Author's Notes:
Redcliff: Thank you for the review it was very sweet
Aine(sp) Thanks for reviewing and much luck with your own wonderful Trigun fic.
Touch Me
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Stressed Words
Meryl slowly opened her eyes and stared at what appeared to be a sky of some sort. She slowly stood sat up and rubbed her head as he held her face in her hands. She closed her eyes and sighed in aggravation as began to remember why she on the ground. She jumped through the mirror and a gray light surrounded her and everything went black. She pushed herself to her knees and gazed at the ground in confusion when she saw what it was.
"What the hell?" Meryl mumbled as she ran her fingers through the ground.
She scooped up some of the ground and stared in amazement as she realized what it was. It wasn't physically possible that it was this way, but of course she wasn't in a physical realm. She scooped up more and smirked when she stood. The ground wasn't dirt, sand, or anything solid. It was a think gray smoke. She hesitantly took a step and watched as the smoke floated up to her ankle and settled again. If it held her she was satisfied that she could walk on it.
Meryl began to walk before she turned around to look for her mirror that she came through. She frowned when she saw nothing and just continued to walk and think. The main question in her mind was how she was going to find Legato. Meryl figured if she just kept walking she run into him, but by then Milly was sure to be dead. She had no clue on how time worked in this place. There could be a chance of there being no time, that would mean she would lose track of the outside world and not be back in time to see her friends.
"This really sucks," Meryl growled as she stretched her wings.
'Could this be my purgatory and not Legato's?' She thought as she continued to walk.
The possibilities were endless. She continued walking and stopped suddenly when she heard crying.
"Why would someone be crying in purgatory?" Meryl asked.
She took off flying in the direction of the sobs. She landed about twenty feet away so she wouldn't scare the person. Meryl walked closer to the person and saw that they were curled up in a ball and in the shadows of a rock. Her foot hit a loose rock and the person jumped up and gasped. She could tell the person was male by the shape of the face and body. Meryl just about growled in frustration when she saw the person move into the light.
Meryl stepped closer to what appeared to be a kid. He looked about six and was chained to the rock. Meryl walked over to the chain and was about to try and unlatch it when the boy started to cry.
"Don't take it off!" The boy yelled. Meryl looked over at the child and knew that what she was seeing was not coincidence. This child had dark blue hair and golden eyes for a reason. Meryl backed away from the chain and used her sleeve to wipe the stains of the smoke from his face. He flinched when she first went for his face.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Meryl assured.
"Then why are you trying to touch me?" the boy asked. She pulled her hand back in confusion.
"Just because I'm trying to clean you off doesn't mean I'm going to hurt you," she said.
"Who are you?" The boy asked.
"I'm Meryl," she said with a soft smile.
"My name's Legato," he said with his own smile.
Meryl continued to wipe his face down with her sleeve until she was satisfied she could she his normal skin color. She then walked over to the chain and touched where it connected to the rock. She quickly pulled back from it and walked back to Legato. She sat down next to him and figured she should talk to him.
"So, do you know why you're here?" Meryl asked hoping he knew he was dead.
"Yeah, I know I'm dead. I just wish I knew where I was," Legato said.
"How old are you?" Meryl asked.
"I'm about seven," he answered.
"Seven?" Meryl asked.
"Yeah, that's when part of my soul died," Legato said.
"What do you mean part?" Meryl asked.
"I remember meeting a very tall man and he took me away from my parents. All I can see is blood. The fear in my town was so thick I could touch it. He said that he could make everything go away because I was special," Legato explained.
"What was his name?"
"He said his name was Knives," Legato answered as he started to cry again. Meryl pulled him into a hug and rocked him as began to hum.
"He won't hurt you, you're safe," Meryl strongly assured as she hummed to him.
"He made me use my gift to hurt people, I don't want to hurt people," Legato cried.
"It's alright. We all do things we don't want to do, but you don't have to do it any more."
"What if he comes back?" Legato asked.
"He won't come back," Meryl assured as she hugged him.
"Will you protect me from him?" Legato asked. Meryl gave him a motherly smile as she stared into his fearful eyes.
"Yes, I'll protect you from him," Meryl promised as she thought about the ways she was going to punch Knives when she got back.
The chain flickered before it disappeared into tiny little specks of silver. Legato rubbed his ankle and smiled before he stood up. Meryl stood up and hugged the boy back before they started walking again. They walked for what seemed like an hour before she finally stopped with Legato. The boy yawned and she followed suite. Meryl could tell it was getting darker and didn't want to travel at night, even if there was a night.
"It doesn't get dark," Legato assured as he laid on the ground.
"I forgot you could read minds," Meryl said.
"I'm sorry," Legato said.
"It's nothing to be ashamed about," Meryl said.
'I wonder what my purgatory will look like,' Meryl thought.
"This is your purgatory," Legato said.
"What? I thought this was your purgatory?" Meryl asked.
"No, I was in my purgatory when I was switched into this area," Legato explained.
"So this is mine?" Meryl mumbled as she looked up into the sky.
"I guess," Legato said.
"I guess I deserve this," Meryl mumbled as she lay with her back facing Legato.
"Why? You don't deserve this area," Legato tried to comfort as he crawled next to Meryl.
"I do deserve this!" Meryl cried as she began to sob. "I just wish I could lay here and die."
"NO! Don't say things like that else bad stuff will happen," Legato panicked.
"My love doesn't love me and I'm a bossy bitch that complains," Meryl said.
"Why wouldn't your love, love you?" Legato asked in curiosity.
"I constantly hit him and tell him he's an idiot," Meryl said.
"I think he loves you because he can see your true side," Legato said.
Meryl just stayed on her side as she felt the smoke of her purgatory caress her face. She could hear Legato's panicked voice saying things as he tried to clear the smoke from her body. Each brush of his hand became more faint as darkness consumed her vision. His voice soon vanished and she could hear and see nothing.
"Meryl," a voice called out.
"I told you to leave her sleep," an angry voice called out.
"Please just him five more minutes," a smoother voice pleaded.
"Just make sure she doesn't strain herself," the angry voice said as it became more distant.
"Meryl if you can hear me say something," the voice softly said.
"Look her eyes are opening!" The smooth voice said as it giggled.
"Vash? Milly?" Meryl said in confusion as her vision became clearer.
"Oh Meryl, I thought you died," Vash said as he squeezed her hand and began to cry.
"What do you mean?" Meryl asked as she tried to sit up. She grunted in pain and fell back onto the bed as she gasped for air.
"Oh sempai don't push yourself. You were shot and lost a lot of blood," Milly explained.
"But why am I here?" Meryl asked.
"They were able to remove the bullet and save you," Vash said as he wiped his eyes.
"Where's Knives?" Meryl frantically asked.
"She doesn't remember," Milly whispered to Vash.
"Remember what?" Meryl demanded.
"Knives killed himself," Vash whispered.
"This isn't real, I'm just dreaming," Meryl whispered.
"I think she's delusional," Milly said.
Meryl calmed down enough to look at her surroundings. She noticed that Milly wasn't in her normal clothes. She looked over to Vash and looked over his face to see that everything was in place. When he took her hands Meryl was surprised and looked at his hands. She saw that both hands were real. She knew he had one fake arm; she pulled her hands away and jumped out of the bed. She ripped any IVs out and backed into a corner.
"I knew you weren't real," Meryl smugly said.
"She refuses to accept death," Vash said to Milly as his eyes changed to a glowing green.
"She still seeks to walk the path to her life," Milly said as her eyes glowed blue.
"Who are you?" Meryl asked.
"We are in terms you would call us council," they both said in unison.
"What do you want?" Meryl demanded.
"It is not what we want but what you want. You chosen to live over death and you will be given your body back," they answered.
"What has happened to Legato?" Meryl asked.
"He has moved on to the next world where he awaits judgment," they said.
"Will he be safe?" Meryl asked.
"That is not known."
"How will I be sent back?" Meryl asked.
"You are to talk to Wolfwood."
Meryl rubbed her temples and watched as everything faded. She was really getting sick of passing out. She passed out again and could only hope to be back home.
Wolfwood was in the bathroom listening to the water run. He knew he could give privacy, but why not reap the benefits of invisibility? He took one last drag on his cigarette before he threw it out the window. He eagerly turned towards the shower and watched as the fuzzy figure turned the water off. He growled when he heard a crash and knew that he had to go check on it. He flew out the door and his eyes widened in confusion when he saw Meryl passed out next to the mirror.
He cussed and then went over to her side. He picked her up and carried her to the couch where he laid her down. Wolfwood could see that she had gray smudges on her face. That's when he saw that her wings were gone. He turned her to her side and lifted up her shirt so he could see her back. There were two fresh scars going down her back. They had taken her wings and made her just a soul again. He heard her moan and quickly pulled down her shirt and stepped away.
"Wolfwood?" Meryl asked in confusion.
"I'm here," Wolfwood said.
"I'm home," she sighed in relief.
"How was purgatory?" Wolfwood asked.
"Fun. I saved Legato and earned my body back," Meryl said with a smile.
"Congratulations," Wolfwood said.
"How will I be sent back?" Meryl asked.
"I'll talk to Rem, but I knew you could do it so I planned ahead and planted the seed for you," Wolfwood said.
"What?" Meryl asked.
"There's a flower growing outside and you'll enter into it and grow inside of it since a human body takes nine months then eighteen years," Wolfwood said.
"Cool," Meryl said before she fell asleep.
