Disclaimer: I don't own Trigun or any of the characters of Trigun.
A/N: I've decided to post this chapter along with chapter 23 seeing as that chapter was short. Here we go...this is where all the fun starts...well, you get the picture. On with chapter 24!!!
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Knives wandered through darkness, at a loss to where he was. Silence surrounded him and no path could be seen, and yet he plodded along, searching for something. What was it?
He walked for about five minutes before he saw a bright light in the distance, breaking into a slow run, striving to reach the light. The light soon engulfed him and he stopped, noticing a figure a little way in front of him. Knives stepped forward and froze as a gunshot sounded in the distance. The figure fell forward and became motionless.
Knives rushed forward, hoping the figure wasn't dead. As he neared the figure, he froze in the pool of blood and stared at the lifeless form in front of him. He knelt down in the blood and lifted the figure's head, screaming in fear as he realized that the figure was none other than Vash.
Knives lifted his brother's lifeless body and held it close to his, running his fingers through Vash's spiked hair, taking notice of the slash marks across his face. Tears streamed down Knives' cheeks and fell upon Vash's bloody chest. Knives opened his eyes and noticed a lone rose next to Vash. What was that there?
Footsteps could be heard in the distance, causing Knives to look up, only to see a blurred figure.
"You're next," hissed the figure, raising the gun used to kill Vash at Knives.
The figure pulled the trigger and a gunshot sounded.
Knives woke up in a cold sweat, sitting upright in bed, fear taking over his body. Meryl shifted in bed and opened her eyes, sitting up next to Knives, worry filling her eyes.
"Knives, what's wrong?" asked Meryl firmly, gently rubbing his back.
"He died right before my eyes," whispered Knives. "Blood, innocent blood, all around me. I held his lifeless body. She killed me."
"What are you...?"
"She shot me damnit! Meryl, he's too young to...he's innocent. He doesn't deserve to die!"
"Knives, I know that you're scared, but try and get some sleep." Meryl closed her eyes and lay back down, falling back into a deep sleep.
Knives got out of bed and walked downstairs to get a glass of water. As he opened the door to the kitchen, he noticed that the front door was ajar. How did it get opened? One thought ran through his mind...
SHIT!
Knives ran back upstairs and into his and Meryl's room, grabbing his .45 long colt revolver out of the top drawer of his dresser and waking Meryl.
"Knives, what are you...?" Meryl whined, rubbing her eyes vigorously.
"Take my gun," demanded Knives, thrusting the gun at Meryl.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Someone's in the house. If anyone comes in here besides me, shoot them."
Knives rushed from the room and across the hall to the spare bedroom, pulling a shotgun from the closet, loading it, and tiptoeing out of the room, keeping an eye out for any type of movement.
He walked slowly across the hall and into his office, turning on the light and viewing his now disarrayed office. As he made his way to the phone, he heard the door downstairs slam shut, signaling the exit of the intruder. Knives rushed to the window of his office and saw a dark figure running away from the house.
He turned and walked away from the window and sat down in his chair behind his desk, picking up the phone and calling the sheriff.
"December Sheriff's Department," said a man on the other line. "Joseph Donahue speaking."
"Joe, its Knives," said Knives, sorting through the mess of papers on his desk.
"Knives, why are you calling this late at night?"
"Someone broke into my house."
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine and so is Meryl."
"Is anything missing?"
"No, but my office has papers strewn everywhere."
"I'll be right over."
Knives hung up the phone and continued to sort through the mess of papers on his desk. Whoever was in here was looking for something in particular, but what papers were missing?
He finished filing all of his papers back into their appropriate drawers, but he noticed something that was very suspicious. The drawer he had always kept locked was open and its contents were gone.
Why would someone come in and take all of his notes on Lorelei Baroque?
As he pondered this, he walked out of his office and into the bedroom where Meryl sat bolt upright with the gun Knives had given her pointed at him.
"Relax, it's just me," said Knives, walking over to his fiancé.
"Is the intruder gone?" asked Meryl.
"Yes, the intruder is gone."
"Is anything missing?"
"Yes, there is something missing."
"What is it?"
"All of my paperwork on Lorelei Baroque is gone. The person broke into my drawer and took all of my files, leaving a mess on my desk for me to clean up."
"Well, at least that's the only thing that's missing. That paperwork is easily replaced, right?"
"Yeah, but there is one thing that is still bothering me about this."
"What is that?"
"Why did the person that broke in take that file that I had? Why didn't they go for any of our valuables? Why all of my paperwork?"
"I don't know."
"Well, Joe is coming down, so I'll be downstairs if you need me. You go ahead and get some rest."
"Are you sure you'll be alright?"
"You know me; of course I'll be okay."
"Good night. I love you."
"I love you too."
Knives kissed Meryl on her cheek and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He walked downstairs and into the living room to wait for Sheriff Joseph Donahue to arrive to investigate this breaking and entering case.
Knives' thoughts were interrupted by the knocking at the front door. He rose from his chair in the living room and rushed into the hallway to answer the door to Joe Donahue.
"Good evening Knives," said Donahue.
"Evening Joe," replied Knives, allowing his friend into his house.
"Did you find anything to be missing?"
"Yeah, I did. Why don't we go up to my office and discuss this."
"Fine with me."
Knives led Donahue up into his office and sat down behind his desk, folding his hands and rocking back and forth in his chair.
"What did you find to be missing?" asked Donahue.
"All of my paperwork on Lorelei Baroque is gone. The intruder broke into my drawer that I keep it in and took all of the contents. They took everything down to the last scrap of paper."
"Did you find any clues in here so that we can get a list of suspects?"
"I didn't find anything when I cleared off my desk."
"Are there any fingerprints on the handle of your desk?"
"No, just mine, and they are fresh as well, so the person must have used gloves and dusted the surface when they entered the drawer."
"Well, if you find anything, just give me a call."
"Joe, have you found my brother yet?"
"Not yet, but we're still searching. I'll call you as soon as we find out anything."
"Thanks Joe. Have a good evening."
"You too."
Sheriff Joseph Donahue exited the office and left the house, leaving Knives alone once again. He rose from his chair and decided to go back to bed, suddenly stopping as he noticed something metal resting on the floor by the trash can.
Knives grabbed a tissue from out of his desk drawer and picked up the piece of metal from the ground, examining it closely. This could be the major clue that could lead them to the intruder.
A/N: Well, what do you think? The only way I'll ever know is if you give me feed back, so you know what to do. You see that drop down box in the bottom left corner of your screen? All you have to do is click go and poof! I'll know what your thoughts are!
I'll get to work on chapter 25, so until then, I'll leave ya hanging!!!
A/N: I've decided to post this chapter along with chapter 23 seeing as that chapter was short. Here we go...this is where all the fun starts...well, you get the picture. On with chapter 24!!!
-----------------------
Knives wandered through darkness, at a loss to where he was. Silence surrounded him and no path could be seen, and yet he plodded along, searching for something. What was it?
He walked for about five minutes before he saw a bright light in the distance, breaking into a slow run, striving to reach the light. The light soon engulfed him and he stopped, noticing a figure a little way in front of him. Knives stepped forward and froze as a gunshot sounded in the distance. The figure fell forward and became motionless.
Knives rushed forward, hoping the figure wasn't dead. As he neared the figure, he froze in the pool of blood and stared at the lifeless form in front of him. He knelt down in the blood and lifted the figure's head, screaming in fear as he realized that the figure was none other than Vash.
Knives lifted his brother's lifeless body and held it close to his, running his fingers through Vash's spiked hair, taking notice of the slash marks across his face. Tears streamed down Knives' cheeks and fell upon Vash's bloody chest. Knives opened his eyes and noticed a lone rose next to Vash. What was that there?
Footsteps could be heard in the distance, causing Knives to look up, only to see a blurred figure.
"You're next," hissed the figure, raising the gun used to kill Vash at Knives.
The figure pulled the trigger and a gunshot sounded.
Knives woke up in a cold sweat, sitting upright in bed, fear taking over his body. Meryl shifted in bed and opened her eyes, sitting up next to Knives, worry filling her eyes.
"Knives, what's wrong?" asked Meryl firmly, gently rubbing his back.
"He died right before my eyes," whispered Knives. "Blood, innocent blood, all around me. I held his lifeless body. She killed me."
"What are you...?"
"She shot me damnit! Meryl, he's too young to...he's innocent. He doesn't deserve to die!"
"Knives, I know that you're scared, but try and get some sleep." Meryl closed her eyes and lay back down, falling back into a deep sleep.
Knives got out of bed and walked downstairs to get a glass of water. As he opened the door to the kitchen, he noticed that the front door was ajar. How did it get opened? One thought ran through his mind...
SHIT!
Knives ran back upstairs and into his and Meryl's room, grabbing his .45 long colt revolver out of the top drawer of his dresser and waking Meryl.
"Knives, what are you...?" Meryl whined, rubbing her eyes vigorously.
"Take my gun," demanded Knives, thrusting the gun at Meryl.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Someone's in the house. If anyone comes in here besides me, shoot them."
Knives rushed from the room and across the hall to the spare bedroom, pulling a shotgun from the closet, loading it, and tiptoeing out of the room, keeping an eye out for any type of movement.
He walked slowly across the hall and into his office, turning on the light and viewing his now disarrayed office. As he made his way to the phone, he heard the door downstairs slam shut, signaling the exit of the intruder. Knives rushed to the window of his office and saw a dark figure running away from the house.
He turned and walked away from the window and sat down in his chair behind his desk, picking up the phone and calling the sheriff.
"December Sheriff's Department," said a man on the other line. "Joseph Donahue speaking."
"Joe, its Knives," said Knives, sorting through the mess of papers on his desk.
"Knives, why are you calling this late at night?"
"Someone broke into my house."
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine and so is Meryl."
"Is anything missing?"
"No, but my office has papers strewn everywhere."
"I'll be right over."
Knives hung up the phone and continued to sort through the mess of papers on his desk. Whoever was in here was looking for something in particular, but what papers were missing?
He finished filing all of his papers back into their appropriate drawers, but he noticed something that was very suspicious. The drawer he had always kept locked was open and its contents were gone.
Why would someone come in and take all of his notes on Lorelei Baroque?
As he pondered this, he walked out of his office and into the bedroom where Meryl sat bolt upright with the gun Knives had given her pointed at him.
"Relax, it's just me," said Knives, walking over to his fiancé.
"Is the intruder gone?" asked Meryl.
"Yes, the intruder is gone."
"Is anything missing?"
"Yes, there is something missing."
"What is it?"
"All of my paperwork on Lorelei Baroque is gone. The person broke into my drawer and took all of my files, leaving a mess on my desk for me to clean up."
"Well, at least that's the only thing that's missing. That paperwork is easily replaced, right?"
"Yeah, but there is one thing that is still bothering me about this."
"What is that?"
"Why did the person that broke in take that file that I had? Why didn't they go for any of our valuables? Why all of my paperwork?"
"I don't know."
"Well, Joe is coming down, so I'll be downstairs if you need me. You go ahead and get some rest."
"Are you sure you'll be alright?"
"You know me; of course I'll be okay."
"Good night. I love you."
"I love you too."
Knives kissed Meryl on her cheek and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He walked downstairs and into the living room to wait for Sheriff Joseph Donahue to arrive to investigate this breaking and entering case.
Knives' thoughts were interrupted by the knocking at the front door. He rose from his chair in the living room and rushed into the hallway to answer the door to Joe Donahue.
"Good evening Knives," said Donahue.
"Evening Joe," replied Knives, allowing his friend into his house.
"Did you find anything to be missing?"
"Yeah, I did. Why don't we go up to my office and discuss this."
"Fine with me."
Knives led Donahue up into his office and sat down behind his desk, folding his hands and rocking back and forth in his chair.
"What did you find to be missing?" asked Donahue.
"All of my paperwork on Lorelei Baroque is gone. The intruder broke into my drawer that I keep it in and took all of the contents. They took everything down to the last scrap of paper."
"Did you find any clues in here so that we can get a list of suspects?"
"I didn't find anything when I cleared off my desk."
"Are there any fingerprints on the handle of your desk?"
"No, just mine, and they are fresh as well, so the person must have used gloves and dusted the surface when they entered the drawer."
"Well, if you find anything, just give me a call."
"Joe, have you found my brother yet?"
"Not yet, but we're still searching. I'll call you as soon as we find out anything."
"Thanks Joe. Have a good evening."
"You too."
Sheriff Joseph Donahue exited the office and left the house, leaving Knives alone once again. He rose from his chair and decided to go back to bed, suddenly stopping as he noticed something metal resting on the floor by the trash can.
Knives grabbed a tissue from out of his desk drawer and picked up the piece of metal from the ground, examining it closely. This could be the major clue that could lead them to the intruder.
A/N: Well, what do you think? The only way I'll ever know is if you give me feed back, so you know what to do. You see that drop down box in the bottom left corner of your screen? All you have to do is click go and poof! I'll know what your thoughts are!
I'll get to work on chapter 25, so until then, I'll leave ya hanging!!!