TYPICAL UPDATE PARAGRAPH: Dude. 200 reviews? (confetti falls mysteriously out of internet ceiling) I never thought this story would get so far. (is extremely happy) Seriously, I'd totally say that we should have some sort of party. But since that's physically impossible, let's just don't and say we did. Everyone was invited and it was completely awesome...pudding, beer, donuts, salmon sandwiches, etc. One long, wild night. Some drunk got a hold of the punisher and made my house a new skylight. Vash was chased by fangirls until he passed out on the lawn at sunrise. Consequently, no one has seen him since. Milly and Wolfwood snuck off and did...things. Meryl sold pairs of Vash's underwear and belongings to said fangirls. There were drinking games with Kuroneko-sama, and some of the GHG's even stopped by to try and induce pain and suffering but just ended up getting completely wasted and skinny dipping in the pool. In fact I think Knives and Legato are still out there. (shiver) Anyway...I think my imagination is beginning to get the best of me. So once again thank you for the reviews! And yes puffin, Gunsmoke is a TV show...it always throws me off when I see it in the cable guide!
They were fast. Unbelievably fast. In mere seconds the strangers had completely turned the tide, seizing control of the room. The blonde man sat on the desk with a smile on his face and that weird gun arm to the boss's head, while the minister just stood cold-eyed, pistol in hand, silently daring anyone to even think about moving.
A familiar burst of machine gun fire echoed down from one of the floors above them, putting a stop to Vash's victory banter before it could even begin. He looked to Wolfwood for confirmation.
It was hard to tell if the priest's expression was more of fear or of anger, but it definitely revealed recognition. "Finish this on your own dammit!"
He blinked as Nick went tearing out the room at a full sprint, leaving him alone with the thugs. Vash immediately grabbed the long colt from Cortez and aimed it at the others before they could get any ideas. The Typhoon's smile became more of a grimace. "Don't think this improves your chances..." Even though the cross could technically be in anyone's hands about now, Vash just knew like Wolfwood knew. There was a fight somewhere and the insurance girls were caught up in it.
She lowered the smoking end slowly to the floor, a bit wide-eyed and very unnerved. The guilt was already welling up inside her.
Meryl stared at the mess before them. Milly had made sure not to hit anyone in the head or torso, aiming instead for a low sweep. Bullets through thighs, shins, knees, and calves. But her mercy didn't make the scene any easier to swallow. Blood was everywhere, none of the guys could stand...just simply writhe, suffering and moaning in pain.
Her shoulders sank. The men could still bleed to death...or be crippled for life. Was that any better than just being killed point blank? They'd been so close when she fired. The bullets had mangled them badly. Milly took a step forward and a sharp pain ran through her abdomen, making her cringe. But it wasn't worth looking down, she already knew.
After the initial shock, Meryl finally became aware of her own body as well. She realized that her leg was burning. Something warm was dripping onto her foot.
"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!"
Vash unloaded a few bullets into the wall around Cortez's head. "AND YOU CAN'T BE THIS STUPID!" He really wanted to know what was going on upstairs. His patience was running out. The Typhoon decided to play up to his reputation, hoping that would provide a little boost of motivation for this creep. He pressed the .45 painfully into the boss's neck as his normally peaceful aqua-green eyes went absolutely livid. "I TOOK ON OVER A HUNDRED MEN AND WALKED AWAY UNSCAVED, REMEMBER? I'M VASH THE FREAKING STAMPEDE! IF I SAY THIS PLACE IS OUT OF BUSINESS, THEN IT'S FUCKING OUT OF BUSINESS!" Agh...he really did hate using that word, but sometimes you just had to sacrifice a little dignity to get through to guys like this. Vash grabbed him by the collar. "GOT IT?"
Cortez wasn't sure what to think. This man was clearly unbalanced. Joking around and acting no more intelligent than a disabled child at one moment, then spinning out of control into utter rage at another. Regardless of which side was this man's true nature...he did seem sincere enough to pull that trigger. "FINE! I'LL GIVE WORD TO RELEASE THE DAMN WOMEN! BUT YOU THINK BEING CAST OUT INTO THE DESERT IS A FATE ANY BETTER THAN WHAT THEY HAVE NOW? WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO?"
Vash's voice returned to a deadly calm. "There are plenty of towns in this region. But whatever they choose, it will be their decision. Anything's better than loss of free will..."
"Hey! What are you d-"
Nick kicked him out the way as he leapt up yet another staircase. Where the hell were they? He called out once he reached the top. "MILLY, MERYL?"
They both looked up at the sound of their names. Milly cast a shy glance to the other insurance girl. "They're going to be angry with us..."
"I know." Meryl sighed thinking of all the crap Vash would say. About how they shouldn't have followed...how it was dangerous and stupid...yadda yadda. It wasn't going to be pretty. "You better answer him."
She nodded. "NICK, WE'RE OVER THIS WAY! WE'RE ALL RIGHT!"
Her voice was more than welcome, but still didn't completely satisfy him. He wouldn't relax until she was right in front of him. Only then would he know she was safe. Wolfwood ran towards the source, sliding around the corner only to find a blood stained dead end. About seventeen men were lying badly wounded and semi-conscious across the floor. The girls kneeled among them, creating make shift bandages for them out of material he could only assume had been torn from his own weapon's covering.
Why was he just standing there? "Nicholas?"
He snapped back to reality, running to her. "What the hell happened here?"
"They chased us and we got trapped. I had to use your gun..." She looked away from him. "But I didn't mean for it to be like this."
He stared at her. She was the one that did this? Milly used the cross? Damn, but she should have known what would happen at such close range. He corrected himself. No, why the hell should she know that? She wasn't the one that killed for a living. He grabbed her by the wrist, suddenly noticing the blood running down her side. Nick jerked her arm up so he could look at the wound. His concern instantly changed to anger.
She flinched. He was hurting her. "I...I think it's only a ricochet. The bullet isn't in that deep. Same thing with Sempai's leg. I'm sure we'll be fi-"
"Bullshit. Look how much blood you two have already lost. Forget these assholes. You need to get the hell back to town." His eyes had darkened to that murky, frightening blue. He was angry and wasn't about to be reasoned with.
The sudden change frightened her. She tried to pull away as he forced her up. "Nick, I'm the one that did this to them! I just can't leave them!"
He couldn't stand it. Here she was with a bullet in her side, bleeding steadily...and still more worried about the bastards that tried to kill her than anything else. "Milly, think with your head for once! They were going to kill both of you! You did what you had to do and that's the end of it!"
She felt like she was talking to an entirely different person now. His tone was so heartless. "I know that! But that doesn't make it right to just walk away!" She tried once more to escape his grasp and he gave her a look that said he would carry her screaming down the hallway if he had to. Milly stared at him. "Don't look at me like that! It isn't right and you know it!"
"I know that I'm stronger than you and you're only making your wound worse. They don't deserve your pity. They attacked you and now they've got to deal with the consequences. The only question now is whether I'm going to throw you over my shoulder, or are you going to be sensible and walk on your own two feet?"
He really did have two sides. The man with the murky eyes must be Chapel The Evergreen, because it certainly wasn't Nicholas. There really wasn't anything she could do to oppose him right now. "I'll walk..."
Meryl had remained uncharacteristically silent throughout the argument. The priest definitely had a temper and realizing his 'honey' had been shot, was more than enough to set it off. Regardless of the couple's feelings for each other, their views of right and wrong were pretty conflicting sometimes. And neither was about to compromise. She didn't feel it was her place to comment, but it was hard to see Milly with that hurt look in her eyes. If Meryl had been in her place, she probably would have slapped the crap out of him. But Milly was never like that with Nick. She couldn't imagine the tall girl ever raising a hand to him...whether the holy jerk needed it or not. Meryl stood up, a little unsteady as a jolt of pain shot down her leg.
He turned his attention to her. "What about you? You gonna be able to make it downstairs?"
The short girl huffed while grabbing the remains of the punisher's wrappings off the ground and tearing some more strips from it. "Dammit, would you quit acting so pissy? She already told you we're fine! And where the heck is Vash?" She handed a strip to Milly and the girls began bandaging their wounds.
Wolfwood chose to ignore her attitude. "Tongari's downstairs having some words with the guy that runs the place."
Milly looked back up. "Are they going to let the girls go?"
"Probably." He picked up his cross and closed the machine gun end. "Now quit stalling and come on."
Ugh. She really wished Milly would just deck him already. "Would you quit bossing us around? We were in these kind of situations way before we ever met your asshole self! Besides, me and Milly still have to get our stuff back!"
3 HOURS LATER: Back In The Desert
She leaned her head against his chest, finally beginning to give in to the exhaustion that had been the last twenty-four hours. The red coat was a comforting vision for her tired eyes. She was still surprised he hadn't given her any lecture. Maybe he was just waiting until she didn't have a chunk of metal jammed in her leg to give her a speech. Or maybe he was just happy it hadn't been worse. Yeh, she'd go with that for now. His arms tightened around her waist and she glanced up. He smiled when her eyes met his. It was a real smile. He stole a quick kiss and Meryl buried her face in the red with an even bigger smile. Why did it always seem that they were either in heaven or hell? There was no in between. You'd never guess what they'd all just been through from the way they were acting now. At first glance they probably looked more like some messed up family coming back from vacation. In this convertible they'd 'borrowed' from Cortez. Cat's three sisters were all asleep in the backseat, Wolfwood was driving, Milly was sitting in the middle next to him, and Vash was sitting next to her with Meryl in his lap. Six seats...seven people. The short girl certainly didn't mind their solution to the problem right now.
Milly figured all the women would be okay now. There'd been another town only a few miles away and she supposed they'd all go there. Try and contact relatives, friends, or whoever. Even those without a blood relation in the world should be fine. If they'd had enough spirit to last in a place like that, then they could survive anywhere. She wished them the best. Cat would be so happy to see her sisters. Milly couldn't wait to get back to her. In a way she felt like she was honoring Rachel and Jess's memory by helping Cat. Milly looked down at her lap. People should never be separated from their siblings. She missed hers so much. It was a hole that never really healed. Meryl was the only sister she had now. Not that she wasn't grateful for their friendship. She smiled slightly. But did that make Vash like a brother? And Nicholas? No...Nick was in a class of his own as far as her heart was concerned. Her smile faded. And that's why it hurt for him to be so cold sometimes. They hadn't spoken much since the argument they'd had in the mansion. And now he was completely silent, just driving. She still thought he'd been wrong but she could put it behind her. It was over now and she just wanted things to be good again. The car was an automatic so he really only needed one arm to drive it. He was steering with his left hand while his right sat uselessly beside him. Couldn't he think of anything better to do with that hand? Milly casually picked up his right arm, put it around her, and leaned against his side. She relaxed, enjoying the warmth of his jacket against her face. "Are you mad at me?"
Nick was pretty frustrated, but he doubted he could ever really be angry with her. She was just so much purer. They couldn't help but clash at some point. "Of course not."
Milly put her hand on his thigh. "Then quit acting like it." He looked down then back at her. She smiled, dragging her fingertips up towards his lap but stopping right before she reached it.
He couldn't help but be disappointed, but he should have known better. Always teasing, but never delivering. It was like an art form to her. And like she'd do that in the car anyway. This girl didn't even like to French kiss in public.
She tried not to smile as Wolfwood glared ahead at the open desert, obviously not very pleased at the little game. Milly stole a quick glance to the side. Meryl had her face turned away from them and Vash had fallen asleep with his head against hers. The urge was nothing that could be explained logically. The courage to do things like this came in unplanned, spontaneous bursts. Hopefully he wouldn't wreck. She pressed her hand back down, running it towards his lap again. Milly could tell he was getting annoyed, but that should change momentarily. Her hand paused again for just one more tease, then she cupped her hand gently between his legs. Yes, she could definitely feel him. She was smiling like the embarrassed good girl she was, as she started to massage him.
Wolfwood's breath instantly became shallow. He couldn't believe it. The priest glanced around the car to make sure the others were asleep and then looked down at her in disbelief.
There was a tint of a blush in her cheeks, but nothing extreme. "What? It's what you wanted isn't it?"
"Yes." He leaned back in the seat, already feeling himself stiffen up under the soft motions of her palm. "You done this before, big girl?"
"Nope. Does it feel good?"
He grinned, spreading his legs a little. "Like you wouldn't believe."