I know I'm the authoress and all, but I just love writing this story.
I don't own Trigun
DeepCrimsonOtaku – The idea of a Marozi tribe is completely my own idea, I did base it off wolf packs and how people structure each other in the world
Hotaru means Firefly
Miki means Flower stalk
Never Say Good Bye"Talking"
'Thinking'
Dream or Flashback
Stressed Word
Tension was in the air; it was stalking two people in kitchen, while it left its brother confusion, gnaw at the other's mind. The only female at the table had her hands squeezing the jeans that she wore. Her knuckles turned white as she frowned and tried to steady her breath. The confused male stared at the other male's figure as he shakily took out another cigarette. He carefully lit up and took a deep drag on it. The confused male growled and decided to open his mouth before it was too late.
"Is there something I don't know?" Vash asked.
Milly looked up as if she forgot the reason they were all here. Wolfwood put out his cigarette and chuckled as he looked at Vash.
"That's putting it lightly," Wolfwood said.
"What am I putting lightly?" Vash uneasily asked.
"It's about Meryl," Milly softly said.
"It's all about short girl," Wolfwood dryly said.
"What?" Vash demanded.
"She's gone through some ... slight changes," Milly hesitantly said.
"What changes? Are they deadly?" Vash worriedly asked.
"She's not exactly human, and it's not exactly deadly," Milly said.
When Wolfwood saw Vash's confused face he decided it was time to elaborate.
"Do you believe in Werecats?" Wolfwood asked.
Knives stared at the plant and wondered why it never bothered to escape its prison. He heard the soft steps of Meryl come towards him. He didn't make an effort to look behind himself. He did look out of the corner of his eye when she stood right next to him.
"It's beautiful," Meryl whispered as she stared at the glowing plant. Knives snorted at her comment.
"Would you be saying that if it was you imprisoned?" Knives asked.
Meryl remained speechless for a few moments before she sighed.
"How do you know that it's truly a prison?" Meryl asked back.
"I know because the butterfly must be free, while the spider is crushed!" Knives growled.
"It makes me miserable to know you're in that much pain," Meryl said. Knives snapped to her direction and shocked her until she fell.
"Do not offer me pity again!" He warned before he walked towards the plant.
Meryl just sighed and walked after him. He stopped just outside of the plant and stood near the wall out of the securities sight. When he looked of toward Meryl, he saw that she was already in her other shape. She sat at his feet and stared up at him. He looked into her eyes and expected to see nothing but her primitive side. He was startled when he saw that she was fully in control of her animal form. Her tail swished in the sand leaving pendulum marks. He could see agitation in her eyes and could tell she was tense.
"Take out security and make sure that all humans are disposed of," Knives ordered.
Meryl growled and laid her ears flat on top of her head when she heard the word disposed.
'Do what you will to get the humans out of the way,' Knives said as he stared into her eyes.
'I will not kill for your gain,' Meryl thought back to him.
Meryl walked around towards the back of the plant and found a door. She shifted into her halfway form. She kneeled in the sand and used her claw to pick at the lock. When she heard a click, she lightly pushed open the door and went back to her cat form. She looked into the hallways, saw that there were no lights, and smirked knowing she had perfect night vision. Meryl listened and found that she could smell coffee. She ran off in the direction of the smell. When she got closer, she heard three different breathing patterns.
She hissed into the darkness and could hear one of the guards asking if the could hear that.
"I'm going to check it out," one man said as he opened the door and stepped out. Meryl ducked down a hallway left her tail in the path of the guard. She meowed.
"Here kitty, kitty, kitty," the guard called.
"Found you," the guard said as he saw the tail.
He reached down and pulled the tail. Meryl growled at him and transformed into her halfway shape again.
"Don't touch the tail," She growled out at him. The guard dropped his flashlight and jumped back.
Vash had just finished laughing and finally looked up at Wolfwood and Milly's frowning face. He could now tell that this was no laughing matter.
"What is it with all this Werecat crap?" Vas asked.
"It's not crap Mr. Vash," Milly angrily said.
"Remember that guy Meryl went out with?" Wolfwood asked.
"Yeah? What about him?" Vash quickly asked.
"Jesse passed the werecat curse down to Meryl," Wolfwood said.
"What?" Vash asked in a deadpan voice.
"Meryl said that she had the spirit of the Marozi and that Jesse was actually her father," Milly explained as she twisted her jacket in her hands.
"Meryl has three shapes that we know about," Wolfwood said.
"Why didn't she tell me about this?" Vash demanded to know.
"She was afraid of your reaction," Milly truthfully said.
Vash looked down in shame when he realized he gave her the reaction that she expected to get. He now understood why she reacted so strongly.
"She also allowed herself to be cursed because she found out it would make her age slower," Milly said.
Vash shook his head refusing to believe what Milly was saying.
"She did it for you," Wolfwood said.
"What are you?" He asked with a horrified look in his eyes.
"A monster," she whispered as backhanded him down the hallway.
She watched his body land with a thud in the hallway and started to walk away towards the other guards. She could still his breathing, but he was unconscious. As she walked away, she had a new question in her mind. Why did her inner beast crave the challenge of a fight?
She sniffed the air and began to follow the scent of the other two humans. She smiled as she lightly trailed her claws on the door. Everything froze inside the room and she purred when their fear peaked. She threw open the door causing both guards two point their guns at her. She could see the fear in their eyes and she smiled, flashing a fang for show.
"It's not nice to point," Meryl purred.
Gunfire went off and echoed through the darkened halls. She ducked and charged one guard. Her jaws crushed the gun and she used her tail to strangle the man into unconsciousness. The room's lights went out and the guards fired his gun into the darkness. It eventually clicked until he threw it and ran. Meryl raced after him and slammed him into the floor. He passed out from fear and she transformed into her human self.
'It's safe to come in now,' Meryl thought towards Knives.
'Took you long enough,' he replied with a scowled. Meryl growled and went towards the plant's chambers.
Vash was still in shock from the confession Milly and Nick just made. He couldn't believe that she would throw away her humanity for him. He didn't know what to do, so he sat there in silence.
"Say something," Wolfwood growled.
"I don't know what," Vash confessed.
Wolfwood was about to yell when he heard frantic growls and roars from outside. They ran outside and Milly gasped and went to run towards the smaller male Marozi. Wolfwood held her back. Vash drew his gun and shot at the ground in between them causing them separate and hiss. The smaller male walked over to Milly and transformed into Rei. Vash's mouth was open in shock.
"What's going on?" Wolfwood asked. Rei growled at the other male Marozi.
"He wants Meryl to come with him to the land of the clans," Rei said.
"Why?" Milly asked as she looked over at the transforming Marozi.
"The elders wish to speak to her," the older one said.
"Just who in the hell are you?" Wolfwood asked.
"I am Hotaru," the male Marozi answered.
"He's also the elders messenger," Rei replied as he stared into the boys orange eyes. His blood red hair blew in the wind as he shrugged his shoulders.
"What do they need with her?" Vash asked as he looked into Hotaru's eyes.
"They need to introduce her to the clan," Hotaru said as if it explained everything.
"It's like a family reunion, Mr. Vash," Milly excitedly said.
"Yes, and now we must get going," Hotaru said.
"She's not here," Vash whispered.
"Where is she?" Hotaru asked.
"We don't know," Wolfwood confessed.
"I'll go find her," Vash said as he stood up.
"I'll go with you," Hotaru said. Before Vash could argue, he was already transformed. Hotaru growled and Rei nodded his head in understanding.
"We have to go to the land of the clans," Rei said.
"Milly and I can take my bike and you can ..."
"I'll run," Rei said as he started to undress.
"Vash," Rei said before he transformed, "Hotaru said he'll carry you."
Vash cautiously walked over to the huge Marozi and stared him in the eyes. The Marozi leaned down and Vash got on it like he would a horse. He held onto the little mane as they started to run towards Meryl.
Rei walked over to Wolfwood in his cat form and dropped his clothes at his feet. He then sat down on the ground. Milly played with the cats ears before she got a bag for any extra clothes. Wolfwood then came out with the bike and started it. Milly held onto his waist and they followed Rei through the desert.
"How do you know this will work?" Meryl asked as she looked into the bulb. Knives growled at her before he went back to work. Meryl pressed her forehead against the glass and heard a soft humming vibrate into her mind.
"She's singing," Meryl said with amazement as she listened.
"I want you to pull the green wires when I say so," Knives said as he glanced at the naked Meryl.
Meryl nodded with a frown and walked over to the wires. She picked out all of the green wires and held them in her fist. Knives then walked over to where the containment door was and went inside the bulb. He held his hands out in front of himself and nodded to Meryl to pull the wires. The entire plant shut down and Knives focused his energy into his sister. A small tan hand reached out from the energy and grasped onto Knives wrist. Meryl could only watch in amazement as the female plant pulled herself out of the energy.
She fell into Knives arms and long white hair hung over the left arm. Meryl ran over to the newest member of the group and watched as the small woman opened her eyes. Meryl was shocked to find that her eyes were a grass green. The woman smiled and Knives set her on her own feet she looked at Meryl.
"I know you," she whispered. Meryl was shocked to find the soft voice sounded familiar.
"Miki?" Meryl asked.
"Remember when you came here," she whispered.
"I got separated from my brother," Meryl said. Knives looked at the scene in annoyance.
"I helped you find your brother," Miki said.
"You talked in my mind and told me where to find him," Meryl said.
Miki nodded her head and hugged Meryl.
'How can my sister be just like Vash? How can she care for humans?' Knives wondered.
"You can borrow my clothes," Meryl said as she stepped back and sniffed the air. Miki smiled and turned around when she heard footsteps.
"It's time to play, kitty," a voice maliciously whispered.
"Who's there?" Knives asked as he watched the person walked towards them. Meryl stiffened and told Miki to stay behind her.
"Don't you want to play?" The feminine voice dryly asked.
"It's another werecat," Meryl said.
"I can see them in the distance," Vash said as he shielded his eyes from the blowing sand.
The cat growled in his thought as a sign of understanding. Vash squinted and could see another female in the group. He then caught movement and saw what looked like a walking cat. He drew his gun and prepared to fire at the stranger. He could sense evil radiating off its skin.