THIRTY-THREE: forgotten world
Vash and Meryl spent their time that night with each other, eventually finding the sleep both needed while wrapped up in each others arms. Sleeping a sleep that even the dead would envy. Morning's first light came and burned into the room, waking Meryl from the hazy dreams that had left a smile on her face for the length of her short slumber. She'd pulled herself from the bed as silently as she could, finding that the locals had left their clothing for them on the chair.
A flush filled Meryl's cheeks at the thought of someone walking in on them while they had been sleeping, but she saw no harm in it as they thought the two were married. She saw no harm in it otherwise, either, thinking the others could see the love that the two shared so plainly before them. She pulled on her underclothing and then her purple slacks she wore under her white cape. She couldn't remember a time the outfit had looked so nice, not even when she had first purchased the item so long ago.
Once she was dressed she slipped from the room, running a hand through her hair as she walked quietly through the halls, she was surprised to find the Mercia up already, cooking away at something that smelled as good as it looked. She turned a knowing smile to Meryl as she watched the girl walk in and handed her a plate full of whatever the stuff was, telling her to go back to her room and feed her "young buck" so that he could get up his strength. Then they could all sit down and talk a bit.
Meryl only nodded and turned from the room she had just barely entered, leaving with a plate of what appeared to be eggs in the scrambled style that had extra little things to it that made it look all that more enticing. She went back to the room and moved over to the bed, setting the plate on the nightstand as she waited for the smell to wake Vash. She knew she wouldn't have to wait long, though she suddenly wished it would last longer as she smiled down to his sleeping face.
He dreamed peaceful dreams, cradling Meryl in his arms, the woman who ignited those dreams in a fiery blaze of passion. It was a blissful sleep, and though he actually slept very little, it was the most restful night that he could remember. So deeply did he sleep that he didn't even notice when Meryl slipped silently from his arms, dressed, and then crept out the door with strained effort not to stir him from sleep.
The first sign of the new day was the warmth on his face when the sun poured down on him from the window as it peaked over the horizon. It was soon joined by the smell of eggs and ham and peppers and onions, a powerful mix of aromas that soon released him into the morning.
The first thing he saw when he pried his eyes open was the slender form of an angel, silhouetted against the silk curtains that rippled from the light breeze drifting in through the open window. She was a wondrous spirit who held his heart and soul in the palm of her hand. He smiled up to her, but said nothing. He just wanted to appreciate the moment for as long as he possibly could.
His mind drifted back to the moments of the previous night. He hadn't said anything, but he was utterly amazed by her stamina. She had been an ox. It made him laugh inside to realize that having been the first night for the both of them, they had absolutely nothing to compare the moment to. That brought yet another smile to his heart. He was glad there was nothing to compare it to, because he was certain that it had been the best night of his entire life, and for a man of 132, that spoke volumes.
Food soon got the better of him, and he sat up and accepted the plate without a word, giving her a smile that would melt solid rock. He took a bite, savoring every flavor as though it was his last bite in this world. Then, he prepared another bite and held the fork up for her.
Looking at him brought back memories of the previous night's happenings. Meryl felt a blush burning her cheeks, gazing longingly at the man she loved. Then she smiled and took the bite. She was surprised at how it tasted and playfully stole the fork and plate from him, raising her eyebrows suggestively as she stole another bite.
He arched his brow and laughed. "Who said that bite was yours?" he asked as he reached out and gave her a gentle poke on the shoulder. After a playful moment, he stole a quick kiss from her and they shared the rest of his breakfast. Whoever had fixed it was good, almost as good as Milly, but he had topnotch taste buds. Milly could cook circles around this woman.
He smiled at Meryl when he slid the plate away and adjusted in bed. He never tired of looking into those deep, meaningful eyes, especially now that their friendship had blossomed into something more, bursting into the intense love that the couple shared for one another. His heart simply yearned for her. He watched her eyes so intently as he reached out and stroked his hands through her hair, cupping the side of her face and tilting her head so he easily find her lips. His free hand moved to the curve of her hip and rested there as the couple lost themselves in the tender touch of a kiss.
She let out a giggle and wrapped her arms around him with a smile, gently letting her eyes close as she returned his kiss with a sweet passion that filled her veins. Eventually she pulled back, her face flushed and hot. "Vash, we can't stay in bed all day," she whispered, a tinge of regret on her face. She would have happily stayed there in his arms for as long as he would have liked, but she was sure they would have years of this ahead of them. "We have a lot to do today."
Vash simply nodded. There was nothing more to say about their future. They had said it all fiery passion of the night before. It was all far too much for mere words. He would rather stay here with her, the woman he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his mortal life with. But, as Meryl had said, there was a lot of work ahead of them, and most of it involved preparation for the battle to come.
He was still Vash the Stampede, still trapped in a world all his own, the only wall between the people of this forgotten world and the realm of chaos Richard Stryfe had created. He held his hand against her side for the longest moment, refusing to look away as if their eyes were connected by a delicate lifeline that would snap if he should happen to loose her gaze. There was so much to do, and so precious little time. After another tender kiss, he rose from bed and disappeared into the bathroom. When he emerged several minutes later, he was dressed in Stryker's black suit, his hair left down. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin the effect of the disguise by standing it up in its normal fashion.
He moved to the table where his gun remained. He instantly realized that it was not his gun. He recognized Knives' gun without question. Black steel. He picked it up. Like an extension of his hand, the weapon sat there, dependent of its master. Vash drew a deep breath. How fitting Knives' own gun now found its way to him. He'd hidden it onboard the SEEDS shuttle about a year ago. Twirling the weapon on his finger, he slammed it into its holster.
His smile turned to Meryl, still sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Maybe we should have a look around," he said.
They soon found themselves engulfed by the outside world of Eden, walking through a patch of trees at the edge of the great, underground lake. His eyes were hidden behind Stryker's silver sunglasses. He couldn't help but steal glances of the woman next to him as they strolled through the miniature forest. She was far and away the most perfect woman he had ever seen. She was classy, intelligent, and well-mannered. Perfect in every way, and in the way they shared their life and love, it was evident to the world.
It was a life he thought could make him very happy. So long as they could continue to breathe, maybe it was also the life meant for them. He peered out over the underground lake and wondered for a time how he could show her the world as he had once seen it. For Vash, nothing seemed to come to mind. At least he could show her his world, and maybe that would be all she would truly need.
He squeezed her hand and smiled down to her.
Meryl took notice that Vash had earned himself a few gazes from some of the women of the mysterious village, and Meryl couldn't help feel a twinge of jealousy at the situation. She knew it was a ridiculous sentiment, but she felt it all the same, squeezing his hand in a death grip as they walked through the trees to look around. Eden truly was a unique and beautiful place. She praised the Heavens he chose to share it with her.
Vash gave her hand a gentle squeeze and their eyes met. She raised a hand to push the hair from his gaze, and couldn't help but think that his hair was more stylish when it was up, easier for her to play with. The thought caused a crimson glow to spill across her cheeks and she turned away.
"I've never even imagined anything like it, Vash. To think that away from all the other places, there is something as wonderful and peaceful as this."
Vash smiled down to her, and then continued on, until they were a good distance away from the bulk of the town so he could speak softly without worrying that someone might overhear his concerns. He squeezed her hands in his and sighed softly. "It might be too early to be considering it peaceful. Something just doesn't feel right about this place." He touched her cheek, gazing with concern. "I'm worried for you, Meryl."
Meryl's eyes turned up and showed return concern for him. "I think you're right." She peered out over the mysterious lake. "I think he was here. I think the key my father gave me has something to do with this place." Slowly, she brought her hand up to gently stroke the cross about her neck between her thumb and forefinger.
"What key?"
Meryl blinked, and realized for the first time that she'd never shown Vash the cross that hung from her neck. Slowly, she grasped the thin chain and slipped the necklace over her head. She set it in Vash's hand and allowed him a moment to inspect the devise. After all, maybe he would recognize it.
But by the look on his face, she knew he didn't.
"The grooves around the lower stem," she said.
"I see it," he replied. "This is some kind of key, all right. But I don't know what it could possibly be a key to. Surely not a vehicle."
"Maybe it's some kind of lost technology," she said hopefully.
"Possible. Your father would have had access to it, thanks to Knives." He gave her a look. "Why didn't you show me this before?"
"I've only just learned about my father's link to your brother and the Gung-Ho Guns," Meryl replied. The smile she had worn only a moment ago faded, only to be replaced by a worried frown. "But when I did, I started thinking about what my father said when he gave me this cross as a gift." She slipped the necklace from his fingers and returned it to her neck, dropping the cross back beneath her blouse. "I can remember that he smiled to me and had me turn around so he could put the chain around my neck. He told me to be careful with it, and then he kissed my nose the way he always did and told me something I'll never forget. 'It holds the key to the entire world in it.'"
"God. How could he do that to his daughter?"
"I don't want to go back to that world, Vash. I just want to stay here where its quiet. Just for awhile, but I know that can't be. There just so much we have to do." She turned her gaze back to him, a genuine smile on her face. "I guess we just have to find what there is to find, and then worry."
"I think you're right. It only makes sense. All of it makes total sense." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Every bit of it."
He took her in his arms and sighed, peering with her out over the horizon. The two were lost in thought, him of her and vice versa. He felt betrayed by his own existence, if that were possible, and Meryl apparently fared the same.
"Damnit Meryl, just being near you is more than enough to throw me off my path. I'm just relieved that the new course seems every bit as intriguing as the old one." He allowed his eyes briefly trail down her slender figure, and shook it out of his system. A smile played on his lips as he considered one more thought that had come to him over the past few hours. "If we're going to be in this together, Meryl, I think you're going to need a bigger gun."
She looked at him, blinking. Something besides her derringers? She'd never truly bothered with anything else. "I have you," she teased. "You're the only gun I need." She seemed pleased with her response, but another thought filled her mind over something he had said and it left her silent a moment. She turned her concerned gaze out over the horizon. "Vash, about last night…" she said softly, a sudden trace of fear in her voice. "You don't think that will cause any problems or distractions do you?"
Vash blinked. He hadn't thought of any repercussions of the past night until she mentioned it. She seemed deeply concerned.
"Where we're going, I might not always be able to protect you," he said quietly, peering again to the darkened land over the underground lake. "You're damn good with your derringers and I respect that, but I don't see what good fifty little guns is going to do you against thousands of me." Shivers raced up Meryl's spine and she shut her eyes as she at the thought of a thousand men that all looked like the one next to her. It was hard enough to look at Stryker and barely tell the difference, but a thousand? It was enough to make her blood curdle. She was shaken from her thoughts as pressed a hand against her cheek. "Now, I have something in mind, but you're gonna have to trust me."
"Vash, I was talking about last night," she said, giving him a gentle push.
"Look, I'll never regret last night. What we did is only all that we deserved in that moment. They can't use the past against us, okay?" He took her by her shoulders, turning her so that she faced him, and brushed the hair off her shoulders so that it spilled against her back. He watched as her hair shimmered in the sunlight. It was a soothing sight. She averted her eyes to the lake, unable to meet his gaze. "We'll do this together, but in this you're just going to have to trust me. I'm through with pussy-footing around with these bastards, all right?"
"How will I even be able to tell you apart?" she commented quietly into the breeze that swept about her, mumbling the fear that surrounded her heart and coiled about her lungs, making it hard to breath.
"You'll just have to trust me."
Finally she raised her gaze to look at him and nod. "What do you have in mind then?" she said gently.
Vash smiled at her. Using them this way is the only thing that gives them any meaning at all. He glanced back to the horizon, touching Knives' angel arm magnum as he was lost in thought. Right now, it was the only thing within reason that gave him a shot at the army of Vash-clones. He was certain that if it wasn't done right, they would all die. He could do it right, but he'd need a lot of help.
"I'm going to teach you to use a sniper rifle," Vash announced.
She hesitated for a moment, turning her eyes up to him. "I already know how," she whispered, slipping an arm around his waist.
He gazed down on her for a moment, but didn't persist. He simply nodded and accepted the truth. "I trust you Meryl. Always have. You'll always do the right thing."
He brought his lips to hers and kissed her. It was a brief kiss, filled with emotion, filled with desire.
"Damnit, I love you. It takes all my available strength not to take you in my arms and hold you like we held each other last night."
He closed his eyes.
But there was far too much to do. Laying her in the grass and making love once more didn't seem to be very high on his list of priorities.
Meryl had to smile as a heavy blush crept up over her cheeks. She reached out and took his hand, and passed him a gentle look that spoke of promise for the night to come. "Let's go and get everything done that we need to and then we can have the rest of the time to fill of our own accord, all right?"
He grabbed her hand, kissing it gently, and nodded.
The world was spinning inside Vash's head. He was hard at it again, determining all that had to happen in order to meet the appropriate end along the day's journey. His heart thundered in his chest to know that Meryl was nearby making her own preparations.
One of the things that surprised him most in this world he called Eden was the total lack of lost technology. He would have thought that locating such a place would require it, but no, these people were here and such technology didn't seem to be as necessary as he had believed. Closing his eyes, Vash heaved out a long sigh. Behind him, Meryl was inspecting the sniper rifled he had rummaged up for her. Where he'd gotten it was anyone's guess, but now he had said it was hers.
Meryl lifted the rifle, closing one eye as she glared through the sight screen, it needed to be cleaned but other then that it was angled perfectly. She looked at the cockbarrel and examined it, cleaning it out slowly and then shifting it a few times until it cleared. Satisfied, she finally loaded the weapon and slung it over her shoulder, tying her cape about her neck to conceal the weapon from view and then looked back at him.
Vash, who was busy checking his hidden machine gun, let it slide back into its hiding place as she finished her own preparations. "It almost feels like we're running out of time," he whispered, meeting her gaze.
"What do you mean?"
"It's a dangerous world, and sometimes in a dangerous world the big dog has a sharp bite. The best chance for the little guy is to learn to bite back." He looked to her, breathing softly. "We have to trust our own hearts, as much as I know we trust one another. We fight because we have to, but if we don't fight for ourselves as hard as we fight for each other, it'll probably be a very short fight." He snapped open the chamber of Knives' magnum and slipped in a fresh spool of bullets. "That means that we might have to trust each other to protect ourselves. One false move can be devastating. If a soldier turns to help a fallen comrade on the battlefield, most likely he will end up just as dead as his friend." He sighed. "Do you understand what I'm saying, Meryl?"
Meryl sighed and hung her head at his words as a stabbing pain pierced her heart. She knew exactly what he meant, knew what he was trying to tell her. The words that he refused to say were all too clear, though she knew she needed to hear them. She shook her head and turned away. He hadn't rightly said it, but she understood nonetheless.
If I should fall…you can't turn and help me up. You need to go on, Meryl. You need to survive.
It was hard to imagine surviving without Vash and it was not a thought she was sure she could deal with quite yet. But she nodded her head, signaling that she indeed understand what he meant.
It had come across a little colder than he had intended for it, but it was something that had to be said. Vash rose from his seat and slipped the angel arm gun into his holster. He wouldn't go so far as to say that was the reason he had chosen a sniper rifle for her: so he could be her spotter on the field of battle and she would be back, away from it all.
He closed his eyes and rested back against the chair, wondering if at all they even stood the faintest glimmer of a chance against the coming darkness.
"What next? What am I forgetting?" he asked softly.
"Forgetting?" Meryl looked to him, frowning. "We must be a grim sight to see. Happy one moment and then the next we are so depressed. It doesn't seem right somehow. I just wish we could have a single moment of peace without a care."
Vash smiled at that.
The young woman gazed to the line of trees behind them, noticing that their shade had started to fade away. "I was just thinking about the villagers. Should we speak with them about the key?" she asked a moment later.
"Might be a good idea," he admitted quietly. He glanced her way and sighed. "I don't know. It seems the further we go the grimmer the situation. I'm beginning to wonder what it'll actually be like when we arrive." He reached out and took her hand. "I don't know what I'd ever do without you."
"You make me feel that I should be saying my good-byes to you now." She lowered her gaze so that she could look into his eyes. "Is that what you want me to do, Vash? To say goodbye so that its already said just in case something should happen?" Her grip was lax in his hand, cold, frozen. She closed her eyes a moment and sighed. "I'm sorry. It just seems like whatever hope that we manage to scrape together is knocked away a moment later."
"Hey, Meryl, we're gonna do this. You will survive, I promise you." He brought her hand up to his cheek. "I promise you." He kissed her hand and drew her close to him one more time, holding her tight to his chest. "You will survive."
"Its not me that I am worried about though, Vash. It's not me that matters." She fell against him, clinging to him like a child might cling to her father, closing her eyes as the tears fall like rain down her face. "I'm not ready to say goodbye again, Vash. I don't think I can survive another goodbye."
And that was Meryl, truly down and broken Meryl, who couldn't deal with the prospects of what was happening. Of what could happen.
Vash had to smile. He held her to him as her tears washed the shattered pieces of his heart away. She was right; sometimes he could fail so miserably when in came to the heart. It hurt him so much to see her tears fall. He could think of only one thing to do in that situation. Taking her chin in his hand, he tilted her head up so that she stared into his face, and began to slowly, gently kiss away her tears.
Fight this sadness, this heartache. Together, our love can conquer the world.
He let the fingers of his free hand linger against her spine as his lips trailed down her face to her lips. He wanted her to forget their suffering, to understand his determination. He refused to go down without a fight. He would serve her just as he would serve himself. Through her passion he could find the will to defend the people of this land from Morgante the Warhead's treachery. Through her soul he could find his spirit, and that perhaps was his greatest weapon. That was one thing no damned clone raised without the love could possible attain.
There would be no defense, and Vash would find his victory there in a sea of blood. Whether some of that blood was his own or not didn't matter. The only thing he knew was that he would be the one standing in the end.
He remembered a promise to Knives, as he stood over his wounded body: I…I will…survive! It was the same promise he insisted of Meryl now. No wonder she feared his words. "We can do this Meryl. We have to trust in each other and our love."
Meryl's tears drained from her eyes onto the wounds that opened in Vash's heart, burning the pain away there to make him once more wake up to realize that together they could overcome any obstacle that this life was going to place before them. The tears ran from her eyes until they ran dry and there was nothing left inside of her to cry. Nothing else to bleed from the wounds that she refused to show to anyone else.
Parents were suppose to love and cherish their children, and her father were out to rob her of the one true happiness she could claim to have found in this desolate wasteland that she had called her home for a mere 26 years… it didn't seem fair to her. But life wasn't always meant to be fair. She would live on, she could remove the obstacles that stood in the way of her and her happy ending. She would protect everything that she had to protect.
She refused to let this be the end. The tears had stopped their fall from her eyes and she looked towards the man she loved with a pain-filled gaze before he leaned down and kissed her tears away, kissed away the pain that was still threatening to break her.
"I trust you Vash. I'll always trust you."
"I know you do. It's just, so much of this world is shrouded in darkness, and the people can't seem to get over the stupidest of arguments. I've always believed that my role was to seek out love and spread it to the far ends of the world, but conflicting circumstances just never let up for even a moment."
He sighed, rocking her slowly in his arms.
"I don't ever want to loose you, Meryl. As much as I agree with you, that we have to continue to believe that this isn't goodbye, I can't for the life of me get my heart to accept that. I mean, we don't even know where he is. Something tells me he has a pretty good idea about us."
He sighed, dragging his thumb slowly against the flushed glow of her cheeks as she gazed up to him. His heart ached with longing, desire, but those same conflicting circumstances seemed to have an ironclad grip on his system.
"Meryl," he sighed, breathing in the name as if it were the sweetest breath of life. "I need you here with me. If you're with me, I can go on."
He brushed a strand of hair from her face and kissed her nose gently.
"Is that all?" she asked gently, a sad smile taking hold of her beautiful features.
Vash grinned. "It's already more than I can handle."