FOUR MONTHS LATER

Meryl could see an outburst brewing in her eyes, and before she could stop her...

"A field assignment? Yall have those?" Milly was suddenly paying very close attention.

Instead of the tirade Meryl had expected, the boss smiled as if a child had just said something cute. "Are you that eager to get out of this office Ms.Thompson?"

Meryl relaxed. This girl had the strangest effect on people.

Milly smiled. "Oh, no sir. I just wasn't aware that the same people that sat on typewriters all day, were also..."

Meryl cut her off, it wasn't worth Milly risking two possible insults in one conversation. "We'll gladly accept the assignment, sir! As you know we, of course, are the most qualified as we have been researching claims on one, Mr.Vash the Stampede, for almost five months now.

"Well, then it's all settled. You two set out tomorrow morning...happy hunting!" The boss ushered both girls quickly out before they had any time to rethink their situation.

THE NEXT DAY

"Hey! Meryl! Sorry I'm late!"

"About time, I thought the steamer was gonna leave us." She turned to greet her partner but then covered her face. "I thought you threw away that old thing!"

Milly looked down at her coat. "Oh yeh, I did. That one was torn up pretty bad. I just never had enough cash to get someone to sew me a new one. This one's brand new. Even has more inside pockets for my..."

"Yes, yes. I can tell the difference now, it looks good. Let's just get on before we're left behind."

A FEW NIGHTS LATER

Meryl laid quietly on the bottom bunk listening to the sounds of the steamer as she pondered their current assignment. What was the humanoid typhoon really like? Could any one person really be that horribly dangerous to be dubbed the first localized human disaster. No, it wasn't possible. But wasn't there always a bit of truth to every legend? But he had so many legends, there couldn't be truth in all of them...some of them were even complete opposites. Was he tall, was he short, was he covered in tattoos, was he blonde, did he kill kittens for sport, did he rape, did he pillage, was he...

"Sempai?"

Meryl nearly slammed her head into Milly's bunk above her. "Don't do that!"

"You're thinking out loud again."

"Oh." Meryl blushed slightly. "Um...sorry Milly."

"No worries."

TWO DAYS LATER

"Meryl, I really don't think that's him."

"He's tall, he has a mohawk, and he's wearing a red isn't he?"

"Well yeah, but..."

"Well it's him then."

Milly stared over the embankment at the huge boomerang-toting giant that Meryl was currently heading straight towards with a meager peace offering of donuts. He did fit the description that guy had given at the bar, but her gut told her otherwise. He didn't even look intelligent enough to be some 'legend'. She sighed to herself and looked skyward. "You know I tried to be good. December's proof of that. But it looks like I just can't get away from this lifestyle can I? Ah well. Being in that office was driving me nuts anyway." She smiled, sliding down to catch up with Meryl. "I just wish I had my hat."

30 MINUTES LATER

"Well atleast we told that nerdy guy to go evacuate the town. But you wouldn't happen to have any type of escape plan, hmm Milly?"

"I thought this was your plan...you did want us to get tied up and hung from this rock, right?"

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU THINK THAT?"

"You didn't even try to reach for your Derringer's."

"Wait a minute. I didn't tell you I had..."

"WELL, LADIES! PLEASURE BEFORE DEATH, OR JUST DEATH?"

"Well at least they got the womanizer part right."

"Shut up, Milly."

Cue the previously mentioned nerdy guy, a spot on the horizon, a man, a soldier of peace chasing the elusive mayfly known as love, screaming like a girl, and riding a Thomas...horribly. "HHHHHEEEEELLLPPP!"

Meryl closed her eyes. "Milly, please tell me it isn't that man that ate our donuts."

"It's the guy that ate the donuts, Meryl."

Milly jumped as Meryl suddenly went into harpy-of-rage mode. "UGH! DO YOU WANT TO DIE MORON? WHY DID YOU COME BACK? WE TOLD YOU TO GO WARN THE TOWN! GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE ONE OF THESE GUYS KILLS YOU TOO!"

"BUT I'M HAVING AN EMERGENCY!"

Meryl started to yell back but failed, as both girls slammed the dirt as stray bullets began to fly.

Milly stood up first, looking at the severed rope. "Hmm...that guy cut us down." Meryl tackled her, making them both land behind a large boulder.

"You can't just stand out in the open like that and don't be ridiculous, bullets are going everywhere that man had nothing to do with it, and now he's gonna get killed, while we escape."

"We gotta help him Meryl, he cut us down."

"It was on accident."

They both peered around the rock.

Meryl tensed. "The big guy just threw his boomerang. There's no way he can-"

"Dodge it?" Milly smiled.

THAT NIGHT

She sighed moving away from her typewriter and stretching. "So in the end, the town was destroyed anyway, we were supposedly saved by the man you insist on calling Vash the Stampede, and..."

"Because he was Vash the Stampede." Milly stated ever so matter of factly while laying on the floor eating sandwiches and drinking tea in her tank top and pajama pants.

"No he was not." Meryl plopped down Indian style next to her to share the sandwiches.

"I say he was. No one's that lucky. We should thank him if we ever see him again."

"Milly."

"Hmm?"

"How did you know about the Derringer's?"

She bit into a sandwich. "You smell like gunpowder."

Meryl blinked. Could Milly really be that observant? Was there a side she didn't-

"...and everyone calls you Derringer Meryl behind your back at the office."

Fangs erupted from Meryl's mouth. "I BET IT'S STACEY, ISN'T IT? THAT LITTLE..."

"She says you fall asleep a lot too."

"AAAAGGGGHHH. Remind me to give her a personal demonstration of my Derringer's next time we're in December."

"God doesn't bless that." Milly sipped her tea with a slight smile in her eyes.

"Maybe he could make an exception..."

"Heh." It'd be dangerous to tell her, but Meryl really was a very amusing person.