Blu: well, sorry for the evil, EVIL cliffy, but I was already farther along then I planned
TK: YAY! No one hit me with sh-is beaned in the head by a sketchers-
Blu: -is missing her left shoe- SHUT UP! I have to thank the reviewers!
Black Betty- HEY! You beat Hustino! Way to go! Anywho, here is the next chapter, so that damn cliffy is over
Hustino- PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! –hides from the shoes- HERES THE CHAPTER! SPARE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Otaku Sarri- yay! Another reader! Either that or my memory is getting the better of me XD Anywho, if you want to know if Wolfwood is gonna ever get back to normal, you'll just have to keep reading this, wont you? As for them having a kid…
Tongarisangel- yupp! Legato sucks ass. I hate him man! HE KILLED MY WOLFIE! Well, enough about crying psycho's with poor depth perception, thankies for the review, although I hate to say your question on his demon might take awhile to be answered.
Ryoko Kashino- I'm really glad you like this! WM ROCKS! LONG LIVE THEM!! (TK: BLU-CHAN!) oh right XD Thankies for the review! I will try my best!
Ali10- I'm glad TK didn't kick anyone off of the b-
TK: WE DON'T HAVE A BAND WAGON DAMMIT!
Blu: …testy testy. Anywho, thankies for the review!
Blu: I believe that's everyone!
Read, Review, and Wait, the three things that happen on this site.
Chapter Nine: Vastly Overrated
"VASH! GET UP!"
Opening his left eye, Vash the Stampede looks up at me still half asleep. "What is it, Wolfwood?" he asks, his voice braking into a long yawn. Sitting up, he peers out the window. He turns back to me, eyebrows cocked. "It has to be like one in the morning," he mumbles, his hand rubbing the feeling back into his half-asleep face, either that or getting the sleep out of his eyes.
"Legato knows I'm here," I say, cutting to the case. Vash's eyes shoot open. He turns to me, mouth flapping open. "Yeah, I don't know how, but he does…And he's close," I add, looking him in the eyes.
"How do you know that?"
"He spoke to me through Millie," I reply. "He only has control of a 100 ile radius…it pays to work for guys like him at some point." Once again his eyes widen to twice their normal size. Turning around, I head for the door. "Get the kids up, I'll get Meryl and Millie." Though I can't see him, I know he nodded at my command.
I just hope it's not too late…
Strapping his boots into place, Vash stands up off of his bed and heads for the door. "Some peace and quiet…that's all I ask," he mumbles under his breath as he swings the bag propped by the exit over his shoulder. "Just a little home time…jeez." He closes the door and heads down the dark hall. "It has to be like one a-friggin-m, for Pete Sake's," he whines, placing his golden sunglasses on the brim of his nose. "This friggin sucks." Coming to the end of the hallway, he stops infront of the children's room. "Ok, kiddies!" he says, grabbing the door knob and pushing the door open. "It's time to get up and…"
"Oh God…"
"I don't understand! How could he know you're here?"
"Like hell I know," I say, leaning on Meryl's door. She lets out a sigh.
"What ever happened to some peace and quiet!?" she yells to no one in particular. Millie and I stare blankly. "This is all yours and Vash's fault, you know. You two can't stay out of trouble long enough for Millie and I to rest!"
"I'm sorry we are so reckless, miss perfect," I snap. "You aren't really too pure when it comes to staying out of said trouble."
"What the hell are you talking about?! All we do is save your asses!"
"Nicholas! Meryl! KNOCK IT OFF!"
We both spin around to look at Millie, who is blushing extremely. "Umm…I mean…this is no time to be arguing! We need to get going so…yeah." Nice recovery, Big Girl.
"Yeah, you're right, Millie," I say, swinging my bag over my shoulder. "We should be heading out." Meryl lets out a huff of frustration, but finishes strapping her typewriter to that little pink travel bag of her's all the same. Heading single file out the door, all three of us head for the stairs. Looking down the hall, I can make out the back of our Humanoid friend standing in the dark doorway of the kid's room. "Yo, Needle Noggin'!" I call, stopping. The two insurance agents pause as well. "What the hell are you doing? We need to go!" He doesn't move. He just stands there in the doorway. "What's the big idea, Vash?!" Walking over to him, I can make out his shoulders quivering against the black back drop. Why the hell is he crying? Millie and Meryl follow suit and soon all four of us are standing at the doorway. "What the hell is your problem, Vash?" I ask, turning to him. The gunman raises his hand, pointing into the darkness. Peering in, I let my eyes adjust.
Millie screams as Meryl buries her head into Vash's chest. I let a gasp of confusion and disgust.
Now I know why Vash was crying…
There, littering the floor of the room, are the mangled corpses of the children we took in from that deserted city. Pools of blood have formed around their little bodies, most face down in them. Sticking out of every carcass are millions of needles, most imbedded in the skull. Millie lets out another scream of horror. I guess she reopened her eyes. It's dark, but I can make out some of the more gruesome cadavers. Some are missing their heads, others are missing limps or even complete halves. I step out of the door's light to let it streak across the blood splattered walls. Running my fingers along said wall, I can feel the deep red liquid beneath them. It was a slaughter.
"There wasn't any fight," I say, calmer then I should be. "I knew he knew…" Whipping my hand off on a clean part of the wall, I say a small prayer under my breath. "Dear Lord…"
Is this the demon's work?
Why now? Why them?
Damn you, Legato…
It's finally light out. We've been driving for hours, and if you ask me darkness and silence aren't the best combination in the world. In fact, it's the worst. I hate silence. It's damn annoying.
But I don't know what to say.
But who said that's ever stopped me before?
"So…what do we do now?" I ask, breaking the deadly silence. Vash just buries himself farther into his shades, Meryl leans on the window like I never said anything, and Millie tries to keep from crying again. "We can't just run and think that will end it all! What do we do next?"
"Not now, Wolfwood," Vash says quietly.
"Then when?!" I ask, raising my voice. "You have to have a plan! We have to have a plan! That demon is coming and-"
"NOT NOW!" Meryl snaps, turning around in her seat. I sit there, dazed. Her glare relaxes. "Just…not now…"
For the rest of the ride, I hold my tongue. It's as hard as hell…but they're right…now is not the time.
"Nick…are you ok?"
I turn to Millie. "Yeah, I'm fine," I say, trying to force a smile. "I just, yah know, gotta go."
"Go where?" she asks innocently.
"…To the bathroom," I reply, trying not to snap the answer. Sometimes Millie worries me. …DAMMIT I HAVE TO GO! Luckily, we've finally made it to a town. That means hotel, which means public toilets!
The second Vash pulls his keys out of the ignition, I rip myself from my seat belt (which Millie forced me into in the first place,) and bolt out the car door. "Wolfwood!" Meryl calls, opening her own door. "Where the hell are you going?"
Stopping just long enough to answer, I scream out my response. "Bathroom!" I yell back just before scrambling into the hotel we stopped at.
"He was acting kinda fidgety…"
Vash the Stampede, Meryl Stryfe, and Millie Thompson trudge half asleep into the hotel in front of them. As they enter, the bellhop behind the desk smiles.
"Was that young boy with you, miss?" he asks, his sweet smile directed to Millie.
"You mean Nicky?" Millie replies. The bellhop nods. "Yep, he's mine," she chirps, suddenly brightening, which throws the 60 billion bounty head beside her for a loop.
"You must be proud," the bellhop says, this time turning his grin on Vash, who is even more confused.
"Umm…he's…" the Humanoid Typhoon stammers, but before he can correct the smiling man behind the front desk, Millie hoops an arm around his waist.
"Yup! We sure are," Big Girl replies, giggling slightly. "Aren't we, honey?" she asks the now VERY confused outlaw. After a jab in the back from Meryl, everything finally clicks in the outlaws head, and he quickly takes a quick step closer to the tall insurance girl and wraps an arm around her as well.
"Sure are, dear," he blurts out, laughing nervously.
STILL smiling, the bellhop looks down at Meryl. "So you get to carry the bags today, huh?" he asks as if speaking to a small child instead of a 26 year old woman.
Taking a brief look down at the two suit cases in her hands, her's and Millie's, the smaller insurance girl turns back to the man behind the desk. "Yes, sir," she replies slowly, trying to keep her temper under control, "I get to carry the bags." Shocked that such a deep voice could come from such a short person, the bellhop finally looses his smile. Completely pissed, Meryl storms away, hoping to find some coffee.
"Awe, don't be like that, Sempai!" Millie calls, running after her partner.
"Umm…hey!" Vash, left stranded at the front desk, yells after them. "I don't have the money for our rooms! GUYS?!"
Blu: well… there's the tragedy for you…and there's more to come. Sorry I'm so sucky when it comes to describing something that…violent…but I'm trying!
TK: -still has a bloody nose- damn Hustino and his random shoes
Hustino: YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME, SWORD BOY! I HAVE A CLOSET STASH RIGHT HERE IN MY ROOM, YEAH, SEE, YEAH!
Wolfwood: Another day begins in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Nothing too special, nothing too plain. Walking down the street, I loop my hand into Millie's, making her smile. Come home and eat a simple lunch, nothing too fancy, just some sandwiches. When the moons rise, just hop into bed and wait for night to end and another day together to begin. Some how I feel uneasy about this life, though. Is it because it's from the eyes of a child? Is it because that is what I'm seen as? Is it ok for us to be living such a entangled lie?
Next Chapter: Flipside