The first four chapters were just around 500 words, give or take a few dozen words or so. Anyway, chapter five was about 750 words and I was hoping to increase this while not letting the "episodes" drag out too long.
I decided to take the request to make them longer to heart. You may have noticed that the last chapter was a bit larger- at 1149 words. I'm going to try and make the chapters longer for the most part, as this series will have a definite episodic feel to it.
You may have observed that the last two chapters ended with classic "Cliff-Hanger" scenes. This way, you'll be left wondering what might happened next.
P.s. Vas has his trademark red coat on, but it has both sleeves on it (you'll understand later). And he has the boots from the original outfit, but he's wearing normal clothes underneath the jacket.
TRIGUN BETA: Series I
Episode 07: By the Books, part 3
.o.o.o.
They rounded a corner in time to see a snake-like creature staring down at them. Before they could react, it lashed out of them and sent them flying into a bookshelf that collapsed onto them!
Clouds of dust shot up around them and filled the area with dust clouds.
Meryl crawled out of the rubble and looked towards where Maggie lay, not moving. She then looked up at the monster advancing on them. Maggie was pinned under the shelf and Meryl could do nothing to get her free. However, she was also unwilling to abandon her now found acquaintance. She began to feel trapped.
It looked down at them evilly and hissed. Then, the beast exploded and scraps off paper flew out in all directions and rained down around them.
Maggie began to stir and look up. Weakly, she squinted and spoke. "p-
Paper m-Master?" She mumbled.
"What?" Meryl said groggily as she looked around.
Two men stepped forward; one of them looked old with a long white beard while the other had long black hair.
"Maggie!" The old man exclaimed.
The two of them managed to lift of the rubble and pull Maggie out from underneath it.
The younger man helped Meryl up onto her feat. "Thank you." She replied as she dusted herself off.
They gathered around Maggie, and the older man shook her gently, saying her name. She eventually came around and looked up at him. "Grandfather?" She spoke.
"What is going on here, my dear?" He asked her gently.
"Honored Grandfather, this girl's friend is lost within the library and a monster is loose as well." She answered. "We fear that the monster is pursuing him as we speak."
The man shook his head and then turned to the younger one. "Samuel, go with this young lady and find the stranger, I must stay here and speak with Maggie."
Samuel nodded. "Yes." He then led Meryl with him to go look for Vash.
Everything was going on so fast for her. Meryl's head was spinning from all of the new information she was taking in. "Vash, you are so gonna get it when I find you!" She thought bitterly.
.o.o.o.
Vash tripped while running and fell onto his stomach. He managed to pull himself back up. He heard the creature coming around the corned and rammed himself into a shelf, knocking it onto it as it passed under it.
Vash stepped back and sighed. "That'll show it!" He thought out loud with some measure of certainty in his tone.
Then, the creature burst through the overturned shelf and came after him again. Vash went pale and turned to run. "This has to be a nightmare!" He yelled. As he ran, he could have sworn that he passed a small black cat with large yellow eyes.
"What. . .?" He thought to himself as he kept running. "This is too weird." He thought.
The black cat scampered off.
.o.o.o.
A woman in a heavy off-white trench coat and wide brimmed cowboy hat waited outside the library. Her long violate hair hung down around her and covered her right eye, obscuring it from view.
After a moment, a black cat approached her and hopped up into her arms. "Is it done?"
"Meow."
"Excellent, the master will be most pleased with this. This test will be just what we need to find out if HE is the one that we have been preparing for."
"Mew."
"Maybe you're right, we should wait and see what happens first before jumping to conclusions."
.o.o.o.
Maggie walked alongside her grandfather as the two of them spoke.
"Maggie, I want you to answer my question truthfully- speak from your hear. Do you undertand?"
"Yes." Maggie replied.
"Do you want more?"
"Grandfather?" Maggie asked in surprise.
"Do you want more than what this place has to offer?" He asked. "Somehow, when I look into your eyes, I see the glimmer that speaks of the longing for adventure." He explained. "I realized some time ago, that deep down you want more from life, am I incorrect?"
Maggie thought about this for some time and then looked him directly in the eyes. "Yes."
"I thought as much." Her grandfather replied. He stopped and looked at her with a smile. "Than I think it's time for you to set out and just what the world has to offer you."
"Thank you." Maggie replied, and then hugged him.
"But remember, you will always have a home here with us if you want to come back one day." He told her with a gentle smile. He then reached out and brushed a few short locks of dark hair out of her eyes.
.o.o.o.
Vash rounder yet another corner and found himself in a dead-end. "Oh no!" He exclaimed, realizing he was trapped! An impassible barrier stood before him, and behind him was an unstoppable monster made of Paper headed straight for him.
Vash turned to see the monster glaring down at him.
"Beast, withdraw!" Exclaimed a dark haired man who appeared behind the paper monster.
Vash also observed that Meryl was with him as well. He resigned himself to the fact that she would be far more unshakable than he had initially assumed.
"VASH!" She yelled, while gripping his collar and shaking him viciously. "How dare you think that you could give ME the slip!" She yelled. "You're a liability to this entire planet and I'll be damn sure that there are no slip-ups on my watch, understand?"
"Understood." Vash replied.
"Good." Meryl replied, suddenly smoothing over and relaxing. "Are you okay?" She asked in a very maternal manor as she looked him over, dusting him off as she spoke.
Meryl straightened herself out and looked at the bewildered Vash in a professional way and smiled. "I'm happy that we were able to have cleared this little matter up." She began. "Now, we better get going." She added.
A sweat drop formed at the side of Vash's head as he watched her small form depart. Vash then turned to look at the dark-haired man, who was now staring at him with an incredulous glance.
"What!" Vash snapped. "She's my. . ." He paused. "She's my Insurance Girl!" He added haughtily and stomped off.
"More like his wife." Samuel remarked quietly to himself.
.o.o.o.
Vash and Meryl made their way out of the library.
"I arranged rooms for us at a local in for the night, after that, we'll need a new game plan." Meryl spoke.
"Thanks." Vash said dejectedly.
"Don't be so down, you might actually realize one day that having me around might be for your own good." She replied with a impish smile that flattered her smaller fair skinned form.
Vash sighed. "You win, and thanks for helping me."
Meryl smiled proudly. "No problem, it's my duty as a Field Agent to keep you safe." She replied. "But what now?"
Vash shook his head. "Well, I was thinking that we could—"
"Sir." A voice interrupted the gunman.
The two turned around to see the tall slender figure of Maggie looking at them nervously. She was carrying a duffle bag over her shoulder.
"Yes?" Meryl inquired.
She began to speak, somewhat nervously. "I'm leaving this place," she began. "And I was wondering if I could go with you guys?"
Vash and Meryl exchanged glance with one another and then looked back at the tall girl.
"It could be dangerous." Vash offered.
"I know, but I want to get out and see what the world has to offer me and I thought I could travel with you all." She replied in a hopeful tone.
Vash looked down at Meryl, who simply smiled and nodded her head.
Vash smiled and looked back at Maggie. "Well then, welcome aboard." He announced.
The gunman retrieved his belongings from the corner and the three of them made their way out.
"What were you about to say, Vash?" Meryl asked the gunman.
Vash put his arm around the two girls and smiled, looking out- towards the distant horizon. "Well, I was thinking a little sight-seeing would be in order." He spoke cheerfully.
Meryl smiled gently, while Maggie inwardly sighed smiled- looking forward to the future.
"Sounds like a good plan." Meryl replied.
.o.o.o.
And so. . .
Vash the Stampede (a Wondering Gunman and Adventurer), Meryl "Derringer" Stryfe (the tough little gun-toting Insurance Girl), and Maggie Mui (the shy but formidable Paper Master) set out to see what lie ahead them.
The future would be unknown, as would the perils and thrills that awaited them. But, as long as they endured, nothing would be impossible!
.o.o.o.
The purple haired woman spoke into a communicator. "Yes, sir, he disposed of the creatures just as you predicted. What should we do now?"
"I knew he was the one. For the time being, we must tread carefully." Replied the voice. "Keep a distance for the time being and do not engage him for now."
"Yes, of course, sir." She replied and the communicator clicked off. She then looked down at the black cat laying at her feet. "Well, little Black Cat, we have work to do." And with that, they set out to fulfill their unknown designs. . .
-End of Episode 07-
.o.o.o.
Wow, 1773 words! I can't believe I did it! I sure hope you guys liked this chapter as much as I did. It think it's the best one yet!
Well, until next time, she you guys around. Oh, and special thanks to everyone who's supported this little story. I promise you guys I'll do my VERY best to not disappoint you.
Thank you.
-Bojack727
