Chapter 4.
"OW! What the heck happened?" Knives sat up and swung his head from left to right in search of his brother. He had been rudely awakened by a sudden lurch and pull of gravity. He clenched his teeth together and stood up. Finally, he could stand without any help!
"Where are you, Vash? You better have a good reason for why you woke me up like that!" He yelled angrily, his blue eyes narrowing into small slits.
He only put one foot in front of the other when he slid down the sand and landed next to his unconscious brother who was currently sprawled out face down in the sand. His left eyebrow lifted in amusement. So he finally decided to get some sleep, did he?
Knives grinned wickedly and decided a rude awakening was in order. After all, it was his job to make Vash's life miserable! After yelling for a minute and throwing in a few kicks in the side for good measure, Knives gave up. The wiped out man would not wake up!
Knives turned him over on his back. A deep wound stuck out on the side of his head. He cursed silently and picked up the rock jutting out from the sand. He banged his head on this, he thought to himself and launched the rock as far as he could.
"Thanks a lot, Vash. Now I have to look out for you because I know you expect me to change! Gah, dang it all!" He threw up his hands skyward and started off to find some help. It was a darn good thing he was better with directions than his brother or else he would be in major trouble!
"Hey, Meryl, what do you think of this color?" Asked an always smiling Milly. Meryl rarely ever saw the younger, but taller partner frown.
Meryl glanced over her shoulder to check out the wallpaper Milly had decided upon; it was for their office at home. "It's nice and all, but brown and white really aren't what I had in mind. What made you pick that design anyway?"
Milly smiled. "Oh, well, I thought it might encourage me to get my work done faster if I stare at the benefits all day long. It's the colors of chocolate and vanilla pudding, you know."
The older insurance girl gave an exasperated groan. "I should have known! Forget it, Milly, I'm not going to work in a pudding-colored environment."
"Okay, if you don't like this one, you can go ahead and pick one out. There're so many samples to choose from..."
Meryl pounded her fists on the table. She was trying to concentrate! "Let's discuss this later, shall we?" She said through clenched teeth.
"My, you sure seem more agitated lately now that Mr. Vash is not here." Milly perceived.
Meryl's face turned a shade of pink. The lady was correct at that. Almost everything set her on edge it seemed. Where is the Stampede and is he safe? She muttered a slight apology and dropped the subject completely. Milly shrugged and returned to the wallpaper.
Bam! The front door flew off its hinges and a tall shadowy figure stood in the doorway. It startled Meryl to no end! Who would be barging in on them like this? It couldn't be Vash...could it?
Milly's face lit up as bright as ever. "Mr. Vash," she went to give him a hug, but a low growl stopped her in her tracks.
"Come near me and I swear I'll--"
"Who are you and why did you break our door like that? You could have knocked; we would have let you in!" Meryl pulled out her derringers and had them aimed at the man's head. She cocked her head as she noticed how much he resembled Vash.
"Why should I answer you, worthless human?" He stepped past Milly and walked toward the refrigerator. Meryl shot the fridge door.
"Be careful, or the next one goes through your head!" She shouted.
The man rolled his eyes and smirked. He ignored the warning and opened the door to get what he came for. Milly stood in his way to leave. "You sure look an awful lot like Mr. Vash the Stampede. Why is that?"
Meryl raised her eyebrows. Does she choose to be smart at times, or what was her deal? The mysterious man frowned and stared icily towards Milly. "Move out of my way before I crush you like the bug you are!"
Meryl lowered her weapons and perked up. "He isn't Vash, but he knows where he is. Don't you...Knives!"
Knives stopped and turned his attention to the black haired shortie. "Aren't you perceptive? What if I do know where my brother is? What's it to you?" The frown never left his face.
The woman blushed slightly, but couldn't come up with something intelligent to say. She didn't answer the question, but changed the subject. "What's the big idea taking our supplies like that? What's it for anyway?"
He looked down at the stuff in his hand: water and donuts. He had thought about taking the rest of the stuff, but all he wanted to do was get his brother to wake up.
A sudden thought struck Meryl. The reason Vash left in the first place was to fight Knives! If Knives was here and okay, then did that mean Vash was injured...or worse? "What did you do to Vash?" She demanded.
Milly seemed pretty clueless about the whole situation. She had dropped her guard and it made it thus easier for Knives to push her out of his way as he exited the house. "After him, Milly! He's going to lead us to Vash whether he likes it or not."
Milly could see the utter determination on Meryl's face and she narrowed her eyebrows likewise. "Right!"
They nearly flew out of the door and almost bumped into Knives. Meryl wasn't exactly sure how mean he was, but she thought it best to stay a nice distance from him. Knives threw a menacing glance over his shoulder to the two behind him. "You must be the two worthless insurance girls who follow my brother around. Great, I get all the darn good luck, don't I?" He grumbled.
"Mr. Knives, is Vash okay?" Milly dared to ask. Knives didn't answer her though. He figured it would be safer for them if he didn't speak. That way he wouldn't be tempted to shut them up.
They had been walking a tiring distance and even content-natured Milly was beginning to feel the effects of the heat without any water. Meryl spat off complaints about always being dehydrated. Knives plugged his ears.
Knives stopped abruptly when he saw a familiar rock lying in the sand. Meryl wasn't watching where she was going and bumped into the still figure. "Oof,"
The bump against his back irritated him to no end. He grabbed the rock and turned around, pulling her up to his face. "I've had just about enough of you! You dug your own grave by following me--"
"Hey, Mr. Knives, Meryl, I found him!" Milly cried happily. She stood about four yards away from the others next to Vash's still form.
Meryl slowly looked over to where he lay. Knives let go of the girl, dropping her to the ground. He ran over to his brother's side and Meryl followed quietly after him.
"Where's his coat and sunglasses?" A curious Milly queried.
"Who cares about that right now? What happened to his head!?" Meryl cried. The blood from the gash had almost completely dried up, but the swelling had not yet gone down.
Meryl checked for any sign of life from him. He was still breathing, and that was a start. She looked up at Knives' silent form. He sat there like he didn't give a dang about what was going on. Inside, however, Knives didn't know what to do from here. He brought food and water and now he was stuck. It was a good thing someone bothered to come along with him, actually; he would never admit it, though.
"What did you do to him? Why are you just sitting there?" Meryl interrupted his thoughts.
Knives stared blankly at her. It pretty much explained why he just sat there. "We have to get him to a hospital--"
"No!" He bellowed. "No humans!"
Milly wore a confused expression. "What about us, Mr. Knives?"
He swore, but decided to let it slide. She's mentally retarded! Just pretend she is one like you and there should be no problem...except, she is so stupid and doesn't have half a brain! Even if they both do, they don't seem to know how to use it.
"If you won't let us take him where he can be treated properly, then we have to at least wake him up. He needs food and water...pour water on him. Maybe it will get him up!" Meryl coaxed. Knives did just that. He would have used all the water, but Meryl stopped him before he could.
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Hey, sorry I took so long to upload this chapter!! Stupid computer wouldn't let me! But now I can and the next chapter should be coming shortly.
A quick thanks to the people who have reviewed so far: Thanks!
"OW! What the heck happened?" Knives sat up and swung his head from left to right in search of his brother. He had been rudely awakened by a sudden lurch and pull of gravity. He clenched his teeth together and stood up. Finally, he could stand without any help!
"Where are you, Vash? You better have a good reason for why you woke me up like that!" He yelled angrily, his blue eyes narrowing into small slits.
He only put one foot in front of the other when he slid down the sand and landed next to his unconscious brother who was currently sprawled out face down in the sand. His left eyebrow lifted in amusement. So he finally decided to get some sleep, did he?
Knives grinned wickedly and decided a rude awakening was in order. After all, it was his job to make Vash's life miserable! After yelling for a minute and throwing in a few kicks in the side for good measure, Knives gave up. The wiped out man would not wake up!
Knives turned him over on his back. A deep wound stuck out on the side of his head. He cursed silently and picked up the rock jutting out from the sand. He banged his head on this, he thought to himself and launched the rock as far as he could.
"Thanks a lot, Vash. Now I have to look out for you because I know you expect me to change! Gah, dang it all!" He threw up his hands skyward and started off to find some help. It was a darn good thing he was better with directions than his brother or else he would be in major trouble!
"Hey, Meryl, what do you think of this color?" Asked an always smiling Milly. Meryl rarely ever saw the younger, but taller partner frown.
Meryl glanced over her shoulder to check out the wallpaper Milly had decided upon; it was for their office at home. "It's nice and all, but brown and white really aren't what I had in mind. What made you pick that design anyway?"
Milly smiled. "Oh, well, I thought it might encourage me to get my work done faster if I stare at the benefits all day long. It's the colors of chocolate and vanilla pudding, you know."
The older insurance girl gave an exasperated groan. "I should have known! Forget it, Milly, I'm not going to work in a pudding-colored environment."
"Okay, if you don't like this one, you can go ahead and pick one out. There're so many samples to choose from..."
Meryl pounded her fists on the table. She was trying to concentrate! "Let's discuss this later, shall we?" She said through clenched teeth.
"My, you sure seem more agitated lately now that Mr. Vash is not here." Milly perceived.
Meryl's face turned a shade of pink. The lady was correct at that. Almost everything set her on edge it seemed. Where is the Stampede and is he safe? She muttered a slight apology and dropped the subject completely. Milly shrugged and returned to the wallpaper.
Bam! The front door flew off its hinges and a tall shadowy figure stood in the doorway. It startled Meryl to no end! Who would be barging in on them like this? It couldn't be Vash...could it?
Milly's face lit up as bright as ever. "Mr. Vash," she went to give him a hug, but a low growl stopped her in her tracks.
"Come near me and I swear I'll--"
"Who are you and why did you break our door like that? You could have knocked; we would have let you in!" Meryl pulled out her derringers and had them aimed at the man's head. She cocked her head as she noticed how much he resembled Vash.
"Why should I answer you, worthless human?" He stepped past Milly and walked toward the refrigerator. Meryl shot the fridge door.
"Be careful, or the next one goes through your head!" She shouted.
The man rolled his eyes and smirked. He ignored the warning and opened the door to get what he came for. Milly stood in his way to leave. "You sure look an awful lot like Mr. Vash the Stampede. Why is that?"
Meryl raised her eyebrows. Does she choose to be smart at times, or what was her deal? The mysterious man frowned and stared icily towards Milly. "Move out of my way before I crush you like the bug you are!"
Meryl lowered her weapons and perked up. "He isn't Vash, but he knows where he is. Don't you...Knives!"
Knives stopped and turned his attention to the black haired shortie. "Aren't you perceptive? What if I do know where my brother is? What's it to you?" The frown never left his face.
The woman blushed slightly, but couldn't come up with something intelligent to say. She didn't answer the question, but changed the subject. "What's the big idea taking our supplies like that? What's it for anyway?"
He looked down at the stuff in his hand: water and donuts. He had thought about taking the rest of the stuff, but all he wanted to do was get his brother to wake up.
A sudden thought struck Meryl. The reason Vash left in the first place was to fight Knives! If Knives was here and okay, then did that mean Vash was injured...or worse? "What did you do to Vash?" She demanded.
Milly seemed pretty clueless about the whole situation. She had dropped her guard and it made it thus easier for Knives to push her out of his way as he exited the house. "After him, Milly! He's going to lead us to Vash whether he likes it or not."
Milly could see the utter determination on Meryl's face and she narrowed her eyebrows likewise. "Right!"
They nearly flew out of the door and almost bumped into Knives. Meryl wasn't exactly sure how mean he was, but she thought it best to stay a nice distance from him. Knives threw a menacing glance over his shoulder to the two behind him. "You must be the two worthless insurance girls who follow my brother around. Great, I get all the darn good luck, don't I?" He grumbled.
"Mr. Knives, is Vash okay?" Milly dared to ask. Knives didn't answer her though. He figured it would be safer for them if he didn't speak. That way he wouldn't be tempted to shut them up.
They had been walking a tiring distance and even content-natured Milly was beginning to feel the effects of the heat without any water. Meryl spat off complaints about always being dehydrated. Knives plugged his ears.
Knives stopped abruptly when he saw a familiar rock lying in the sand. Meryl wasn't watching where she was going and bumped into the still figure. "Oof,"
The bump against his back irritated him to no end. He grabbed the rock and turned around, pulling her up to his face. "I've had just about enough of you! You dug your own grave by following me--"
"Hey, Mr. Knives, Meryl, I found him!" Milly cried happily. She stood about four yards away from the others next to Vash's still form.
Meryl slowly looked over to where he lay. Knives let go of the girl, dropping her to the ground. He ran over to his brother's side and Meryl followed quietly after him.
"Where's his coat and sunglasses?" A curious Milly queried.
"Who cares about that right now? What happened to his head!?" Meryl cried. The blood from the gash had almost completely dried up, but the swelling had not yet gone down.
Meryl checked for any sign of life from him. He was still breathing, and that was a start. She looked up at Knives' silent form. He sat there like he didn't give a dang about what was going on. Inside, however, Knives didn't know what to do from here. He brought food and water and now he was stuck. It was a good thing someone bothered to come along with him, actually; he would never admit it, though.
"What did you do to him? Why are you just sitting there?" Meryl interrupted his thoughts.
Knives stared blankly at her. It pretty much explained why he just sat there. "We have to get him to a hospital--"
"No!" He bellowed. "No humans!"
Milly wore a confused expression. "What about us, Mr. Knives?"
He swore, but decided to let it slide. She's mentally retarded! Just pretend she is one like you and there should be no problem...except, she is so stupid and doesn't have half a brain! Even if they both do, they don't seem to know how to use it.
"If you won't let us take him where he can be treated properly, then we have to at least wake him up. He needs food and water...pour water on him. Maybe it will get him up!" Meryl coaxed. Knives did just that. He would have used all the water, but Meryl stopped him before he could.
----------------------//////////////--- -------------------
Hey, sorry I took so long to upload this chapter!! Stupid computer wouldn't let me! But now I can and the next chapter should be coming shortly.
A quick thanks to the people who have reviewed so far: Thanks!