TRIGUN BETA: Series 1
Episode 011: Dance Dance, part 4

.o.o.o.

Miller walked through the cornfields quietly, it was still early in the morning, but the workers and he were already busy tending the crops. He looked to the side as a teenage boy ran up to him. "What is it, Rufus?" He asked dryly.

"Boss, the scarecrow, it's gone!" Exclaimed the young man frantically.

Miller sighed. "Damned punk kids, vandalizing my property." He remarked. "Well go look around for the thing and see if anyone can find it. He pulled the pipe out of his mouth and swore.

"Right boss." Rufus nodded and ran off.

"These kids today, they have no respect for their elders." He thought out loud as he chewed on the end o his pipe.

.o.o.o.

In one of the halls of the mayor's house, Rula and a man spoke candidly about dark plots. Rula was standing before him, wearing her house robe and generally looking unhappy- though this was nothing out of the ordinary for her.

Rula listened as her 'employee' informed her of the progress of her plan. "I want you to make sure that nothing goes wrong." She explained. "I will not allow someone to cross me and get away with it."

"Miss Rula, are you sure that this is all necessary?" He asked uneasily.

Rula sighed. "Of course it is, I have plans, and I'm not going to allow that girl to stop me before I even get started, now go do your job."

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded and walked away as the woman watched him disappear around a corner.

She turned away and walked back into her room and down on the bed.

"You're too good for this place, love." Said a familiar husky voice.

Rula looked over her shoulder and spotted the form of the woman next to her. Dominique smiled back at her, her face partially obscured by the long locks that seemed to permanently hang over her right eye.

"You're destined for so much more, and my people can give you the power that you deserve." She explained. "Once the deal is fulfilled in blood, we will be ready to leave this town." Dominique smiled attractively at her again.

Rula relaxed slightly. "I always knew, somehow, that this wasn't the life I was meant to live." She exclaimed. "And now I know that I was right." She added.

Dominique placed her hands on either shoulder of the other woman and smiled. "They suspect nothing, so now we can rest and prepare for tomorrow's event."

"Yes, they'll never know what hit them."

Dominique smiled and kissed her again.

.o.o.o.

Rufus walked silently between the rows of corn as he continued to search for the missing scarecrow. He stopped when he spotted a pair of feet sticking out from around the corner. He rushed over to them, only to find the dead body of one of the other farm hands.

"What the hell. . ." He murmured in shock as he stepped back. He turned to go get help, but was stopped when he found the scarecrow standing in front on him. "Oh my god!"

The Scarecrow descended upon him.

.o.o.o.

Maggie and Meryl waited outside the pavilion, where the dancing contest was to be held. Both the tall quiet girl and shorter, and livelier, one kept a close watch on things.

"Something feels wrong with this situation." Maggie remarked.

Meryl smiled. "Well of course it does," she replied. "If Vash is here, then there's going to be a lot of mayhem."

The tall girl shook her head. "No, it's different, somehow I have a feeling that we're missing something that's right in front of us." She tightened her fist and stuck into her coat pocket, feeling around for the familiar form of paper in it.

Meryl frowned. "Well, I hope that that's not the case," She remarked. "We have enough trouble keeping an eye on Vash, let alone outside problems."

.o.o.o.

Miller continued walking along the path that dissected the field down the middle. He stopped when he spotted something. The scarecrow was back on it post.

He walked up closer, observing the effigy, as it was tied to its cross-like holding place. However, he then noticed something odd. He looked closer and spotted blood running down the post and followed the trail up to its source.

The scarecrow was bleeding!

"What in the name of hell!" He yelled as he took a step back and bumped into something. Thinking it was Rufus or one of the others, he swung around to say something, but stopped when he was instead confronted with the image of a perfect stranger.

"Who are you?"

The man was tall with blue hair that covered his left eye, while the remaining visible was a distinctive piercing yellow color. He was covered in a thick black cloak with the collar upturned, lending him a distinctly gothic look.

"My name is unimportant." He replied. He then looked up at the 'new' scarecrow. "I see you have found my little project, not a bad piece of work if I say so myself." He continued.

Miller was frozen in his tracks; it was as if the man was holding him in place somehow.

The stranger walked right up to him and smiled and then placed a hand on his forehead. "Regular killing is so boring after the first few times, I think that I'll show you something a little different."

Miller fell onto his knees and his pipe fell out of his mouth.

The man looked down at him. "Do you know what real fear is?"

.o.o.o.

Vash suddenly felt a chill run through him. He had been sitting outside of Edna's school of dancing while Mina trained.

"What's happening here, what's going on?" Vash said as he got to his feet and looked around. "No, it can't be him, he can't actually be here." He thought as he looked around. "I have to go get the girls and tell them about this." He reasoned and ran off

.o.o.o.

Meryl and Maggie walked down the streets of the town, when the noticed that Vash was running up to them, without his coat or hat.

"Vash, what's going on here?" Meryl exclaimed.

The tall gunman stopped before them and frowned. "I think something terrible is going to happen."

Meryl smiled oddly. "Don't you think you're overreacting a bit over just a bad feeling?"

He shook his head. "No, I wish I was wrong, but" he paused. "The last time I felt something like this, a lot of people died."

(- End of Episode 11 -)

.o.o.o.

Well, I hoped this chapter wasn't so bad of read for you guys. I'll see you all later.