Okay, THE last chapter for a while, but definatly not for the story. There is so much more to cover! Something ya'll should learn about me... if I write a story less than five chapters long, I AM SICK, AND IT'S NOT A VERY GOOD STORY! But, here you go, FANTASTIC TEN! Don't ya'll know I love ya? Wrote this strait through Inuyasha, and it was a new episode! Boy, I'm generous!
Child's Play
Call me not a puppet... I am not of your control. You have no power over me, for human both are we. My strings are pulled by the same as you, we share equality. Lay not a command upon me, for it shall remain unheard. I will not obey I'll turn away and nullify thy orders. Don't pull my strings, you won't succeed in keeping me under control. I'll break away and your rule fray and you'll know that I am free.(written by: TheCat that's me!)
"Staccato... so good of you to join us..." a voice spoke in the darkness. Staccato blinked. Who was that speaking? There were brain waves over to the side, but they were from a mouse left in a cage, perhaps to provide the child with hearing and sight.
'Who... who's there?' she asked, not as scared as she was, but now a little on her toes. She heard a soft instrument playing. It sounded familiar... the song, she knew by heart. The instrument... it rang a bell...then, it dawned on her.
'M-midvalley?' she asked. The music stopped playing.
"Yeah?" another voice asked. The music continued. Staccato raised her head and looked around, but saw only darkness. The music stopped again.
"Did you need anything?" the voice asked, and then kept playing the instrument.
'Just... wondering who was playing that lovely sax,' Staccato shook her head.
"Oh, sure. Recognize him but don't bother with the rest of us," another voice complained.
"Shut it up. She's most likely confused and bewildered and afraid... you know, not thinking," a kid's voice ordered.
"Silence, all of you," the slow, flowing voice as dear to Staccato's heart as blood sounded. The music in the background stopped. The only sound was the squeaking of the mouse in its cage.
A light clicked on. Staccato turned her head from the brightness. She felt cold hands on her ankles and wrists. When she looked down, she gasped in surprise and felt her eyes widen. It was a cow-boy vest wearing samurai who slipped a sword under the ropes and pulled upwards, cutting them away. Staccato looked at his face and couldn't believe her eyes.
'Rai-Dei,' she thought. He looked at her and patted her head.
"Believe it or not, but yes..." he smiled. He sheathed his sword and sat down beside her.
'You and Midvalley... does that mean...' she started, then looked to one of the walls of the room she was in. There was a couch and several arm chairs against a wall. In a blue velvet arm chair sat the one man Staccato wished to see more than anything in her entire existence...
'Master Legato!' She stood up, her scowl gone and some what of a smile upon her features. She saw others sitting around him and ran up to each of them grabbing their hands, shaking, and greeting them.
'Monev! It's been so long! Dominique, "Egg", Leonof, Zazie, Hoppered, Caine, and Reverend Evergreen!'
They each greeted her back, some hugging, some shaking hands and nodding. Staccato ran up to Legato and hugged him. He smiled and put his hands on her shoulders in his own way of hugging. She was still only about waist high to him.
'What are you all doing here? Aren't you dead?' she asked.
"We are, but Legato had so much of his power left over that he could share and allow us all to take over the bodies of some of the healthiest humans," Dominique explained.
"And you being the only human who can talk to us as if we were still alive and standing right beside you, it made it even easier," E.G. Mine said.
'It's so good to see you guys...' Staccato sighed and looked down.
"Don't worry. We're dead. You can't do much more to us. Your powers have no effect over us, so we're safe from your beautiful eyes," Midvalley winked. Staccato shook her head.
'No, it's more than that...' she sighed. Legato pulled her up onto his lap as he sat back down in his chair.
"Tell us, then, what is on your mind," he said.
'It's just been so crazy since you all left. I was in denial there for a bit as early as when you went, Monev. When Master Legato left, that's when it all went crashing down. For several months, I was alone, because Vash had taken Master Knives with him. I had no idea where he was taking him, and I didn't know if Master Knives would have wanted me to follow or not, so I stayed behind, by my self...' she explained.
Legato sighed and laid his chin on her head. The others fidgeted or looked down. They all knew her biggest fear... being alone. That's how she always was in the orphanage- cold, hungry, in the dark, wet, and by herself. It wasn't because Nicholas didn't care, it was just because he was so busy, and he often lost track of her when she would escape from her crib and go exploring in the deep unknowns of the child sanctuary.
'Anyways, as I was talking about... after being scared for almost a quarter of a year, I get a buzzing on the mainframe. When I got the nerve to figure out how to access the communications, Master Knives tells me to go to him. From then on, I have been following him and Vash around. We have this plan, you see... only, I see an easier way to do it... if I so choose to actually do it... which I'm still too unable to make up my mind,' Staccato finished her story.
"And what is the plan?" Monev asked.
'Well, you all know that Vash is a softy and would never harm some one if he could avoid it...'
"That is a hypothesis proven wrong," Legato smirked. Staccato glared at him over her shoulder.
'Don't remind me about that!' she said. He smiled and patted her shoulder.
'So, before I was so rudely interrupted,' She poked her teacher with her elbow. 'The object is to become "friends" with Vash. When he least expects it, I am supposed to use my powers to crush his mind until he sees the fact that "Master Knives is right, and Vash is wrong, and that the human race is useless and should be put to eternal rest". Knives thinks he won't hurt a child, so I should be safe. I doubt he cares, though,'
"Nice plan...only, you forgot one infinitesimal piece of vital information..." a young voice said from the corner. They all turned their heads to see Nicholas D. Wolfwood sitting with his elbow on one knee.
"Well, if it's so vital, then share it with the girl!" Hoppered demanded.
"Sure, Master Spinning Top," Wolfwood insulted. "Vash won't change his mind about humans. You could turn his mind to liquid, and he still wouldn't agree with Knives. Take it from me, I spent a lot of time with each of them: those two may be twins, but they sure don't share ideals. You'd end up killing Vash, if you had the heart to do so,"
"And- not in any way meaning to burst your bubble, girlie, but he is always- always, one step ahead," Midvalley warned.
"He'd find some way out of your plot. It might take him some time to realize how, but eventually he would figure out how to get away from your hold over him, then he'd do something... maybe not kill you, but if he had to, he'd do some damage just to keep you from hurting yourself and anyone around you," Dominique said.
'So what you all are saying is that there is no way for me to win against him?' Staccato asked.
"It would be fatal to try," Zazie sighed.
"Look kid," Wolfwood looked over at her, up from his shoes where he was staring earlier. "Listen to some one who just went through it all... Don't take life too seriously. Nobody comes out alive in the end, anyhow..."
'Wolfwood,' Legato warned. 'She's in enough trouble already with her mother's attitude. She doesn't need your inspiration to boost her into more danger with Knives' bad temper,'
Wolfwood growled slightly to himself and turned back to his feet. He could have really used a pack of cigarettes about then.
'Why did you all come back?' Staccato asked after a while of silence.
"Well, Legato came back because he needed to tell you something, but we came back just because we wanted to see you again," Midvalley said, winking at her again.
'And that would be?' Staccato turned to Legato and stared deep into his eyes. He stared back. The others knew when this happened, they were either having a long, personal discussion, or he was teaching her how to reach back into her mind and perform tasks.
'Staccato, as a dead spirit back to speak to you, I have the ability to look into the future. The thing is, I can't tell you exactly what it is that will happen. All I can say is- say no, say yes, keep up the good work, and smile now and then. From there, you have to figure out the rest on your own.'
'Is that all you came here to tell me, Master Legato?'
'No. There is more, have patience. Your powers are becoming too strong for your own good. Every time Knives presses the detonator; the immense pain in your brain unlocks something new. If you keep getting him mad, he will eventually unlock enough powers to send you into mental melt down. Do as he says and watch your attitude.'
'Anything else?' Staccato asked.
'Don't use that tone of thought with your superior. I may be dead, but I can still do worse than Knives could ever hope to do. I know you think I'm defending the one you're growing to hate the most. I'm not. I'm defending you. I'm trying to keep you from ending up as a mindless body lying in a bed connected to every machine you can think of to keep you alive, yet it is only torture... 'You have a very wild side, Staccato. You can't help but want to fight and explore. It would hurt you so much to have to be limited to a bed or a wheel chair for the rest of your life. You may not think so, but I know a lot more about you than you ever will,'
'...Master...' she sighed. She looked away from him. Legato put his fingers under her chin and pulled her head up to look into her eyes again. Right now, they were as golden and honey as his.
'Staccato... my powers are thinning. I won't be able to talk to you much longer anymore. I know how much you enjoyed finding a dark, quiet, secluded spot and clearing your mind just to talk to me every now and then. It worked when I was still alive, yet we were so far apart. It even worked when I was dead. It won't work much longer, I abhor to say. I'm sorry. There is nothing I can do about it.' Legato laid his lips gently on her fore head. She closed her eyes and felt a tear run down her cheek. He wiped it away with his finger, then held her to his chest. Staccato hugged him as tight as she could while he cradled her head in his neck.
'It's such a pity, as there are things unnumbered that I have yet to tell you,'
'Like what, master?' she asked.
'If I told you now, you'd forfeit life all together and you'd never do any of the incredible feats I have witnessed you do in your future. Go on living, Staccato,'
'Don't leave me, please...' she grabbed his white shirt, pulling herself closer to him. He sighed and pushed her away, holding her by the shoulders.
'I must, my dear. We all must... I just want you to know... you, like I, have the power to kill ever man, woman, and child in every city in this world of the mortals. Don't let the intoxicating power of death over take you. It's not as great as it seems,'
Staccato looked at him, her eyes filling with tears. She felt some strange feeling rising in the pit of her stomach.
'Emotion, Staccato...that's what it is... don't fret over it... just remember... I love you... my child...' Legato kissed Staccato on the cheek and hugged her warmly before stepping back.
Staccato stared as Legato and the other Gung-Ho gunners faded away into nothing. After she stood there for a while and tried to think, she followed a path she knew, some how some way. Eventually, she walked out of a generated illusion of quick sand.
"Staccato!" Vash exclaimed, seeing her walk up. Knives looked over and saw her.
"Where have you been?" Knives asked, worried, for once.
"Sorry.... I ... fell through the quicksand..." she lied. Two words echoed in her mind. The last two words ever spoken to her by her beloved teacher...
My child...
End, Chapter Ten
Yay! Double Didgit Chapters! Well, next time I update, I promise I'll have alot of stuff to throw to you guys. I love all my little reviewers!
Two things I need from ya'll:
1- Opinions and Comments
2- I-fricken-deas! Even the stupidest ones you can come up with! I can probably squeeze it in there some how... now, if its something completely imposible, like "Vash killed Staccato, Milly blows up planet Gunsmoke", then I'm just gonna laugh at you and call you an idiot right in the middle of my story.
Hit the button and, sadly, you'll have to wait for an update... GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT!