Uh…. Naoko is temporarily incapacitated…

-Sakura

Gagagagagaga…..

-Naoko

She deserved it…

-Kuri-chan

Swings at Kuri-chan and sends him flying. You deserved it, too. Turns back to the readers. Well, then, how are all of you? Can you believe it? Chapter 4!! Yay! Cackles and lightning flashes. We don't own Trigun.

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The ride to the dwelling of the Three Spirits was long and tiresome. Vash was only accompanied by a small battalion of a hundred or so soldiers to ensure his safety, something that he resented.

"Well, Vash," his uncle said, turning to look at him, "Are you all right with this?"

Vash shrugged. "Do I really have a choice?"

"No, not really," his uncle replied quietly.

Silence fell over the group and the only sound that could be heard was the clack of the horses' hooves on some pebbles on the forest floor.

"Uncle… how far do we have to go until we reach the home of the Three Spirits?" Vash asked after a period of time.

"It shouldn't be too much farther, sire," a random warrior replied.

"We're almost there," his uncle added. "It should be just beyond that line of trees." He indicated a thick grouping of trees a mile or two in front of them. The trees rose far above any of the other trees; which was most likely to keep flying intruders out.

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Meryl was sitting in front of a small computer in a corner of the library. Her search on the castle had been rewarding. She had found many stories about the castle; some she knew right away were made up. But some of the other ones had caught her curiosity. For instance, "miraculous babies," or "magical children" were always present in the myths. Sometimes there were two. However, there was a common thread between their appearance and the demise of the kingdom. What drove Meryl insane was that the end of the kingdom was never mentioned. It had as well as disappeared, leaving only the castle remaining.

"Hm…" Meryl said as she printed out a promising myth. "If I can find something at the castle, I'll be able to stretch the truth…" She grinned and gathered the still-warm sheets from the tray.

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"Welcome!" Millie exclaimed as Vash walked into the house.

"Hi…" Vash said cautiously as he looked around. The house was a mess, broken artifacts all over the place, and, to his horror, pieces of wings were strewn everywhere.

"Come back here, ya damn cat!" Wolfwood bellowed, running across the room. His wings were in tatters.

"Don't worry about them," Millie said cheerfully as Vash's uncle joined him and made a rude exclamation. "Our wings grow back."

"I…" Vash's uncle said.

"Would you like something to eat?" Millie asked as a large crash reverberated throughout the cottage.

Vash grinned widely. "I'm going to like it here," he said.

"That's wonderful!" Millie exclaimed and clasped her hands. "I hope you will like magic lessons, too."

"Magic lessons?" Vash asked as Millie made her way gracefully through the wreckage. "I'm to get magic lessons?"

"That's what I heard, my boy," his uncle replied. He indicated for Vash to follow Millie.

'If they had donuts here, I would be in heaven,' Vash thought.

Millie led them to a kitchen in the back of the house. This area was much cleaner than the previous room since the fighting spirits had obviously not touched it. She bade them to sit down at the cluttered table and set out a plate of donuts in front of them.

Vash's eyes widened.

Millie smiled. "Rem told me your favorite food." Her smile softened. "We want to make sure you don't get too homesick."

Vash, who had been reaching for a donut, paused and smiled back. "Thanks," he said.

Millie smiled happily. "It's the best we can do!"

The sound of a very angry cat filled the house. Millie's smile disappeared. "I'll be back," she said as she swept out of the room.

Vash and Sir Ryan looked at each other.

"You'll make it lad," Sir Ryan said and slapped Vash on the shoulder.

There was a loud explosion, and then the whole house fell silent. A few seconds later, a singed Wolfwood and Kuroneko walked into the kitchen, followed by a triumphant-looking Millie.

"Welcome to our humble abode," Wolfwood said sulkily.

Vash tried to hold his laughter back. "Thank you for your kind welcome."

Kuroneko jumped up onto the table and sat down, his eyes downcast and tufts of fur glowing slightly with a few embers. Millie reached over and brushed the live embers away and sat down herself.

"So, Vash, when would you like to begin your lessons?" Millie asked him.

Vash swallowed another donut and smiled at her. "Whenever you would be willing to teach me," he replied courteously and reached for another donut.

Millie laughed.

Wolfwood sat next to her and pushed Kuroneko off the table.

"NYAH!" the spirit responded and scratched his leg before he hit the ground.

Wolfwood flinched, but, with a glance at Millie, did not respond.

"Well, since Vash seems to be settling in here, I will return to the castle. Good luck, my boy," Sir Ryan said, patting Vash on the back and moving to leave.

"Goodbye, Uncle," Vash said and looked up from his meal.

Sir Ryan smiled and exited the house and signaled for the troops to leave.

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"I want to go!" Naoko exclaimed.

Meryl, Sakura, and Naoko were sitting on a couch in an apartment. It was richly decorated with plants and all sorts of oriental and Celtic objects.

"But, it's my assignment!" Meryl said. "I'm not saying that I don't want you to along, but-"

"You'll need protection," Sakura stated.

"From the boogey man!" Naoko added.

Meryl chuckled. "Just don't steal anything."

"From an old abandoned castle? I don't think so!" Naoko said. "All the good stuff has been taken already."

Sakura laughed as she got up. "Anyone want something to drink?"

Naoko hopped up and dashed into the kitchen. "Diet Coke!" She cried.

Meryl rolled her eyes. "I'll just have water." She stood up and walked into the kitchen with Sakura.

Naoko was sitting on the counter, sipping from a can of soda and opening a box of pop tarts.

"Those are for breakfast, Naoko!" Sakura cried.

Naoko stared at her as she slowly pulled out a pack.

"Fine," Sakura said.

Naoko opened the wrapping and bit into the pastry. "Cinnamon sugar goodness!" she said.

Meryl laughed and grabbed a pack. "When should we go?" she asked.

"We?" Sakura handed Meryl a glass of water.

"You can go." Meryl said.

"Yay!" Naoko cried. "We should go as soon as possible!"

"Well, we will have to wait a few days," Meryl said. "I have to put together some more information.

Naoko and Sakura glanced at each other.

Meryl glared at them. "I have to separate fact from myth!" she said.

"Alright." Naoko conceded. She stuffed the rest of her pop tart into her mouth.

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The next morning, Vash was sleeping soundly, until Kuroneko decided to sharpen his claws on the prince's stomach.

"OW!" Vash howled as Kuroneko dragged his paws down Vash's blanket.

"It's time to get up," Kuroneko said and kneaded the remains of the blanket.

"It's not even sunrise yet!" Vash whined.

"So?" Kuroneko sat and stared at Vash.

Vash glared back. "Why are you a cat, anyways?" he aside.

"I'm Millie's and Wolfwood's love child."

There was silence.

"Are you r-"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Kuroneko jumped off the bed and stretched. "See you in fifteen minutes," he said.

Ten minutes later, Vash was dressed and ready to find out the secret behind Kuroneko's form. However, when he asked Millie about it, she simply sent him out into the woods with the spirit in question to find a stick. The two found a rowan stick of two feet by three inches and brought it back to the house. Millie then dumped the stick into a pot of water and hurried away to take care of a family of sick badgers.

"Why are we soaking the stick?" Vash finally asked Kuroneko after staring at the pot for some time.

"It's to beat you with, young prince," the spirit replied and curled up in a warm sunbeam.

Vash narrowed his eyes at the black fur ball now asleep. 'Why won't they tell me anything?' he thought. 'I am here to learn, and yet the only thing I have learned so far is how to soak a stick.'

Wolfwood entered the room and saw both Vash and Kuroneko and quickly left the room. Millie had told him that Vash was curious about Kuroneko and he did not want to deal with the young prince's questions.

Vash was oblivious to Wolfwood's entrance and exit. He sighed and sat down on the ground, leaning against the wall and closed his eyes. An image flashed across his memory, a baby boy taken from a crib. Vash's eyes popped open. Was that this Knives person?

To Vash's surprise, Kuroneko was sitting in front of him. "Bad dream?" the cat asked.

"I didn't fall asleep," Vash said.

If it was possible, the cat appeared to raise an eyebrow.

"Ugh," Vash said. "Maybe I did. I'm tired enough to!"

"Well, tired or not, it's time for your beating."

"…Wha-"

"Don't lie to him like that!" Millie swooped in, picked up Kuroneko, and sat the cat on the table.

Kuroneko bristled. "You KNOW I don't like that!"

"Well, you deserve it," Millie said. She turned to Vash. "We're making a wand for you, dear. Not beating you with it."

"Oh," Vash said, trying not to let his relief be too evident.

Millie pulled the wood out of the water. It looked slimy and Vash recoiled when the Spirit handed the stick to him. "It's not going to bite you," she said as she thrust the sick into his hands.

"What am I going to do with it?" Vash asked.

"Find something to put inside of it, of course!" Millie exclaimed. (A/N: Harry Potter!!)

"What is that going to be?" Vash asked.

Millie paused. "Well," she said. "I guess it depends on what you want your wand to do. If you choose something like mermaid hair, it will have water powers."

"Oh," Vash said. He looked at the wand-to-be. "I…. Don't have to get this item… do I?"

"No," Wolfwood said. He was standing at the window, a grin on his face. "Kuri-chan-"

The cat hissed.

"-And I," Wolfwood continued, ignoring the irate spirit, "Wanted to send you out, but Millie reminded us as to why you are here."

"Do I still get to choose what I want in it?" Vash asked, still holding the wand between his thumb and index finger.

"You are not the one that has to retrieve it, so I say he should not have a choice," Kuroneko replied, extending his claws and closing them again.

"That's not fair!" Vash cried.

"It is quite fair, young prince. We have to find it, and it would be easiest to pick something that is easily acquired," Wolfwood said.

"So I get no say in what I get?" Vash responded, his face turning slightly red with frustration.

"There is one way you can have a say," Millie said quietly.

"How?" Vash asked, turning to her.

"Fight Wolfwood, but I do not recommend it. Fighting is not a good thing. Hm…. I wonder if we have any more pudding… I might need to make some more," Millie said and walked from the room towards the kitchen.

The room was silent as Kuroneko, Vash, and Wolfwood stared after her.

"I challenge you," Vash said after a while.

"Excuse me?" Wolfwood asked.

"I will fight you to choose the core of my wand," Vash repeated.

"Really now…. All right. I have no choice then, since you challenged…" Wolfwood nodded.

Vash turned to Wolfwood with a look of faint surprise on his face. Kuroneko made a small, outraged sound and jumped off of the table.

"Wake me when the boy looses," Kuroneko said and curled up by the fire and went to sleep.

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"Is it just me, or is it really cold tonight?" Sakura asked. She was wearing a light brown, brushed leather jacket with a dark red scarf around her neck. She was rubbing her arms vigorously.

Meryl laughed. She was dressed in a black coat with a black scarf on. "You two are the ones that wanted to come along."

Naoko stood with her hands in her tan pea coat, her white scarf wrapped around her neck, covering her mouth and nose. She had a green and yellow fuzzy had on her head that was pulled down over her ears. "Very funny, Meryl," she said, her voice muffled.

"Anyways, let's get going," Sakura said. "Before it gets any colder!"

"Good luck trying to prevent that," Naoko said. "It's supposed to freeze tonight!"

Sakura groaned and Meryl laughed again. "Are you sure that you still want to come?"

"Hell yeah!" Naoko said. "It's going to be fun!"

Meryl smiled. "Alright, let's go!"

The three women walked to a small, red Honda Accord Hybrid, Naoko's car. They got into it, Naoko at the driver's seat, Meryl next to her, and Sakura behind Naoko.

"What say we stop and get coffee on the way there?" Naoko asked ash she started up her car and switched the power to electric. "It would keep us warm."

"You just want an excuse to get some!" Sakura said.

"You are the only one here who doesn't like coffee," Meryl returned.

Sakura gave a miffed "humph!" as Naoko cackled and headed towards their favorite coffee shop, a local café named "Brazil." After Naoko got a double shot cappuccino and Meryl a mocha, Sakura decided to get hot chocolate.

"It wasn't all that back to stop, now was it?" Meryl teased as they got back into the car.

"Maybe," Sakura said.

Naoko and Meryl chuckled as Naoko started up the car and drove off.

"How long is the drive?" Sakura asked.

"Uhm…" Meryl pulled out a map and looked at it. "It looks like fifteen minutes," she said. "But, the turnoff is a dirt road."

Naoko groaned. "Why couldn't we do this during the day?" she asked.

"I have to get the right type of moos," Meryl exclaimed. "It helps me write!"

"Mood schmood," Sakura retorted. "Naoko would run around in a sheet to help you. Naked."

"Heh," Meryl said, knowing that Naoko would. "Night is just better.

"Yeah, we'll see what you say when we actually get to the castle."

"We'll see," Meryl echoed.

Fortunately for Meryl, Sakura's sharp eyes spotted the turnoff and they were able to make it to the castle. Naoko pulled into an empty dirt area in front of the castle, since there was no parking lot. The castle itself was completely dark; no one had ever bothered to try to open it for sightseeing.

Meryl pulled two police flashlights from a duffel bag in the trunk, and slipped a few derringers into her pocket. "Ready to go?" She asked and handed one flashlight to Naoko, the other to Sakura.

"Ready!" Naoko twirled the flashlight expertly.

"Me too!" Sakura said.

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GASP! Why might Meryl need guns?

-Naoko

Because she's awesome!

-Sakura

That's because she's short!

-Naoko

And so are you.

-Sakura

Damn straight!

-Naoko

Shut up.

-Kuri-chan

You're so abusive!

-Naoko

It's the only solace I get.

-Kuri-chan