Looking around in rising panic, he called out her name.
"Meryl! Where are you? This isn't funny! Come out!"
His echo hung in the air around him. Milly patted his shoulder in reassurance, but the fact remained. Meryl was gone.
--
Meryl fled in Vash's wake, followed closely by Milly. Bullets continued to whiz past them. Glancing over her shoulder she saw the sheriff and hotel manager-turned-trigger-happy-gunman in hot pursuit.
What was she going to do? She had been in tough places before but it had always been a result of Vash's antics. Now she was the outlaw. How did he deal with this all the time? It had only been a few hours since she had woken up and it was just one thing after another. When were they going to get a break?
Deep in her thoughts and self doubt, Meryl didn't notice that only the hotel manager continued after them. She was unprepared when a shadowed figure suddenly jumped out from and alley on the left. She felt a hard object collide with her cranium and everything went black.
--
"Meryl? Meryl! I don't understand, she was right behind us!" Vash shouted mournfully as they trudged though the desolate streets. He and Milly were both breathing heavily after their mad dash for freedom, but their pursuers had vanished into the dusty air. "Meryl! Where are you?"
"This town sure is empty," Milly commented.
"This is bad. She could have been shot. What if something happens to her? What if Knives goes after her? What if she loses control again? It's all my fault! She's gone and I couldn't protect her! What am I going to DO?"
"Um, Mr. Vash?"
Vash proceeded to begin banging his head hysterically on the cement wall of a nearby building.
"That's enough!" Milly was suddenly yelling.
"Huh?"
"Meryl isn't a helpless weakling you know! She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself!"
Vash was shocked for a few seconds at Milly's abrupt change in mood before he could respond. "Nooo. You don't understand. She needs me!"
"And I'm sure she didn't need you all those times you kept trying to ditch us! Or when you told us it was too dangerous to keep following you, even though WE were saving YOU half the time! Or when you disappeared for months after the fifth moon incident and didn't even have the consideration to let us know if you were still alive!" Milly took a deep breath and continued glaring at him.
"Ahhh! But... that was different." Vash mumbled.
"Hmph. Right. Sometimes I think you two are hopeless."
"What are you talking about?
"It should be obvious!"
A perplexed look crossed Vash's face.
Milly sighed. "Even I can figure out that you have feelings for each other, but neither of you will come out and say it to the other one's face. I thought at least one of you would after you came back with Knives, but all you did was argue more. I'm sick of seeing her hurting inside because of you!"
"Wait a second. Meryl? You mean she--?"
"That's right, Mr. Vash."
He was silent for a moment before his expression intensified. "I have to rescue her right away!"
--
Meryl slowly woke up, groggily looking around in confusion. She was in a grungy old room, cemented in on all sides. An inherent mustiness lay thick in the air. Both her wrists were chained to the wall, preventing her from moving. Before her lay Knives, sprawled on the floor, still unconscious. Straining her arms, Meryl managed to scoot a few feet closer to his prone form. His eyes suddenly cracked open taking in her curious face. With a startled cry, he shot up, glaring in confusion.
"Where the Hell am I?" Who shot me? It was you, trying to save your pitiful life, wasn't it? I'll let you kn--"
"No, I didn't shoot you! I never did anything to you!"
"You took my brother away, just like Rem." He said, coldly.
He paused to look her over. She was practically leaking power. What had happened to her? Perhaps he could use this to his advantage.
An evil grin snaked across his face. Meryl's eyes narrowed when she saw the peculiar glint in Knives' eyes. He was planning something. She knew it.
"So, you're a plant," Knives murmured quietly. It was a statement, not a question. "I suppose you did something extraordinarily stupid to get us both stuck in this dump. Really, Humans have no sense of cleanliness. This whole place reeks of mold and decay."
Meryl sighed in exasperation. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. We'll just have to wait."
"Wait? For what? My pathetic brother to come? I've had enough of his rescuing for a lifetime!" He chuckled evilly, looking Meryl up and down."We could destroy them so easily, you and I. Wipe out the infestation that threatens our species with extinction. Every day we die a little more. Our brothers and sisters become a little weaker. But we can save them! Help me make this world an Eden. Join me and live forever!"
Meryl could only sneer at him in disgust. "I will never join you! I will never kill another human. Knives, it is up to us to end the cycle of violence and hatred. What you are doing will only hurt the plants more!"
"No!" Knives denied angrily. "I'm going to SAVE them. But I see my brother has infected you with his useless empathy for these humans. He has hurt me for the last time! Now I will take back what is mine!"
He was screaming insanely. Meryl squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out his horrible voice. The air seemed to gain an oppressive weight, pushing in on her from all sides. Dimly she realized it was his power, gaining force with his anger. It rose around them, suffocating Meryl with its fury. She opened her eyes to see nothing but blinding white light. Her soul was teetering on the edge of an abyss, threatening to fall into oblivion.
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TaaDaaa! How did you like it? I know, I know... A cliffhanger! But you better get used to them, because there'll will be a whole bunch in the upcoming chapters. (Hint, Hint) We are really excited about this story, if you have any input, ideas or suggestions we will consider them seriously. Thank you very much for reading our story, we really appreciate it! See you soon! -Stelmaria and Zuka
To our wonderful reviewers: We love hearing what you have to say! You have left some really great messages for us. We hope to meet all of your high expectations! Tell us how we are doing! WE LOVE YOU GUYS!
blood-lust6
Katrina-chan
AnonymousTrigunOtaku
rroan
YAMI CHIP
Roganu-chan
Kelly Kairi
Hecate
psycho king (you win the award for most creative name)
Kez-the-Magnificent
krazyMaze
Solar-sun
xifa (you get second place)
AKU
chibi-luna-chan
Disclaimer: We do not own Trigun or Vash or Meryl or Knives in any way..... *Lassoes Vash around the neck and makes a mad dash for the exit...... Mean government officials take us down with stun guns* Damn, Zuka... we were SO close that time! *Sighs*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 4: Captured
Meryl, Vash and Milly all stood in silence. Fallen rubble and debris scattered around them. Dust swirled through the air, scratching the throat and burning the eyes. Knives lay amidst them all, blissfully unaware. Meryl stumbled over and nudged him experimentally with her foot. Knives groaned slightly, then went still.
"Oh great," Milly moaned. "What do we do with him now?"
"I say we leave him!" Meryl declared.
"We can't! He's helpless out here!"
"So what, Milly?"
"Hey girls," Vash said sternly. "He's my brother and I care about him, even if he is a jerk."
"Well then, we'll have to drag him!" Meryl replied reluctantly.
"Hey, you there! What do you think you're doing?" A harsh voice suddenly interrupted.
Turning back they saw two men approach from the still dusty street. One was older with salt and peppered hair. He was dressed in a tan suit, and had a well-kept appearance. Meryl felt the guilt seep back into the pit of her stomach as she realized he seemed quite familiar. He happened to be the manager of the recently deceased hotel behind them. Her dread worsened as she noticed the man accompanying him.
He was tall, dark, and a shiny sheriff's badge glinted off his coat. Things were not going to end happily.
"My hotel!" cried the hotel manager. "Running this place has been my life's work, my sole ambition! Who did this? It was YOU wasn't it?"
He pointed at Vash, Meryl, and Milly, still frozen in place above Knives. They miserably attempted to smile innocently.
"You've destroyed my livelihood! You'll pay for this!" He pulled a gigantic rifle seemingly out of nowhere. "Now DIE you bastards!" He screamed in insane rage. Without pausing he fired off three rounds in their direction.
"Ahhhh!" Vash let out a girly high pitched scream.
Everything erupted into instant motion. Vash and Meryl easily dodged the bullets sprinting away with hands in the air. Milly stayed a split second longer looking undecidedly at the unconscious Knives.
"Don't worry, Knives," she whispered. "We'll come back for you later."
Another shot rang through the air, whizzing by her head. In another moment Milly was gone, hard on the heels of Vash and Meryl. The sheriff gave chase as they all left the raving manager in a cloud of dust.
The three compadres ran through the streets as if the devil himself was on their heels. Behind them, shots still sounded, the occasional bullet flying by. Vash led the way, being most experienced in these mad dashes for freedom.
'Whew,' Vash thought as he ran. 'That was a close one. I kinda feel sorry for the poor manager man. After all, it was an accident. I'll have to talk to Meryl soon. Until then, she'll have to keep her temper under control. Easier said then done!'
Thinking fondly of the fiery insurance girl, he looked back to make sure she was all right. Instantly he froze. Looking around in rising panic, he called out her name.
"Meryl! Where are you? This isn't funny! Come out!"
His echo hung in the air around him. Milly patted his shoulder in reassurance, but the fact remained. Meryl was gone.
--
Meryl fled in Vash's wake, followed closely by Milly. Bullets continued to whiz past them. Glancing over her shoulder she saw the sheriff and hotel manager-turned-trigger-happy-gunman in hot pursuit.
What was she going to do? She had been in tough places before but it had always been a result of Vash's antics. Now she was the outlaw. How did he deal with this all the time? It had only been a few hours since she had woken up and it was just one thing after another. When were they going to get a break?
Deep in her thoughts and self doubt, Meryl didn't notice that only the hotel manager continued after them. She was unprepared when a shadowed figure suddenly jumped out from and alley on the left. She felt a hard object collide with her cranium and everything went black.
--
"Meryl? Meryl! I don't understand, she was right behind us!" Vash shouted mournfully as they trudged though the desolate streets. He and Milly were both breathing heavily after their mad dash for freedom, but their pursuers had vanished into the dusty air. "Meryl! Where are you?"
"This town sure is empty," Milly commented.
"This is bad. She could have been shot. What if something happens to her? What if Knives goes after her? What if she loses control again? It's all my fault! She's gone and I couldn't protect her! What am I going to DO?"
"Um, Mr. Vash?"
Vash proceeded to begin banging his head hysterically on the cement wall of a nearby building.
"That's enough!" Milly was suddenly yelling.
"Huh?"
"Meryl isn't a helpless weakling you know! She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself!"
Vash was shocked for a few seconds at Milly's abrupt change in mood before he could respond. "Nooo. You don't understand. She needs me!"
"And I'm sure she didn't need you all those times you kept trying to ditch us! Or when you told us it was too dangerous to keep following you, even though WE were saving YOU half the time! Or when you disappeared for months after the fifth moon incident and didn't even have the consideration to let us know if you were still alive!" Milly took a deep breath and continued glaring at him.
"Ahhh! But... that was different." Vash mumbled.
"Hmph. Right. Sometimes I think you two are hopeless."
"What are you talking about?
"It should be obvious!"
A perplexed look crossed Vash's face.
Milly sighed. "Even I can figure out that you have feelings for each other, but neither of you will come out and say it to the other one's face. I thought at least one of you would after you came back with Knives, but all you did was argue more. I'm sick of seeing her hurting inside because of you!"
"Wait a second. Meryl? You mean she--?"
"That's right, Mr. Vash."
He was silent for a moment before his expression intensified. "I have to rescue her right away!"
--
Meryl slowly woke up, groggily looking around in confusion. She was in a grungy old room, cemented in on all sides. An inherent mustiness lay thick in the air. Both her wrists were chained to the wall, preventing her from moving. Before her lay Knives, sprawled on the floor, still unconscious. Straining her arms, Meryl managed to scoot a few feet closer to his prone form. His eyes suddenly cracked open taking in her curious face. With a startled cry, he shot up, glaring in confusion.
"Where the Hell am I?" Who shot me? It was you, trying to save your pitiful life, wasn't it? I'll let you kn--"
"No, I didn't shoot you! I never did anything to you!"
"You took my brother away, just like Rem." He said, coldly.
He paused to look her over. She was practically leaking power. What had happened to her? Perhaps he could use this to his advantage.
An evil grin snaked across his face. Meryl's eyes narrowed when she saw the peculiar glint in Knives' eyes. He was planning something. She knew it.
"So, you're a plant," Knives murmured quietly. It was a statement, not a question. "I suppose you did something extraordinarily stupid to get us both stuck in this dump. Really, Humans have no sense of cleanliness. This whole place reeks of mold and decay."
Meryl sighed in exasperation. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. We'll just have to wait."
"Wait? For what? My pathetic brother to come? I've had enough of his rescuing for a lifetime!" He chuckled evilly, looking Meryl up and down."We could destroy them so easily, you and I. Wipe out the infestation that threatens our species with extinction. Every day we die a little more. Our brothers and sisters become a little weaker. But we can save them! Help me make this world an Eden. Join me and live forever!"
Meryl could only sneer at him in disgust. "I will never join you! I will never kill another human. Knives, it is up to us to end the cycle of violence and hatred. What you are doing will only hurt the plants more!"
"No!" Knives denied angrily. "I'm going to SAVE them. But I see my brother has infected you with his useless empathy for these humans. He has hurt me for the last time! Now I will take back what is mine!"
He was screaming insanely. Meryl squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out his horrible voice. The air seemed to gain an oppressive weight, pushing in on her from all sides. Dimly she realized it was his power, gaining force with his anger. It rose around them, suffocating Meryl with its fury. She opened her eyes to see nothing but blinding white light. Her soul was teetering on the edge of an abyss, threatening to fall into oblivion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TaaDaaa! How did you like it? I know, I know... A cliffhanger! But you better get used to them, because there'll will be a whole bunch in the upcoming chapters. (Hint, Hint) We are really excited about this story, if you have any input, ideas or suggestions we will consider them seriously. Thank you very much for reading our story, we really appreciate it! See you soon! -Stelmaria and Zuka
To our wonderful reviewers: We love hearing what you have to say! You have left some really great messages for us. We hope to meet all of your high expectations! Tell us how we are doing! WE LOVE YOU GUYS!
blood-lust6
Katrina-chan
AnonymousTrigunOtaku
rroan
YAMI CHIP
Roganu-chan
Kelly Kairi
Hecate
psycho king (you win the award for most creative name)
Kez-the-Magnificent
krazyMaze
Solar-sun
xifa (you get second place)
AKU
chibi-luna-chan