The Disclaimer shall never be denied.....
A/N: Sorry this didn't come sooner. I would have had it up Friday night had it not been for a serious case of writer's block and my roommate's inconsiderateness. I'd explain, but that would just make me mad all over again. So I'll just finish here by saying: R/R!
Desert Sands
By: Batbabe
Chapter 15
/Not much farther now..../
Vash had stopped wondering how exactly he knew where to go a long time ago. The only thing that mattered was getting to the girls in time. And time was steadily running out.
He thumbed the locket resting in the pocket of his coat. There was no mistaking, it was the one that he had given Meryl just that morning. He knew that she would have never left it just lying in the sand voluntarily. He only hoped that he would get the chance to give it back to her.
At least the odds were more in his favor this time. With the resurrected preacher by his side, his brother's attention would be divided and they would have a better chance to subdue him. Or at least he hoped it would be like that. So much had happened today, he wasn't entirely certain what would come next.
Once Vash had explained the significance of the object he had found, the man in black had become substantially more irritated. If the gunman were to give a name to his friend's appearance, he'd go with "nervous." Which was strange, considering he had never seen Wolfwood truly nervous before. It made him uneasy just to see it.
He needed to put those thoughts aside and concentrate on the job at hand. They were getting closer and they would soon have to face the psychotic plant. Vash wasn't sure how he should feel about this. He was more than angry about what his brother had done, he was frightened over what might have happened to the girls, and he was unsure of how to properly deal with his twin. There was no way he could kill him, that just wasn't in his nature, but he couldn't exactly just let him go either.
"What do we do when we find them?" The preacher finally broke the silence, almost as if reading his mind. Vash could only answer honestly.
"I don't know." A loud sigh came from the man at his side.
"Well, I know you won't kill him, but if he's touched even one hair on Milly's head, I'll rip him apart with my bear hands..." He snarled slightly. Vash stopped in his tracks, not bothering to look at the other man.
"Do what you feel you have to."
He began walking again, having said what he needed to say. Wolfwood stood there stunned for a few brief seconds before striding back to the blonde's side. Neither spoke again until they came to an up crop of rock and bed stone.
"We're here." Vash announced, unnecessarily.
Both men could still make out the tracks in the sand before the rock. There was only one set of foot prints, but there were two other tracks. It looked like he had literally dragged both of the women most of the way here. Vash couldn't help the feeling of pride that shoot through him at the thought of Meryl not giving up and letting herself be taken.
The tracks pointed in the direction of what appeared to be the entrance of a cave.
"At least the bastard's got Milly out of the sun." Wolfwood muttered beside him, his face a picture of pure determination and resolution.
"Hold on short girl...." The gunman's whispered prayer was lost in the wind.
Determined, he took his gun, the one crafted for him by his brother, out of its holster. Beside him, he heard the preacher pulling two guns from his jacket. For a brief moment, Vash wished he had brought the cross punisher, just for the extra fire power.
Both men silently made their way to the entrance of the cave before them. There was no sound coming from the interior of the cave, and neither man thought that was a good sign.
Upon entering, they could see a path laid out for them. There were several small torches lining the walls, obviously leading them in the direction in which they would find Knives. It could just be a trap, of course, but Vash knew that his brother really wanted to face him. He wanted to see Vash suffer, see the pain on his face.
His family was just so loving.
As if by some unspoken agreement, Vash took the lead while Wolfwood covered his back. The man in red removed his sunglasses, vision improving instantly in the dim light. He nestled them away in his pocket, beside the oval locket.
It took several minutes to reach the large opening at the end of the line of torches. It was a large "room" with a deep casum at one side and a small pool of water at the other. There were more torches along the walls near the ceiling, providing a good deal of illumination. Obviously a great deal of work had been put into this trap.
Vash's eyes were immediately drawn to the two women in the center of the room. They appeared to be unharmed, though Milly was apparently unconscious. Meryl was keenly aware of her situation, and every muscle in her body was tense and at the ready. They were both tied up at the hands and feet, and Meryl was blindfolded. Vash wanted to run to them and let them go, but he knew that his brother was waiting for that.
Wolfwood was about to run towards the girls, until Vash held up a hand signaling him to remain where he was. They wouldn't save the girls by running into the situation without thinking, no matter how much they wanted to do otherwise.
Suddenly a maniacal laugh filled the space, taunting them all.
Vash tensed, looking around for any sign of his brother. He knew the priest was doing the same thing behind him. The laughter stopped, only to be replaced with the sound of the plant's voice, quiet and mechanical.
"Welcome, dear brother. I was starting to wonder if you would show up at all....."
Hope you enjoyed. Right now I'm planning on having the next chapter up by Friday night, but we'll see if that actually happens.
Please review!
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