Chapter 9

The Ascension

The Lazarus slipped in through two large doors at the front of the half wrecked ship. It landed in a spacious storage area, immaculately kept with two other shuttles parked on either side of it. There was space for as many as five shuttles, however.

After a few moments the shuttle doors opened and both Meryl and Millie stepped out.

'Wow,' said Millie gazing round the bay wide eyed, 'this place is amazing! It's like stepping into the past!'

'Or the future,' muttered Meryl, also taking in the sights. It was very much like the shuttle in that it was not remarkable in it's technology as such, (it was similar to what was found in Sky City after all,) but astonishing in it's state of repair.

Not that it was perfect. This area was relatively undamaged but looking at the entire ship from the outside it had been clear to the insurance girls that as much as half of it had been wrecked in some way.

'Well,' she sighed, adjusting her derringer laden cloak around her and closing the shuttle doors, 'we'd best do a little exploring.'

'But Ma'am, the Doctor told us to stay in the shuttle…'

'We won't go far,' assured Meryl, 'but I don't think there's any harm in taking a small look around.'

'Well… um… Ok…'

The tall girl followed Meryl as she wandered across the large shuttle bay, her eyes trying to take in everything.

There were two doors leading out of the bay, Meryl took the largest.

It led to a corridor lit by bright, florescent lights. Asides from these lights in was small and plain enough, the two women followed it until they came to another corridor. This one very much different for, at the side of one wall, there were massive windows. Windows which gave an unobstructed view of space and, suspended amongst the stars, was Gunsmoke.

'It's beautiful!' breathed Millie, pressing her hands and face against the glass.

Meryl said nothing, her eyes were fixed upon that golden, cloud strewn orb. She was used to feeling small, it was one of the problems of her stature, but right now… She'd thought it amazing how tiny everything was when she was high up on the Hover disc… she'd always known what the stars were… where they came from. But right now, looking down upon her home planet, surrounded by the distant stars… she'd never felt so small, so powerless… insignificant.

She quickly tore her eyes away from the glass, hating the emotions the view brought out in her.

'Come on,' she muttered, 'let's go back, we'd best wait for those two dunderheads to show up.'

Millie made a small sound of disappointment but never the less followed her as she trudged back down the corridors.

Something was bothering Meryl. She wasn't sure what it was… but something was defiantly wrong. It had been nagging in the back of her head for quite a while now, certainly since she'd first seen the SEEDS ship. And the feeling had just grown within her, though she'd no clue as to what was causing it. All she knew was that there was something odd, something out of place. Of course, that didn't help much seeing as so much of this situation was wrong and out of place.

They re-entered the shuttle bay and made for the craft which had carried them there, its door was invitingly open.

They were just a few steps away from it when Meryl stopped dead in her tracks.

She'd closed that door.

It was then that she realized what had been bothering her. Of course! How could she have not noticed at the time! How could she have been such a fool!

'Millie,' she said slowly, 'do you remember before? When you gave me that cup of coffee?'

'Yes Ma'am,' said Millie. Sounding curious as to why Meryl was asking such a question.

'Where did it come from?'

'Well… er…' Millie's eyes went blank as she tried to remember.

'Please Mille,' begged Meryl anxiously. 'Try to think, this is important!'

'Um… I think I just found it,' said her tall friend at last. 'Just sitting on the side of one of the computer panels.'

'So you didn't make it?'

Millie shook her head.

'Then it must have belonged to someone else! It must have been there before we came! Damn, Millie, do you know what this means?'

'Oh Ma'am!' cried Millie, horrified, 'does that mean someone will be mad at me! I didn't mean to steal someone's coffee! My Big, big brother says stealing is bad!'

Meryl resisted the urge to slam her head against the nearest wall. 'No, Millie,' she growled, 'what it means is that we weren't alone on that shuttle! We had a stow-away… most likely the original owner, the villain… He must have heard us coming and hidden in the shuttle. Then, when we landed, he left just after we did,' she gestured towards the open shuttle door.

'Damn it! We had him! If only I'd paid more attention!'

'Never mind,' soothed Millie. 'He's not going to get away now! The only way out of here is by using those shuttles, right? So as long as we're here…'

'I suppose you're right,' sighed Meryl. 'But he's got access to all this technology now, there's no telling what he could do…'

'Well there's no use in worrying,' said Millie decisively. 'Mr Vash and Mr Knives will be here soon, they know all about old Technology! They'll know what to do!'

'Yeah,' muttered Meryl, sloping back into the shuttle, 'great, just great.'

Knives kept his fingers hovered over the controls, occasionally bringing up the user manual to check he was doing everything right.

Vash, on the other hand, was leaning back in his chair, gazing out at the view screen a look of supreme boredom written all over his face.

'Are we nearly there yet?' he drawled.

'I've no idea,' muttered Knives, really not in the mood for this, 'shouldn't you be convalescing or something?'

'Conval-what?' asked Vash. Knives did not reply, he was fully aware of Vash's IQ. He might play the idiot to fool the humans (for reasons Knives never could understand, why lower himself like that after all?), but it wouldn't work with him.

When he received no answer from Knives, Vash let out a long sigh. 'I've spent the last few days lounging about in bed, helpless. I finally get out and about and I'm stuck here, in a tiny ship, with you in a strop.'

'I,' iced Knives, 'am not in a strop.'

'Well you're not exactly cheery,' said Vash. 'Come on, we're in space again! Out amongst the stars for the first time in a century! How can that not make you feel a little bit happy? You'd think that you were the one dying.'

'Don't joke about that Vash, it's not funny.'

'Who ever said I was being funny? All I'm saying is that you should lighten up a little.'

Knives just continued reading the manual, he wouldn't rise to his brother's jibes.

Vash sighed once more, letting out a long, drawn out whine of breath.

Then, unseen by Knives, he smiled wickedly and reached over to press a control near him.

Knives, seeing the movement from the corner of his eye, snapped his head round.

'What did you just-' he began then, gasped as he felt himself slowly rise from his seat.

'Vash,' he snarled, 'turn the Gravitational Generators back on right now!'

'Aw, come on brother,' laughed Vash, pushing himself off his seat and somersaulting in the air, 'lighten up!'

Knives glowered at him and leaned over to turn the gravity back on, but was stopped by Vash who grabbed his wrist.

'Please,' his brother begged, 'come float with me?'

Looking into those wide, aqua marine eyes, Knives found himself unable to resist. With a reluctant sigh he pushed himself up out of his chair and joined his brother floating in the air.

It was… good. Even better than he remembered. He spun lazily, pushed himself off a few walls, twisting and turning in the air, the tails of his blue trench coat spinning around him. He found himself smiling, grinning even. Vash was also having fun, now literally bouncing off the walls. Despite his condition, he was moving about easily enough, no doubt enjoying the freedom the lack of gravity gave him. The two brothers spun, twirled, danced and flew in mid air, pushing off walls, chairs and each other. Grinning, playing, laughing and, when Knives finally tired of this, he simply stretched back, enjoying the feeling of being suspended in midair.

He'd forgotten how much fun this was, how much he'd loved it. When they were younger they'd always sought out the areas on the SEEDS ship with no gravity, like near the engine rooms where it wasn't needed. They'd often hidden there, relaxing, playing. Sometimes they'd spent hours there until Rem or someone had dragged them away for dinner. Vash, especially, had loved it there, had liked to take the time to think, to consider. He often went there when he was upset, enjoying the feeling of security and solitude it gave him. He'd once said to Knives that it made him feel like he was in his mother's womb, all safe and peaceful. Knives had pointed out that they'd never been in any sort of womb, but Vash didn't seem bothered by this.

Knives lazily twisted his head to ask Vash whether he still thought and paused, his eyes widening in concern.

Vash, who'd been previously soaring playfully was now curled up, his hands wrapped round his knees and his knees locked below his chin. It was his pensive position, the one he took when he was hurt or troubled, Knives had often seen him like this back when they were younger, especially when Steve had started to…

He shook the thought from his head, determined not to dwell on those dark times, fighting back the worm of anger which still lingered in his chest from it. Vash had taught him he could do better, that he should do better. Dwelling on that anger and pain would only make him like Steve, after all.

He floated towards Vash and put his hands upon his shoulders comfortingly.

'Vash,' he asked, 'what's wrong?'

Vash looked up and smiled wanly, 'nothing,' he said. 'It's just… this brings back some sad memories too, you know?'

'I know,' agreed Knives softly. 'Do you want me to turn the gravity back on?'

'No,' replied Vash. 'Memories, all memories, show how the soul has grown. But still… I'm glad I could do this again, one last time…'

'Come on,' said Knives, trying to sound cheery and failing miserably. 'Don't talk like this, I'll find a way to stop this… this condition. You'll be fine.'

'Yeah,' muttered Vash, 'I guess so… it's just I feel so weak. I'm not used to feeling weak or helpless. I can feel myself changing, I can feel every little part of me changing and there's nothing I can do about it. Knives… promise me, if… if there's nothing you can do… will you take care of the girls?'

Knives wanted to say something else, wanted to berate is brother for being so negative about the situation. He was a Plant, Knives was a Plant, they were working together! So, surely, nothing could threaten them. Together they were two parts of a whole, invincible, unstoppable. They were sure to find a cure in time… sure to…

And yet…

He looked at Vash, took in his wan skin, the white feathers which were, even now, pocking up from under his shirt collar and sleeves. For the first time he felt really worried, concerned that he might not be able to help Vash after all. What if he couldn't? What if he lost Vash? What if...? No; no he wouldn't. That would never happen, he wouldn't let it happen. Still, if it made Vash happy…

'Yes,' replied Knives. 'I will, I promise.'

They might have talked more but, right then, a small, shrill alert sounded.

Knives reluctantly pushed away from Vash, floating back towards the pilot's seat. He'd set the controls to sound out an alert when they approached the co-ordinated destination.

Looking out he could see the large, reddish bulk of the fifth moon, the crater glaring out into space accusingly.

'Wow,' muttered Vash from behind him. 'To think I did that! It looks even more impressive up close.'

'Indeed,' agreed Knives breathily. His own blue eyes widened, 'and that wasn't even at full power… with a few adjustments the energy output from the Angel Arm could get even higher… it's wonderful… truly awe inspiring...'

'If you say so,' grunted Vash, and Knives was reminded that the entire experience had not been particularly pleasant for him. Guilt rose up in his gorge and he bit his tongue.

'So… we're going to the fifth moon?' queried Vash doubtfully.

'Well, probably more likely a base of some sort,' explained Knives. 'Though who the hell would have the resources or know how to create such a base and why they would go after you…?'

'The mystery deepens,' boomed Vash dramatically. 'Can't we get a closer look?' he then asked in a more normal voice.

Knives frowned then began to work the controls again. 'We might be close enough for the sensors to pick up our targeted location… if I feed in the coordinates then…'

As Knives finished in tapping the keys the screen flickered and changed, showing their destination.

'No…' breathed Vash, his eyes so wide they seemed to take up his entire face, his skin turning even whiter, 'no… it can't be… it just can't be!'

'We… I saw it,' whimpered Knives, who bore a similar expression on his features, 'we saw it destroyed in the atmosphere! I was sure… it can't be true! It can't be!' He put his hand in his mouth, biting down upon his fingers, partly some remembrance of a childhood habit, but also to stop himself from screaming.

'I suppose,' said Vash, 'we could have been mistaken… There were a lot of ships and… Knives, could that really be it? Am I dreaming…? Do you think… perhaps… is it true Knives?'

But Knives gave no reply save another, tiny whimper of shock, his eyes were glued at the view screen, at their destination.

SEEDS SHIP 1. The ship they had grown up on.

After over a century away, they were coming home.

Meryl was pacing up and down the shuttle by the time they arrived. The two women watched the bay doors open and the second shuttle, the Arimathea, enter the ship.

It landed smoothly on the docking bay, its engines soon dying down. It remained there, still and silent for a few minutes.

Meryl tapped her foot in annoyance, 'when are they going to come out?' she muttered to herself.

'Maybe they've forgotten how to work the door?' suggested Millie, 'do you think we should open it for them?'

Meryl was just about to reply when the doors to the craft finally opened and Vash staggered out.

He looked even worse than she remembered, his face was as white as the paper she typed her reports on, feathers stuck out from beneath the collar and cuffs of his shirt, his steps were unsteady. He looked ready to topple over in a dead faint at any moment.

Millie dashed over to him, slipping herself under one arm and supporting him, 'are you alright Mr Vash?' she asked, her sweet voice filled with concern.

'Yeah,' gasped Vash, though he didn't sound it. 'I… I just wasn't expecting this.'

'Isn't it amazing?' laughed Millie. 'Is this like the ship you lived on, Mr Vash?'

'This is the ship I lived on Insurance Girl,' replied Vash, wearily.

Meryl frowned, 'but I thought you said that was destroyed.'

'I thought it was destroyed to, but it wasn't… it must have crashed on the moon.'

'So why is it still working?'

'I don't know.' Vash's eyes seemed to become unfazed for a moment, as if he was trying to listen to something on the edge of hearing. 'I can sense one of the Plants is still alive here,' he said. 'She must be running this thing. But… it feels like she's been asleep a long time, resting because she wasn't needed. Someone must have awoken her.'

Millie's eyes widened, 'you can tell all that now?' she gasped, 'but you're not even close enough to talk to her!'

'I don't need to,' said Vash, tapping the side of his head, 'apart from anything my Plant abilities have become much stronger recently. I suppose there's got to be some perks to loosing my human DNA.'

'What about Knives,' said Meryl, a little uncomfortable with the way the conversation was heading. 'Why hasn't he come out? Or didn't he come with you?'

'He's came with me,' replied Vash, (and Meryl's heart sank a little,) 'but seeing this place was… ah… rather a shock.'

'Oh really?' asked Meryl, her voice horribly sweet. 'Does he need to lie down for a bit?'

'I'm fine now, thank you.' Said a new voice and Knives came striding out of the shuttle towards them. He also looked pale and shaken but was at least on his feet.

Meryl sniffed, 'good,' she said coolly, 'so, what is the plan of action?'

Vash opened his mouth to say something but was unable to even begin his thought before all the breath was literally sucked out of his mouth.

The bay worked on an air-lock system. First the shuttles would pass through a small compartment which would enclose them, as soon as they entered, and fill up with air. Once this had been done the inner hatch would open, allowing access to the shuttle bay and preventing a vacuum from sucking all the air out of the ship.

Now, however, both hatches began to slowly open and the air from the shuttle bay was sucked out.

All four gave shrieks of terror as a sudden, dreadful wind appeared, one which pulled them towards the opening hatches and out into empty space.

Many people would have done the sensible thing then and rushed back to the shuttles, retreating to safety and even escaping that mysterious and dreadful ghost ship.

These people, however, were far from normal. Asides from two of them bearing Plant genes, they were four of the most stubborn and determined people on GunSmoke, people who would not give up, no matter what.

So it was that, instead of rushing back towards their shuttles, they made haste to one of the doors that lead to the rest of the ship.

They barely made it in time, indeed the force of the sucking gale was such that Meryl was plucked off her feet and Millie was forced to carry her through the door. Vash, the disease making him weak and clumsy, had to be dragged by Knives part of the way and they only just made it through the exit doors in time before the hatches opened entirely and all the air was lost to the vacuum.

Once they were all through Knives punched the button which closed and locked the automatic door. It did this and, at last, the sucking gale was gone.

'What,' gasped Knives, 'the hell was that about?'

Meryl blushed with embarrassment and told him everything that had happened since they found The Lazarus, including the fact that they might well have let their mysterious adversary escape.

'He, or she, must have activated those hatches somehow,' finished Meryl, 'probably hoping we'd be driven out into space, or that we'd leave of our own accord.'

Knives smiled bitterly and opened his mouth, undoubtedly to say something sarcastic and derisory but Vash cut across him. He didn't want an argument.

'Let's split up,' he suggested. 'Knives and I can go to the control room and you and Millie can explore some of the rest of the ship. We'll look for clues and meet back here in… erm… a couple of hours?'

'That sounds like a reasonable idea.' Agreed Knives, 'but what if the females need our help?'

'Don't talk about us as if we aren't here,' snapped Meryl. 'And we're women, girls, or ladies, not females. Besides which, we're entirely capable of taking care of ourselves!'

'Really?' sneered Knives, 'didn't sound that way when you were screaming before!'

'You were screaming too,' growled Meryl, 'you were just as afraid of being sucked into space. You squealing like a baby!'

'Oh actually I thought he was sorta more yelling,' said Vash quickly, desperate to avert an argument, 'Knives is much too manly to squeal. I was screaming though, I'm good at screaming, I find it helps when facing moral peril. I do a good shriek too… and running of course, running is always good, hahahahaha!'

He laughed crazily but no one else joined in.

'You know,' said Millie suddenly, 'you could always use Mr Vash's ring, that can be used for communication, can't it?'

All eyes strayed to the small silver band on Meryl's wedding finger. Knives in particular glared at it, his eyes widening in surprise, a myriad of emotions crossing his face.

'Oh,' said Meryl weakly, inwardly cursing Millie, she'd rather hoped not to bring the engagement of Knives' attention, she had a feeling he would certainly not approve, 'I forgot…'

'Good idea Millie!' put in Vash, 'I've got the other part of it right here!' he reached into his shirt pocket and drew out what looked like a pen, 'just speak into it if you need us,' he instructed, 'and we'll do likewise with the pen if we need you.'

Knives muttered something under his breath which sounded a little like 'that'd be a cold day in hell,' but he was quickly dragged away be Vash, who was using the walls as support.

'See you later girls!' he chirped over his shoulder, 'don't get into too much trouble.'

'You're a fine one to talk' Meryl retorted as she turned her back on the retreating brothers and walked the opposite way down the corridor, Millie hot on her heels.

'It's so strange,' said Vash, clutching Knives' arm for support, 'everything looks so… different. Smaller, if you know what I mean?'

'Yes,' agreed Knives, 'it makes it harder to navigate, I'm finding it difficult to remember the way to the control room.'

Vash sighed and rolled his eyes, somewhat annoyed at his brother's lack of nostalgia. Acting on a whim he let go of Knives and, gathering his waning strength, brought his hand up and touched the ceiling.

'Hey, look Knives!' he cried, 'look! I can reach the ceiling! I'm so tall, I must be taller than-' his voice cut off abruptly and his eyes briefly deadened, weighted down with sorrowful memories.

'Hey, Knives,' he said at last, 'do you think… do you think she might…'

'No,' replied Knives swiftly, almost harshly, 'I'm sorry Vash, but no.'

'She might be,' protested Vash feebly, his voice tinged with a sort of desperate irritation, 'I mean… we never saw her… she could-'

'Vash,' interrupted Knives, 'even if she lived through the crash here, which I doubt, it's been over a century, one hundred and thirty years. Humans, even Earth Humans with proper medical care, rarely live that long. And if the Plant here has only fairly recently become functional again then we can suppose that this place has been without life-support during much of that time. How could she be alive?'

Vash pouted, 'you're such a dream wrecker,' he grumbled.

'I just don't like seeing your hopes shattered all over again,' replied Knives evenly, 'speaking of which…'

'Yeah?' Vash didn't even attempt to keep the aggressive note from his voice.

'What are you thinking of, with that human woman?'

'Her name's Meryl, Knives, learn it because soon she'll be your sister in-law.'

'She's a human, Vash!'

'So?'

'So even you, self deluded as you are, have to know how it'll end. No matter how human you pretend to be you're a Plant… or part Plant at least. We are immortal; we'll live centuries, even millennia after that woman is dead and dust!'

'Funny,' smirked Vash without a trace of real humour, 'and here was I thinking I wouldn't live past next week!'

'Don't joke about that,' snapped Knives, his own temper frayed to breaking point, 'or… is that why you're doing this? Because you've got nothing to loose…'

'Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about! This is my life, no matter how long or short it is, and I won't let you dictate how I should live it! I nearly did that once before and it was one of my biggest mistakes. Conversation over!'

'Vash-'

'Conversation over Knives,' snarled Vash making a slashing motion with his arm. Then, apparently wearing himself out with his rant he leaned against one of the walls, breathing heavily.

'Here,' said Knives eventually, speaking much softer, 'take my arm.'

'No thanks,' replied Vash stiffly, 'I can use the walls just fine.'

He staggered forward with Knives close behind him, ready to catch him if he fell but trying not to show it. He sensed that, at the moment, Vash was in no mood for pity and he himself, if truth were to be told, wasn't in much of a mood to put up with any more of Vash's temperamental outbursts.

'I wish you hadn't mentioned the ring,' said Meryl, as they walked down the twisting hallways. It was hard to keep track of where they were going, so Meryl had taken to marking their way with a dab of lipstick on some of the walls.

'Why Ma'am?' asked Millie, 'I think it's wonderful that you and Vash are getting married! I didn't think that you'd ever say anything to him!'

'I didn't,' muttered Meryl, 'I think he just… presumed… or perhaps he just figured it out,' she sighed, 'and I don't know that I will be getting married yet, he might not survive this after all. And even if he does then…'

'Yes?' Millie's sweet voice was filled with puzzlement.

'Nothing,' sighed Meryl, 'it doesn't matter. Let's try this one.'

As they'd been walking down the corridors they'd come across numerous doors. Most of them opened on command and led to largish chambers. Many of these rooms were more or less empty but a couple, like the one they were looking into now, looked like people had once lived in them.

This room held a bed, a computer console, a large cupboard, a desk of draws, a small bedside table and, finally, propped up against the wall was some large, oblong object, hidden by a cloth, standing upon its end.

'Doesn't it feel strange?' remarked Millie, looking into the room, 'I mean, all the people here are dead. Doesn't it feel a little wrong, looking into their rooms?'

'You're right Millie,' agreed Meryl, cautiously stepping inside, 'but we can't let that get to us. This is Vash's life on the line here.'

'Yes Ma'am,' agreed Millie, following her in.

Meryl found herself heading for the bedside table where two photographs in stainless steel frames stood. One showed a picture of five people, three men and two women, all looking happy and relaxed. It had the kind of composition which showed it was a somewhat formal photograph rather than the kind of casual pictures friends took. The second photograph, however, was almost certainly an armature work and it was this photo that caught Meryl's eye.

It showed two children, kneeling in front of the camera. At first Meryl through they were girls, for their blond locks fell almost to their hips, but a closer inspection of their facial features showed something quite different. One boy was leaning towards the camera a little, his hands on his bare knees, his face full of curiosity, blue eyes wide. The other child was hiding behind his brother, only half of his face was visible as he stared out at the camera shyly. One, aqua marine eye, long lashed, a little scared and with a small mole beneath it, looked straight at the camera from behind the safety of his fellow.

There was no mistaking them, even at the young age they were then. It was Vash and Knives.

She could hardly believe her eyes, they'd changed so much! She stared at the picture blankly for a while, taking in every speck of it. She wondered which crew member these quarters had belonged to, she had a horrible idea that she knew.

A dreadful scream from behind her made her drop the photo. She spun round, reaching inside of her cloak for her derringers but stopped short, her mouth dropping open in surprise.

Millie had pulled the cloth off the upright rectangle sitting against the wall. Now she stood before it, a hand over her mouth, her face full of shocked horror.

In the upright casket was a body.

The body of, as a simple, brass plaque proclaimed, Rem Saverem.

Meryl put her derringer away and took a slow step forward, her hand stretched outwards to touch the casket. Then she stopped herself, it wouldn't have felt right, somehow.

'Ma'am is that… is that Miss Rem?'

'That's what is says,' replied Meryl, trying to keep her voice even. It was only a dead body after all, she'd seen worse.

She could hardly think that this woman, lying here so silent and still, trapped within the casket, was the Rem Saverem Vash had talked of. Now she looked closer she saw that it was not simply a box but some sort of modified stasis chamber. Which was, undoubtedly, at least part of the reason why the body was so intact. It was odd, whenever Vash had mentioned Rem he'd said her name in the same way one would say, 'God,' or 'Jesus,' full of awe and love. Meryl had always pictured her as a tall, slender woman with long, flowing golden hair, pristine robes of white and milky skin, a sort of angelic mother for Vash.

But she wasn't like that at all. She was well built, almost stocky and she was certainly not towering in stature. Long, silky black hair hung almost to her waist, her eyes, though closed, looked like they should be large and expressive. Her skin was pail, but that was only because of a mixture of death and blood-loss, Meryl wagered, her actual skin colour was probably quite dark. She seemed almost oriental in appearance and was dressed in a strange, blue and white uniform. She wasn't dazzlingly beautiful, no pure white aura surrounded her, her form didn't speak of heavenly decent. She was just… another woman.

'Is she… is she dead?'

Meryl studded the glass roofed coffin. Now she looked closer she saw there was a bandage wound tightly across the woman's waist and, though no blood was showing, she would have bet her right arm that it hid a mortal wound. Something about this, the plaque, the still, painless of the body, the very situation spoke of last rights and the sleep of the departed.

'Yes,' she replied, 'I think so. We'd better go and tell Vash about this.'

'No!'

Millie's outcry made Meryl jump, she turned on the woman, 'why ever not, Millie?' she asked, 'he deserves to know.'

'Um… yes but… um… it… he can't know!'

'Why?' Meryl was overflowing with puzzlement now, she'd never heard of Millie trying to conceal any truth, or lie about any fact.

'B-b-because she's still alive,' said Millie, 'to him and… and it would be like killing her, telling him she was dead! He needs to have her here.'

'Millie,' said Meryl, softy, looking into her partners large, suddenly tearful eyes, 'I don't understand.'

Mille paused, she looked down at her feet, seeming to collect her thoughts, 'it's hard to explain ma'am,' she said, 'but… do you remember in Carcasus? Where Mr Wolfwood was… where…'

'Yes, of course I do.'

'Well,' began Millie, taking a deep breath and talking rather fast, as if trying to get everything out in one go, 'do you remember how I wouldn't go to watch Mr Vash bury… to watch him… make the grave?'

Meryl nodded, even now she recalled how Millie had shaken her head, still crying wretchedly. No amount of begging could persuade her to leave that room until, eventually, she and Vash had to bury Wolfwood alone, erecting a simple marker for him.

'It was because I was waiting for him,' explained Millie, 'I still am. I didn't want to see the… see what was buried. Because… because Mr Wolfwood asked me to wait for him until he came back, and I am! I saw him leave and… and one day… one day he will come back for me. I'll just be doing something like walking or working or cooking and there he'll be, smoking and saying hello and all that! It won't matter that he's been gone for so long, because I waited for him. And… and… if I saw his body then… then I know that he was dead, really dead and that he'd never come back and I don't think I could stand that ma'am!'

'Millie…' Meryl said, wishing she could somehow vocalize what she actually felt, wishing she had more skill with emotions and less with cold logic and order.

Millie hiccupped, tears running down her face, she sniffed and rubbed some of the moisture from her eyes.

'It's alright Ma'am,' she said, trying to sound cheerful, 'but do you understand what I mean? Mr Vash is the same. He said to me, once, that he promised he'd never leave Miss Rem. And he thinks Rem will never leave him, not really. She'll always be there for him, in the sky, because he never saw her die, never saw her body. If he saw this then I think he's know, really know that she was dead. You saw what happened last time he thought she'd left him, after Legato…'

Meryl nodded numbly, she remembered his torment, how close he was to taking his own life.

'Well I don't want that to happen again,' said Millie, her voice now full of determination, 'I know it's illogical and silly and sentimental but that's the kind of person Vash is… the kind of person we are. Please Ma'am, just this once… don't tell him?'

Meryl paused, Millie was right, it was illogical, silly and sentimental but… it was right, for him. And despite all her rueful moaning, that was the man whom she loved, she could never cause him that sort of pain, even if it meant hiding things from him. He'd done the same to her, after all.

She nodded slowly, almost in wonderment of the situation she found herself in and the people around her. It was amazing, really, that people could hide the truth from themselves so well, could escape from reality and live in such a sentimental bubble. Perhaps Vash had learned it from Rem? But who had Millie learned it off? Meryl could hardly believe that she still thought Wolfwood would return, it was almost spooky. But then she'd long known that part of her tall friend was holding onto the memory of the dark priest. She even kept a locket, hidden under her work clothes, containing a snatched cigarette butt end, stolen from an ashtray in an abandoned hotel room. The only memento she had of the man she'd loved though it was really a very sentimental and-

Meryl blinked, connections fizzled in her brain and, in one blinding moment and idea, a desperate, even stupid idea burst into life.

She turned away and rushed to the desk of draws, opening each compartment in turn and rummaging through the items she found there.

'Ma'am!' protested Millie, 'what are you doing!'

I've had an idea,' said Meryl, excitedly, 'I was just thinking… Rem Saverem was a sentimental woman, that we learned from Vash. She also was involved with the late Alex Adams, quite deeply I presume.'

'Yes?' said Millie, still watching her partner as she rummaged through the draws desperately.

'Well then,' continued Meryl, 'she'd be just the sort to- ah ha! I've found it! Now if I'm right…'

From amongst the mess of items she drew out something. A necklace or, to be more accurate, a locket. She opened the small silver locket and spared a quick glance at the picture within it. It showed an oldish man with blond hair, spiked upwards, but it was not Vash.

But this was not what made Meryl's heart thump with delight. What brought the ecstatic grin to her face was the small lock of golden hair lying inside the picture frame.

'What is it?' asked Millie, looking over her shoulder.

'This, if I'm not very much mistaken,' said Meryl triumphantly, 'is a picture of Mr Alexander Adams and a lock of his hair. I bargained that Miss Saverem would be just the person to keep such a sentimental memento! Millie, do you know what this means?'

'Um… that Mr Vash will be able to see what Mr Adams looked like?'

Meryl resisted the urge to slap her empty head, 'no,' she growled, 'what it means is that we've come a step closer to curing Vash! Mr Knives said to me, back in Sky City, that a full DNA pattern could be found in even a single strand of hair or flake of skin. He also said that we needed some of Mr Adams DNA to fix Vash, so that we know what the pattern of his original human DNA donor was! We have that! We're halfway there to healing Vash!'

'Oh well done ma'am!' yelled Millie joyfully, almost punching the air in her glee.

'Thank you Millie,' replied Meryl, trying not to sound too pleased with herself. 'Now let's find the others. I can't wait to see the expression on Knives' face when I show him my discovery!'

Notes: Sorry this is so late, work getting me down. Bleugh. Please remember to leave a review and check out your replies on my LJ!

NEXT TIME: A happy end is at last in sight! Or is it? The twins fight but then realize they've got something bigger on their plate. The insurance ladies run… but only into further peril. Vash makes a sacrifice, and our mysterious antagonist causes yet more trouble…