"Ahhh, we made it!"
Meryl collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and relief. Two weeks had passed since they had begun their search for Knives, and still they had no solid leads on where he might be. During those weeks, they had stopped at numerous small towns, and had only heard one rumor: he was to the west. So Vash and Meryl decided that was their best bet, not knowing that the closest town was actually 3 days away...
"'Welcome to Kashett,'" Vash read off the sign at the entrance to the town. "Doesn't look that welcoming to me..."
Meryl raised her head to ask what he meant, but she found out for herself.
"There's... no one here..." she said quietly. "But... it's nearly midday there should be plenty of people out..."
Vash walked into town, and Meryl quickly got up and followed him. Yet wherever they went, they could find no signs of anyone in the town.
I don't get it... was he already here? Vash thought. Suddenly he and Meryl heard the muffled sound of someone yelling come from one of the buildings adjacent to them. Meryl spotted a sign that informed her that the building was in fact an inn. She moved quickly to the door, and leaned her ear against it. Vash followed suite.
The yelling instantly became more amplified through the wooden door, yet it stayed incomprehensible. Vash frowned in concentration as he tried to catch what the voice was saying.
"—side right now!" Vash heard the voice say. He looked down as the door handle began to turn.
Before he had any time to react, the door flew open sending Vash and Meryl onto the floor of the inn's lobby. The man who had opened the door shouted in fear and pointed the gun in his hand at them.
"Whoa hey, there's no need for that!" Vash exclaimed as he sat up quickly, putting his arms into the air. "We don't mean any harm, we're just simple travelers who—"
"IDIOT! Get OFF me!" Meryl screeched as she sat up for her spot underneath Vash. He yelped as he lost his balance and fell over onto the floor. Meryl looked up to find the quivering barrel of the man's gun in her face.
"Put that away, Jeff," a cool voice broke the nervous tension in the room. "You might actually shoot someone with the damn thing." Meryl turned to see a thin-faced, middle-aged man seated at a table in the corner of the room. He had dark, gray-highlighted hair and a large vertical scar along his right cheek.
"B-but how do we know that they're not—" the young man stammered.
"You're kidding, right? I mean, just look at 'em!" the older man said. "And besides, if they really did work for him, you'd already be dead."
"'Him...?'" Vash questioned. "Him who?"
"Vash the Stampede, that's who!" Jeff shouted angrily. "That damn bastard—!"
"Jeff, calm down, we're getting ahead of ourselves here," the older man said. He stood up and announced, "Name's Jerry Bransta, and this paranoid idiot is Jeff Houseton. And you are...?"
Meryl stood up off the ground. "I'm Meryl Stryfe, and—"
"And I'm Gregory Smith." Vash said over-seriously. Jerry looked at him quizzically, and Meryl just rolled her eyes. Vash cleared his throat awkwardly.
"So, what about Vash the Stampede?" he asked.
"Well," Jerry began, "supposedly he—"
"'Supposedly?'" Jeff cut in. "What the hell are you talking about? He did attack Sooilay! I saw him there with my own eyes!"
Jerry sighed in annoyance. "You never saw the guy before; how the hell are you supposed to know who he is?"
Jeff glared at the older man. "I've heard him described plenty of times! He's a blonde man who wears red and has a silver weapon! And that's who I saw in Sooilay!"
"Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving," Jerry said quietly. He sat down and leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving the younger man. "Did you ask him?"
Jeff gave him an irritated, questioning look. "Ask him what?"
"If he was Vash the Stampede," the scarred man reiterated.
"Of course not! The minute I saw him I bolted back to town! I—"
"Well then you'll never know for sure will ya?" Jerry's gray eyes gazed coolly at Jeff. An uneasy silence filled the room. Jeff's eyes narrowed before he abruptly turned and exited the room in frustration.
Jerry turned back to Meryl and Vash. "You're gonna have to excuse him. He lost a lot of family and friends in Sooilay. It's only been about a week, so he's still pretty bitter."
"Have you considered that it might really have been Vash the Stampede who did this?" Meryl inquired.
"Actually, we're pretty damn sure it is him; it wasn't just Jeff who said so. I just don't want him scaring people with a rumor like that. Even worse, he might find some people as crazy as he is who might go with him to confront Vash."
"You mean... he's still there?" Vash asked in disbelief.
Jerry hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. We sent a scouting party up there a few days ago and they said they saw someone in the town who looked like 'em..." There was a strange forced tone to his voice, but it quickly disappeared. "Everyone's in a panic because they're afraid that... Kashett will be next..."
"What are you planning to do?" Meryl asked.
Jerry shrugged. Just then a door opened and an elderly woman appeared, with Jeff not to far behind.
"That's enough Mr. Bransta! I don't want you scarin' away anymore've my customers!"
"I'm not scaring them away Gran! They're the one's who asked in the first place!"
Gran looked at Jerry skeptically then turned to Vash and Meryl, a bright, friendly smile contrasting her former look.
"I'll apologize for him. He tends to get a little over-dramatic about things, just ignore it."
Jerry groaned. "You've gotta be kidding me..."
Gran shot him another hostile glare, then returned to Vash and Meryl. "You two look like you could use some rest. Would you like to stay here for the night?"
Meryl returned the woman's smile. "Of course."
As Meryl signed them in, Vash leaned over to Jerry and asked in a whisper, "She's not really your grandmother, is she?"
"Nope," Bransta said, a cold knowing smile at him darkening his visage. "My family's all dead."
"C'mon, let's go find our rooms!" Meryl said, pulling hard on Vash's arm and leading him upstairs. Jerry followed them with his eyes until they were out of sight.
"Uhg, that guy really irks me," Meryl said quietly as they reached the second floor landing. She handed Vash the paper with their room numbers on it.
"Well, he did save our lives..." Vash said.
"Yeah, but... I dunno. I still don't trust him."
"Aw c'mon Meryl, he's not that bad."
She looked at Vash incredulously. "Are you kidding? With the way he was glaring at you back there, I'm surprised you're not dead! Anyway," Meryl and Vash resumed walking, her voice lower again. "What are we going to do about... you know...?"
"I guess... we'll just have to go see for ourselves."
Meryl nodded. There wasn't any way around it. They were going to have to face him some day...
Suddenly Vash stopped. Meryl looked up at him. "What is it?"
He pointed at a door next to him. "This is your room, I think..." he said, checking the small slip of paper again.
Meryl started, and then laughed nervously. "So it is..."
Vash smiled at her, handing her the room key. "Guess we could use some rest, huh?"
"Sure seems that way." Meryl took the key and opened the door. She turned back to Vash and said, "Well, see you tomorrow."
"Bright and early, 'kay? We should try and leave without being noticed."
Meryl nodded. Vash waved and head down the hallway to his room as she entered hers. She closed the door behind her and leaned up against it.
Whatever Vash said, it didn't matter; there was something unnerving about that man, Jerry Bransta. Every time he spoke, it reminded her of an indistinct feeling of sorrow, anger, and helplessness. She shook her head, telling herself that she just needed to relax; tomorrow was going to be a big day...
The morning began like any other Meryl had ever experienced: cool, freshly lit by the light of the twin suns beginning their daily ascension of the cloudless sky. But she knew for certain that it would not end that way. In the distance she could see the town of Sooilay, dark and silent in its desolation, the foreboding reminder of what awaited her and Vash that day. A pang of nervousness stung within her as the got closer and closer to their destination.
The first thing that they noticed as they neared the town was awful stench of death that permeated the air. Meryl gagged and covered her mouth and nose with the sleeve of her coat, trying in vain to block the putrid smell form entering her lungs. She took a sidelong look at Vash whose face was wry from the stench. His eyes were wet with tears, but Meryl knew that wasn't because of the smell.
They both stopped at the entrance of the town, and Meryl couldn't help but let a small, terrified gasp escape her as she laid eyes on the scene. Bodies lay everywhere in broken, mangled heaps. Pools of blood dried from the suns surrounded them. Meryl stood still, not daring to more. She felt her breath become more erratic.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to Meryl." Vash's voice broke in over the desolated scene.
Meryl sighed and shook her head. "No... I-I'm fine..."
Vash glanced at her worriedly. She sure didn't seem fine. Of course, neither did he...
Vash finally forced himself to move forward and Meryl followed behind him, both dodging the bodies and bloodstains. They searched the town, but saw no sign of any living being save themselves. After about an hour, Vash and Meryl found a part of town that was less saturated with death. Abruptly, Vash froze. Meryl followed his frozen gaze and saw what had made him react so.
There was someone else alive in the town.
He was crouched down beside one of the bodies, his back to them. Without warning he stood, not taking his eyes off the deceased. He raised his head and turned to face them, the morning sunlight reflecting off the yellow tinted sunglasses on his face. The tattered red coat he wore fluttered in a small breeze that washed in from the surrounding desert. The man smiled as he walked toward them. His smile widened as Vash and Meryl visibly tensed.
He stopped within speaking distance. "Well Vash, I wondered if you'd show up."
Vash stared grimly at the man. "Knives," he snarled.
The smile on Knives' face remained, but behind the glasses he eyed Vash strangely.
"So... why are you here?" Knives asked, staring Vash down while still smirking. He made no acknowledgment of Meryl's presence.
"Is it true that you're planning to attack the town south of here?" Vash asked, keeping his anger in check.
Knives eyes widened eagerly. "There's a town south of here?" He laughed at the panicked look on Vash and Meryl's faces. "What, you really think I didn't know that already? Ah Vash, you're far too easy to—" Suddenly the smile on his face faded into a frown and his eyes focused on something beyond Vash and Meryl. Vash kept his eyes on his brother, but Meryl turned to see what he was looking at. She gasped.
"Nice to see you made it." Vash blanched. I know that voice! He turned around violently to confirm the identity. Bransta stood yards away from them, his eyes fastened on Knives smugly.
"W-what are you doing here?" Meryl asked in confusion.
"Just came to finish what I started back in Norose," he said calmly. Meryl stared. So that's why he's so familiar...
"And this time," he continued, "there won't be any interruptions, right?" He casually took a black pistol from his side, and pointed it at Knives. A tense silence passed between them. Suddenly Bransta's eyes unfocused, and then his brow furrowed in anger. He reluctantly put his gun away. At the same time,he calmlyplaced his left hand in his pocket.
Knives chuckled evilly at Bransta. "What? Can't you kill one guilty man?" he mocked. Bransta's eyes narrowed.
"You think that's it?" he said angrily. "Then how do you think this mess got here, eh?"
"Are you saying that, you did this?" Vash asked, horrified.
Bransta turned to him. "Not by myself, of course..."
"But... why?" Meryl's voice quivered with dread.
"Orders," he said matter-of-factly. Then his voice became grimmer. "We were told this place was full of filth... so we cleaned it."
"You think that just because you helped do this that you can defeat me?" Knives continued in the same sardonic tone. He scoffed at Bransta. "Incompetent creature..."
Bransta's eyes flashed. A maniacal smile pulsed over his face. "Yeah. I do." He swiftly took his gun from his side and pointed it at Knives. Before he could react Knives screamed in agony and clutched his chest, collapsing to the ground. Bransta's finger remained on the unreleased trigger of his gun.
Bransta's face lit with eager excitement. As he watched Knives, in pain he noticed a flash of silver to his left and shot at it. Meryl let out a gasp of pain as her gun was shot from her hand.
"I thought I said no interruptions..." Bransta said heatedly.
Vash looked helplessly between Knives and Meryl. His eyes lingered on his brother a moment before he rushed over to Meryl. Bransta narrowed his eyes at Vash, and another shot rang in the air.
Bransta reeled back as the bullet lodged itself into his shoulder. Knives arose slowly from the ground, smoke rising from the end of his gun. Bransta glared spitefully at him. "You inhuman..." he snarled painfully. The same absent looked as before passed over his face. He eyes refocused, and then he closed them, his teeth gritting into a smirk against the pain.
"S'about time..." he muttered through his gritted teeth. Suddenly a blood red light blinded the three others in the town. When the light faded, Bransta was gone.
Meryl stared at the spot where he had just been, shocked and confused. Who was that...?
"You alright?" Vash's voice startled her. She looked up at him, and nodded. She opened her mouth to speak, but a sound behind her and Vash caught their attention. Both turned to see Knives slowly making his way away from them.
"Knives—" Vash began.
"Save it, Vash," Knives snarled at his brother. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now."
Vash turned to Meryl for help, but she only shrugged. He turned back to try convince Knives differently, but found that he was nowhere in sight.
"Where did he...?" Meryl began to asked
Vash sighed. "C'mon, let's get out of here," he said quietly. "You should really have that hand looked at."
"I'm fine," Meryl said, holding her hand as it throbbed painfully. Vash eyed her doubtfully. She caught the look, and quietly gave in, and without hesitation they made their way out of the gloomy, desolate town.
YES I have finished! XD and im very sorry if this chapter is written really crappily... I just couldn't get into one of those good writing moods... damn writers block... XO well anywhoo... OMG reviewers! u love me! lol and to show my appreciation ive decided to respond to ur reviews! Yay! so here goes...
Aine of Knockaine—U call him nick too? errr nicolas... err something... lol. at least that's what it seemed like anyway... I used to call him nick all the time cuz that's what my friend who told me about Trigun called him coughkirafirefancough thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
animestlkr/trigirl48—AH! So ur the Anonymous One of Inspiration! XD but, u confuse me... u reviewed chapter 2 twice! Ah well, whatever... u inspire so who cares? XD thankies! Congrats on getting ur permit btw! (I assume u mean drivers permit, but u know what they say about assumptions...XD)
Rogue-Chimera26— salmon isn't bland, eh? Well, meryl thinks so… so mlah! lol actually I wouldn't know cuz guess whaat? Ive never had it (real shocker there... ;-P ) thanks for reviewing Runie! (haha, Runie...)
inkydoo—they cant go home yet! They gotta stop Knives! strikes dramatic pose uh, yeah...anywhoozles thanks for reviewing:-D
KhalidahTiaret—wow, critical reviews! Not something u see every day... lol thanks so much tho... u think I killed Millie cuz shes hard to write? I'd never do that! (consciously...XD) thanks so much!
mangaqueen13—wait, u don't think Meryl said that quote, do u? cuz... she didn't... it was Knives who said that... crap now I gotta check to see if that's coherent or not! lol anywhoo thanks for ur reviews!
Puchiko2—Do not cry! I have returned! XD so glad u liked it! And yes, VashxMeryl shall live on foreva! Whooohooooo:-D
kirafirefan6583—hey Vashnick thanks for reviewin'! make sure u keep writing ur original fics, and ill keep writin this:-P
kevaiss— What u didn't think I write anymore? Are u nuts? Id never leave it like that! Lol thanks for reviewin!
So ya btw ive come to the conclusion that it takes me about 1 to 2 months to update a chapter... I know im slow u don't have to tell me that! -.-' oh and im making weekly (bi-weekly? semi-weekly? ah whatever!) updates to my profile about my progress so if u wanna see how im doin, u can check there (not that any of u really care that much... lol). and just as a heads up: ive changed a lot of the stuff to come, so expect the next chapter to take the better half of 2 months... and as always, review! ;-P