Rating: PG.
Summary: A confession and a car chase. Chapter inspired by Home Shopping Network. :P
Thoughts, Author's notes, emphasis, title inspired by the Ice Cream song by Sarah MacLachlan.
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Trigun. That's as far as it goes. :(
Pre-Chapter Notes: Erm, I changed Mary Sue into Divi. I like Divi much, much better.
Being tackled by the man she loved wasn't exactly the event she wanted to include in her incredibly romantic day, but she had to admit it was better than being sprayed with bullets.
Vash had lunged forward at Meryl after he made sure the other girls were safe and brought her into his embrace. She saw his eyes as they focused in on her and then she closed her own as they both fell backwards. A moment of silence, then came the all too familiar sounds of bullets tearing through the walls. There was a strange sensation as his arms grasped her. Corny as it seemed, and even in the situation they were in, the embrace felt so right and so good.
Maybe it was because she had only dreamed of that moment before.
Why did it have to happen this way? She sighed mentally. Things with her seemed to happen in the near worst possible way. Then again, she had gotten this sort of luck from him. Even with her resistance to his charms, he had still rubbed something off on her.
They fell to the ground as the bullets hit the counter.
Knowing he was probably twice her size and partly machine, she should have been smashed. But Vash had fallen to his knees and crouched, sure to have Meryl protected from the gunfire using his own body as a shield. She clutched at him blindly, her hands passing over the exposed skin of his face as she tried to hold on.
Then, as soon as it happened, the barrage of bullets stopped.
Meryl opened her eyes and saw him hovering above her. With the way he was holding her she felt nearly suspended in air. He looked down at her, and both were held captivated for some time. Awareness of just how close in proximity to each other they were, both felt a tinge of blush take over and looked away toward the entrance, which at that moment fortuitously burst open, revealing the more or less obvious source of the bullets.
Meryl groaned out loud.
How were some bounty hunters stupid enough to try and capture Vash a second time around? Meryl recognize the leader, clad in a tight black leather body suit (totally improper for the climate, but so was Vash's…), holding a black whip and accompanied by 3 accomplices, all of which had long black dusters, a bandanna around their mouths and noses, and semiautomatic rifles. The plastic wrap girl (missing the plastic wrap) got even smarter and brought her brothers.
"Ha ha ha ha!" She laughed evilly, cracking the whip for a much desired dramatic effect. "I have you now, Vash the Stampede!"
I can't believe this, Meryl thought, exasperated. She looked up at the man with the 60 billion double dollar bounty on his head, expecting him to be drooling as he always did whenever he saw a scantily clad woman walk by, but she was surprised to see him as irritated as she was.
Meryl heard the female bounty hunter gasp, and Meryl refocused on her. "It's you!" The leathered woman hissed, holding up the hilt of her whip, pointing at Meryl and trembling with anger. 3 rifles pointed at Meryl's head and Vash turned to put her behind him.
"NO! I'm not going to let you hurt Meryl!" Milly shouted, standing up, holding and ready with her stungun aimed at the 4 intruders. Out of shock the 3 rifles aimed at the woman who apparently wasn't there before. The arms that held Meryl released her gently, and Vash stood up fully, holding his arms fashioned in a sign of surrender.
"Neither am I." He declared. Meryl got to her feet quickly and was about to protest that it was her decision to make whether she got hurt or not, but then Vash stopped her, moving so he blocked her again from the potentially dangerous bounty hunters. He said in a voice of both firm resolution and weariness, "I'm not going to let you get hurt." He stepped forward and the three armed men moved, one guarding Vash, another guarding Meryl, and the last Milly. The woman wielding the whip walked up, and (much to Meryl's chagrin and both Milly and Vash's surprise) did a very practical thing by frisking Vash.
Vash felt a tiny bit uncomfortable as the woman felt him up, but at the same time wondered how it would be like had other hands done so.
The woman extracted Vash's gun from his side pocket and yelled at the man guarding Vash to tie him up. Pulling out 2 pieces of rope the man bound Vash's legs together, and the other rope bound Vash's arms across his chest. Vash blinked at the man. "Aren't you doing this the wrong way?" The man silently shook his head. Giving a pout Vash looked very much like a petulant child.
"Alright," the whip lady yelled in an accent Vash couldn't quite place… "Bobby, Billy! Grab him and throw him in the car!" They did so, groaning along the way as they dragged the heavy load. "Gunther! You stay here and make sure these girls don't move. And if they do, shoot them, but her—" she pointed at Meryl. "First." She grinned maniacally.
What a way to hold a grudge, Meryl thought.
The three bounty hunters fled the scene, carrying Vash away. While Meryl and Milly held still in fear of getting shot by Gunther, they heard the sound of an engine starting up and the screech of the wheels on the desert floor as someone slammed on the gas pedal.
In what seemed like eternity the sound faded away. No, Meryl thought despairingly, I've lost him again.
"Meryl…" Milly whispered, frightened and not knowing what to do.
"I can't lose him again, Milly." Meryl said, her determination as solid as bedrock. Meryl reached inside her cape and Gunther aimed his gun and bent his knees to absorb the kickback from the rifle. There was a loud blast of sound and Milly let out a deafening, shrill scream as both Meryl and the armed man fell to their knees.
Oh, no, not now! Oh, God, please not now! Please, I haven't even told him that I—that I love him!
Logic suddenly hit Meryl. Wait, what the hell? Nothing hurt, nothing seemed like it was bleeding… and even if Gunther had missed his shots, why would he have fallen if Meryl never discharged either gun in her hands? Meryl looked up and Milly stopped screaming.
"Divi?!" Both women shouted in relief. The girl had disappeared when Vash was getting kidnapped isn't it funny how you can kidnap an adult?, crawling unseen to the back room and out the back door. After she hid in the shadows cast by the side of the building opposite the twin suns and listened to all of what was going on. Knowing wisely that she couldn't take on all 4 armed bounty hunters a whip is considered an armed weapon, right? You do need an arm to use it… or maybe not, Divi waited until they left with Vash (also wisely knowing that the Humanoid Typhoon could very well take care of himself) to attack the remaining thug. Luckily, he was standing right in front of the inward opening double door bar entrance, so all Divi had to hope for was to kick down with all her might the doors and knock down (and out) the armed man. If she didn't knock him out, Meryl and Milly could take care of him.
But she didn't need their help. "Miss me?" Divi smiled brightly.
"Did we ever!" Milly replied gleefully as she climbed over the counter. "You were really sneaky back there, Miss Divi!"
Meryl was still on the floor with her hands covering her face.
"Meryl?" Milly asked gently. "I'm sure Mr. Vash is going to be okay."
"No, Milly…" She paused to inhale. "When we let him go before he disappeared for 2 years. The last time he left us he had to–had to… that man…" Meryl was nearly at tears. "He's never okay! Wherever that man goes trouble always follows him!"
And even if we don't help him really, I just want to be there with him just… Then again I… all I do is get in his way…
Divi noticed Meryl's faltering resolution. "If… if I could give you a chance—" Both Meryl and Milly looked up as Divi put her question gently. "A chance to go after him, how much would be willing to risk to take it? Would you be willing to admit that you're in love with the most wanted man in the galaxy?" How Divi knew that was beyond Meryl. Was she really that obvious?
"What?! Divi, you're wasting time! If you have something that can help me, then give it to me!"
"You're wasting my time, Miss Meryl. All I need is 3 or 4 little words."
"I don't have time for this!" Meryl shouted angrily as she got to her feet.
"You don't have this either." Divi said, jingling a set of car keys. "What are you going to do, run after him? 3 or 4 words, Miss Meryl. That's all it takes to get the car." She crossed her arms across her chest as a sign of the finality of her ultimatum.
"Yes, fine." Meryl sighed. It's about time I said it out loud. "I love—" It wasn't supposed to be all that hard to say 3 words, but those 3 posed a bit of a problem. It wasn't that she didn't mean it (oh, with every cell in her body she did), but Meryl worried that if she did indeed say it the world as she knew it would come crashing down. She swallowed her cowardice. "I love him." A moment's silence as smiles crossed both Divi's and Milly's faces.
"Alrighty then!" Divi declared loudly. "Come on! Every second we delay he's that much farther! Let's go!" Meryl groaned and rolled her eyes. Divi and Milly fled the bar and retrieved the car, with Meryl tailing behind. Meryl stopped, realizing something and picked up the fallen rifle as an afterthought.
A jeep? Divi had a jeep just laying around? Meryl wondered in amazement as the engine roared and revved with impatience. "For a 16 year old girl you sure do have a lot of things," Meryl pointed out suspiciously.
Divi shrugged. "I don't have a permit…"
That makes me fell a lot better knowing that you're driving. Meryl thought with growing apprehension. Divi slammed on the gas pedal and the car jumped forward. The open air vehicle's windshield was the only thing protecting the females from the harsh desert sand and wind. "How do you know where you're going?!" Meryl shouted over the howl of wind and jeep.
"The other car left tracks!" Divi shouted back. Meryl looked to where Divi pointed and found the tracks bored into the sand.
Well, that's convenient. With the demon speed Divi was driving at it wasn't long before the dark shimmer of the abducting car was seen in the sand storm it left behind it.
Even with the whipping lashes of wind and the interference of sand blown upward by the spinning tires of the car Vash was taken in, the Plant could still hear the distinct sound of another engine and of sand being crushed underneath the weight of the different car. Judging by how quickly the sounds were getting louder, the other car was coming up very quickly.
Vash looked behind him in hopes that a certain, recognizable insurance girl was in that car.
She was.
"Oh, crap!" Vash yelled, ducking behind his seat and making his 3 captors turn around. As he cowered in fear his head hit the side of the car as the car swerved to avoid getting hit by the gun in the small woman's hand. Or rather, rifle. Their rifle. A volley of shots fired off as the 2 armed male captors fired back.
Both cars swerved from side to side to avoid punctured tires, shot (literally) engines, and death. However, Divi and gang were at a bit of a disadvantage, knowing how the previous car kicked up the sandy dust, blurring their vision. Moving side to side did not help to increase the visibility.
The girls shrieked as a barrage of bullets embedded themselves into the metal of the fast moving car. Meryl heard the distant sound—pop-pop-pop—and warned Divi to move, but it was too late.
The woman driving the car laughed harshly after a minute of silence. Her brothers cheered and whooped as they realized that the other car was defeated.
Vash sat alone in his worry. They can't be dead… He tried to make himself believe. They're too strong for that… It was many, many iles of silence as the Plant strained to hear the sounds of the other car. Then, the car stopped abruptly.
"Finally!" The woman shouted in relief. "We're here."
The brothers jumped out of the car and dragged Vash back to their apparent hiding. Both groaned and one of the brothers spoke up in a laboring voice, "He's really heavy!" Vash probably would have protested had he not noticed the peculiar accent in the man's voice. It was the same as the woman's, but Vash still couldn't tell what it was or what was wrong with it.
"Get going, you weaklings!" The woman lashed out, snapping her whip like a slave driver, which she definitely played and looked the part of (That or some sort of sadomasochistic mistress… but probably not).
All of them got inside their safe house and the brothers dropped Vash in the center of a barren room (except for a washer, dryer, and laundry basket).
"Gah!" Vash groaned as pain spread through his backside. Ow, he whined in his own mind, annoyed about not being able to rub the affected spots. Why did they have to tie my hands in front?! If and when he was tied up the captors would always tie his hands at his back, which would eventually lead to their downfall because he could always get out of it. But this time was a different situation.
Suddenly Vash felt an evil force emerge, and he looked up. Since the light was from behind Vash first saw the dark outline of the woman with some sort of object in her hand. Slowly things came to a clear, and after Vash looked again at the mysterious object he swiftly made his way backward, only to be stopped by the wall. She grinned maliciously and held up a black cloth with her other hand—probably to gag the screams to come from the impending torture.
Vash could only whimper as she came closer.
He took a double look at the weapon and mentally sighed in relief. There aren't any outlets! He thought happily. Then he noticed the lack of a cord. Cordless?! It's a cordless?! Curse human genius! First the ingenious placement of his hands, now this… "Wh—what are you going to do with that?" He asked, laughing nervously.
She held up the cloth. "With this?" She asked, sounding genuinely confused. Vash shook his head. She looked at her other hand and laughed. For a short while it was a pleasant, normal laugh, but then it grew more psychotic, as if she remembered she was supposed to be evil. "With this?" She grinned again, 2 puffs of steam coming out of the cordless over-sized iron she held in her hand. She laughed.
She then stopped and shook her head, apparently tired of playing evil. She reached above Vash's head and pulled down an ironing board. "What does it look like I'm doing, Vash the Stampede?" She laid out the black cloth and worked out the wrinkles. Vash laughed nervously again. "I'm a maid," she explained. "Erm, I used to be, I mean. It gets really boring, you know? You clean other people's mansions, wash other people's clothes and iron—" she sighed. "Wash their pretty cars, water their expensive plants… and worst of all deal with their brats! All this for a pittance! It wasn't worth it for me, you know? But, thanks to you, I'll get my own mansion, my own pretty car, my own expensive plants…"
Great. It wasn't for revenge, it wasn't payback for destroying cities, nor was it for a "good cause"… She and her brothers were going to turn him in because of their own greed. Vash groaned and let his head droop. At least this kind of people could be easily foiled somehow. He just wasn't sure when.
"You know Vash—" Since when did she get on friendly terms with him? "I like you. You're kind of cute! It's a shame to see such a good looking guy like you have to go to jail and all…"
"So don't turn me in." Vash flashed a smiled, hoping his pearly whites would win her over.
"What, and just give up on 60 billion? You wish, buster." She laughed. Vash's hopes were dashed.
"I thought you liked me." Vash mock-pouted.
"Oh, I do! That's why I'm waiting a night before we head off to Farland."
Farland?! That was the place that Vash had been trying to avoid since the July Incident. The bane of my recent existence, he thought grimly. Farland was the government headquarters of the entire world.
"This will be fun, no?" The ironing woman giggled. Vash suddenly realized what was wrong with her voice.
Yay, end chapter 2! Anyway, um… about Knives [since I guess this is after the anime series]… Use your imagination. But positively :) Oh, and the iron thing seemed a bit random, no? My mom bought from HSN the EuroPro iron or something gaudy like that. It's definitely over-sized. It's bigger than my head! --; (it's not cordless, though). It's still in the box.