Disclaimer knows all, sees all.....
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A/N: I am sooooooooo sorry this took so long! My muse just up and left me for a week or two. But it has now returned, and hopefully will stick around this time. *crosses fingers*
Thanks to all my reviewers for sticking with me on this. And thanks to those of you that pointed out a couple of minor errors on my part.
Kagome - You're right, it is "Needle Noggin", not "noodle noggin." Don't know how I could have messed that up, but I did. Thanks for the correction.
Blu - I was sure that Vash had only been gone two years, but I could be wrong. I tried looking it up on the web, but couldn't find anything that said how long he was gone specifically. It might also be a difference between the dub and the original, depending on which you're talking about. Or it could just be that I don't pay enough attention, which has been known to happen. lol.
So here we go........
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Desert Sands
By: Batbabe
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Chapter 14
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Meryl didn't think it could get any worse.
Wherever he had taken them, it was cold. An interesting sensation on a desert planet. It felt like some sort of cave, though Meryl couldn't be sure since he had blindfolded her before they had reached their destination.
The petite woman could sense her partner lying beside her, still unconscious from where he had hit her. Meryl just hoped that Milly would be able to hold on long enough for Vash to get here. She didn't know how she knew that the gunman was coming, but she didn't doubt that he wasn't far behind. Besides, it wasn't like that psychopathic brother of his had been trying to get away.
Meryl didn't know what kind of game Knives was playing, she only hoped that Vash would be able to stop him. She didn't understand why the "killer of millions" was so vindictive towards the twin that he claimed to love above all else (except for himself, of course). It was an even greater mystery why Vash still had hope of redeeming him.
But that didn't matter right now. They just had to try and survive until their favorite outlaw came to the rescue. Meryl hated having to rely on someone else to save her, but she didn't have much choice at the moment. Her hands were tied behind her back and she was blindfolded, not exactly a great situation to be in. Knives had taken her cloak before they had even left the house, leaving her completely unarmed.
She was willing to bet that Milly was in the same predicament as she was. Though it wouldn't have mattered much if she wasn't. Milly was too far along in her pregnancy to be of any real use in a fight. Not that they would have been able to win a fight with him anyway. Vash barely defeated his brother the last time, and neither of the women were on the same level as the outlaw.
Meryl thought back to the events of that morning, how perfect her life had seemed to be becoming. She had come home and Vash had been there waiting for her. He had given her a beautiful gift and admitted that he felt something for her besides simple friendship. He hadn't said he loved her or anything like that, but it was a start. And he was going to kiss her too, if they hadn't been interrupted by an upset Milly.
The raven haired woman sighed slightly, trying not to feel a bit resentful at her friend. She knew that she'd be upset too if her dead lover showed up, very much alive. And of course, Vash had gone off to find the preacher, leaving the girls alone with his brother.
None of them had any idea that Knives was conscious, let alone able to walk and kidnap people. He had surprised them when they had gone up to go check on the noise. Milly had said something about Knives probably falling out of bed, but she had sounded so uncertain and nervous. And Meryl had known exactly how she felt.
He had quickly taken them outside and herded them across the desert. There was one point when Meryl had protested, tried to fight back, and he had grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground. The look in his eyes was the stuff of nightmares. It was obvious how much he enjoyed making them suffer, and it only terrified her more.
She had cried out when he had flung her in the air, and she landed with a hard thud. A sharp pain had shot through her body on impact and she briefly wondered how black her bruises would be in the morning. When she found the courage to look back at him, he was holding her locket in his hand, studying it.
"Ah, a gift from my dear brother." His voice was somewhat cheery as he spoke. "Tell me, did you enjoy him giving it to you?" He looked her in the eye as though she was some sort of specimen, a bug in a jar. "An inferior being such as you doesn't deserve his love. You're nothing but a waste of space, a disease that needs to be cured." His pleasure only got more perverse.
Meryl felt the anger growing inside her, and she couldn't contain it anymore. She didn't know how she found the courage to speak up, but she did.
"You're nothing but a psychopathic killer. You don't care about anyone but yourself, not even your brother who spent all his life trying to help you. And you don't even care about him. You're the waste of space, you bastard!"
The smile slowly left his face and was replaced with a cold glare. She instantly regretted speaking up, sure that those would be the last words she ever said. As he stepped towards her, thoughts of everything she wished she had done in her life entered her mind. She thought of her family, and her friends. She thought of her job and her dreams. And she thought of the gunman that she had never told she loved him.
When he was before her, he took her chin in his gloved hand and raised her head so that she looked him in the eye once more. That perverse smile again adorned his face and he chuckled lightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him toss her locket away, as though it was garbage. Then she was filled with the most agonizing pain she had ever felt in her entire life.
It felt like her skin was being burnt off and she was being stabbed repeatedly all over her body. It was so horrible that she wished she would just go ahead and die to be spared this pain. She knew she had to be screaming, though she couldn't hear it. She did hear Milly call out her name, but it sounded so far away that she wasn't sure if she had heard right.
His laughter filled her head and darkened her spirit. He was killing her, she knew it. She couldn't stand this anymore and almost welcomed him ending it. Then she thought of Vash, and how much she would miss him.
Suddenly, the pain subsided somewhat. Breath returned to her and she realized that she was lying in the sand, curled into a fetal position. She could feel the tears streaking down her face and briefly wondered how long she had been like this. Opening her eyes, she found the maniac staring down at her smugly. Then he had walked over to her crying partner and hit her across the temple. Milly fell to the ground, unconscious. The plant looked back to his other victim and Meryl found herself filled with fear again. That was the last thing she felt before she fainted with exhaustion.
And now they were here, in some sort of cave. Where he had found a cave in the desert, Meryl didn't know. But she did know that Vash was coming for them. She only hoped he wouldn't be too late.
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Please review!!
***********
A/N: I am sooooooooo sorry this took so long! My muse just up and left me for a week or two. But it has now returned, and hopefully will stick around this time. *crosses fingers*
Thanks to all my reviewers for sticking with me on this. And thanks to those of you that pointed out a couple of minor errors on my part.
Kagome - You're right, it is "Needle Noggin", not "noodle noggin." Don't know how I could have messed that up, but I did. Thanks for the correction.
Blu - I was sure that Vash had only been gone two years, but I could be wrong. I tried looking it up on the web, but couldn't find anything that said how long he was gone specifically. It might also be a difference between the dub and the original, depending on which you're talking about. Or it could just be that I don't pay enough attention, which has been known to happen. lol.
So here we go........
************
Desert Sands
By: Batbabe
************
Chapter 14
************
Meryl didn't think it could get any worse.
Wherever he had taken them, it was cold. An interesting sensation on a desert planet. It felt like some sort of cave, though Meryl couldn't be sure since he had blindfolded her before they had reached their destination.
The petite woman could sense her partner lying beside her, still unconscious from where he had hit her. Meryl just hoped that Milly would be able to hold on long enough for Vash to get here. She didn't know how she knew that the gunman was coming, but she didn't doubt that he wasn't far behind. Besides, it wasn't like that psychopathic brother of his had been trying to get away.
Meryl didn't know what kind of game Knives was playing, she only hoped that Vash would be able to stop him. She didn't understand why the "killer of millions" was so vindictive towards the twin that he claimed to love above all else (except for himself, of course). It was an even greater mystery why Vash still had hope of redeeming him.
But that didn't matter right now. They just had to try and survive until their favorite outlaw came to the rescue. Meryl hated having to rely on someone else to save her, but she didn't have much choice at the moment. Her hands were tied behind her back and she was blindfolded, not exactly a great situation to be in. Knives had taken her cloak before they had even left the house, leaving her completely unarmed.
She was willing to bet that Milly was in the same predicament as she was. Though it wouldn't have mattered much if she wasn't. Milly was too far along in her pregnancy to be of any real use in a fight. Not that they would have been able to win a fight with him anyway. Vash barely defeated his brother the last time, and neither of the women were on the same level as the outlaw.
Meryl thought back to the events of that morning, how perfect her life had seemed to be becoming. She had come home and Vash had been there waiting for her. He had given her a beautiful gift and admitted that he felt something for her besides simple friendship. He hadn't said he loved her or anything like that, but it was a start. And he was going to kiss her too, if they hadn't been interrupted by an upset Milly.
The raven haired woman sighed slightly, trying not to feel a bit resentful at her friend. She knew that she'd be upset too if her dead lover showed up, very much alive. And of course, Vash had gone off to find the preacher, leaving the girls alone with his brother.
None of them had any idea that Knives was conscious, let alone able to walk and kidnap people. He had surprised them when they had gone up to go check on the noise. Milly had said something about Knives probably falling out of bed, but she had sounded so uncertain and nervous. And Meryl had known exactly how she felt.
He had quickly taken them outside and herded them across the desert. There was one point when Meryl had protested, tried to fight back, and he had grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground. The look in his eyes was the stuff of nightmares. It was obvious how much he enjoyed making them suffer, and it only terrified her more.
She had cried out when he had flung her in the air, and she landed with a hard thud. A sharp pain had shot through her body on impact and she briefly wondered how black her bruises would be in the morning. When she found the courage to look back at him, he was holding her locket in his hand, studying it.
"Ah, a gift from my dear brother." His voice was somewhat cheery as he spoke. "Tell me, did you enjoy him giving it to you?" He looked her in the eye as though she was some sort of specimen, a bug in a jar. "An inferior being such as you doesn't deserve his love. You're nothing but a waste of space, a disease that needs to be cured." His pleasure only got more perverse.
Meryl felt the anger growing inside her, and she couldn't contain it anymore. She didn't know how she found the courage to speak up, but she did.
"You're nothing but a psychopathic killer. You don't care about anyone but yourself, not even your brother who spent all his life trying to help you. And you don't even care about him. You're the waste of space, you bastard!"
The smile slowly left his face and was replaced with a cold glare. She instantly regretted speaking up, sure that those would be the last words she ever said. As he stepped towards her, thoughts of everything she wished she had done in her life entered her mind. She thought of her family, and her friends. She thought of her job and her dreams. And she thought of the gunman that she had never told she loved him.
When he was before her, he took her chin in his gloved hand and raised her head so that she looked him in the eye once more. That perverse smile again adorned his face and he chuckled lightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him toss her locket away, as though it was garbage. Then she was filled with the most agonizing pain she had ever felt in her entire life.
It felt like her skin was being burnt off and she was being stabbed repeatedly all over her body. It was so horrible that she wished she would just go ahead and die to be spared this pain. She knew she had to be screaming, though she couldn't hear it. She did hear Milly call out her name, but it sounded so far away that she wasn't sure if she had heard right.
His laughter filled her head and darkened her spirit. He was killing her, she knew it. She couldn't stand this anymore and almost welcomed him ending it. Then she thought of Vash, and how much she would miss him.
Suddenly, the pain subsided somewhat. Breath returned to her and she realized that she was lying in the sand, curled into a fetal position. She could feel the tears streaking down her face and briefly wondered how long she had been like this. Opening her eyes, she found the maniac staring down at her smugly. Then he had walked over to her crying partner and hit her across the temple. Milly fell to the ground, unconscious. The plant looked back to his other victim and Meryl found herself filled with fear again. That was the last thing she felt before she fainted with exhaustion.
And now they were here, in some sort of cave. Where he had found a cave in the desert, Meryl didn't know. But she did know that Vash was coming for them. She only hoped he wouldn't be too late.
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Please review!!
