upDAte!: (is asleep on keyboard when she should be studying for exam tomorrow)
Wolfwood: "Well...um, this has never happened before..."
Vash: "Should we wake her up? I mean, that drool is kind of collecting..."
Meryl:(walks in) "What the hell? This isn't the bathroom...oh crap, is this one of those stupid things where 'we' the fictional characters introduce the story? (rolls eyes) How freaking original..."
Milly: "Hey! What's everybody...ooh."
Knives: "Wait a minute...I'm not even in this story yet. Why am I here!?"
Legato: "Hmm..."(licks arm for lack of explanation)
Vash: "EW! Someone just do the introducing thingy or something already so we can get out of here!"
Myself(suddenly wakes up and stares wide eyed at freaks standing around me): "I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE EATEN THOSE STUPID BROWNIES AT THE DORM! (covers eyes) DAMMIT!"
Milly: "Um...what's wrong with brownies?"
Wolfwood: "Special kind, big girl..."
Myself(rubs temples, ignoring voices): "Okay...remain calm. It'll pass. None of this real. Sleep deprivation, stress, and questionable baked goods. I'll be fine by morning...in my more normal disclaimer type stuff, this chapter is choppy and probably has lots of typos. I don't have time to proofread. You've been warned."
Vash:(talking to Meryl) "Whew, and I thought we'd been dragged into another one of those crazy fangirl dungeons!" (eyes the marks on his wrists from his last escape)
Myself:(looks groggily at Vash, Wolfwood, Knives, and Legato) "That's true...I should probably page those chicks and get you punks out my sight." (presses strange red button on wall and speaks into fast food like speaker) "ATTENTION ALL FEMALE TRIGUN AUTHORS...PLEASE COME PICK UP THE DONUT FANATIC, THE CHOIR BOY, PSYCHOPATH MASTER, AND PSYCHOPATH MAN SERVANT, THEY HAVE ESCAPED YOUR DUNGEONS AND ARE POLLUTING MY SPACE. PLEASE GET BETTER CHAINS AND KEEP YOUR PETS MORE PROPERLY RESTRAINED IN THE FUTURE. THAT IS ALL." (turns to boys as rumbling is heard in the distance) "I suggest you start running now."
[we all need a mental release sometimes, now on to the story]
Vash stepped forward, keeping his hands in sight. "Do we look dangerous to you?"
He was answered when another bullet disturbed the sand in front of him. "NOBODY'S GETTING IN, AND IF YOU JUST KEEP STANDING AROUND, THE NEXT SHOT'LL BE THROUGH YOUR DAMNED HEAD!"
Nick stuck the base of the punisher into the sand with a glare. Needle Noggin's little negotiation tactics were getting them nowhere. "I say we just blow the whole damn door down..."
Vash ignored the priest's suggestion, turning to head back to the car. "Let's go."
Wolfwood stared. "You can't be serious. We're just gonna walk away when we came this far!?"
"It's their town. If they don't want to let us in, we have to respect that."
The priest looked to the insurance girls for support. Meryl just sighed and began to follow Vash while Milly seemed completely off in her own little world.
She tilted her head, watching the thief that no one else had seemed to notice just yet. He couldn't have come from this town could he? Why would they lock their own children outside?
Just then, Vash noticed him as well and the boy leapt from their car with one of their canteens in tow. But the child was too concerned with the three strangers behind him, and Milly found it quite easy to catch him off guard and block his path.
She smiled down at the little blonde as he tried in vain to get around her. The tall girl saw it was Vash's canteen the boy had pilfered, but the child was so hungry-eyed and looked to be in much more need of it than they were, that she didn't see any reason to really stop him. "Well, aren't you going to thank the nice man for his water?"
He blinked, staring up at her. After seeing that the woman really wasn't going to let him get by, he looked over his shoulder with some distaste. How humiliating. He lowered his head and mumbled a reluctant thank you.
The tall girl stepped out of his way, letting the boy with the red bandana tear off and disappear inside a lone house in the distance. She smiled up at the others before turning to follow him.
The priest lifted his cross and gave a quick glance to Vash before walking off after her.
He paused briefly, considering the look Wolfwood had just given him. It said he was going to find out what was going on and didn't care whether the hell Vash wanted to come or not. The priest's strict policy of noninterference was so quick to change as soon as you threw a child into the mess. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but he just wished Nick could see such value in people as a whole.
"Well come on!" Meryl tugged the Stampede onward, and within no time the four were standing outside the oddly remote dwelling.
Wolfwood rapped his knuckles against the dried wooden door, keeping within his friendliest demeanor. "Hello? Anyone in there? You don't have to be afraid of us. We just-"
The door swung open and the insurance girls jumped aside as a sudden barrage of garbage came erupting out at the boys.
"GET OUT OF HERE!"
Nick used his cross as a shield while the assault continued. Children's voices? How many were in there? Wasn't anyone looking after them? "We just want to help!"
Vash yelped as a cat was flung from inside and made a direct landing on his face. Talk about live ammo. It tried to dig its claws in to keep from slipping and he grabbed it up by the scruff of its neck, pulling the hissing ball of fur away before it really got a chance. "Stupid cat!"
It sunk its teeth into his wrist with a vengeance. "Nyao!"
Only Milly watched as Vash went flailing around violently, trying to get the determined feline away from his person.
Nick lowered his cross, keeping his attention to the open doorway. They were just scared...scared and cautious. He glanced around for a peace offering, and took quick notice of the duffel bag Meryl was currently wearing loosely over her shoulder. "How about a truce?"
The short girl blinked as Nick swiped the bag of emergency rations, unzipped it, and tossed it in front of the door in one fluid movement. The hungry children went wide-eyed and after a few lasts suspicious glances, gave in, flocking to the bag greedily. Amazing how greatly an empty stomach can effect one's priorities. She eyed the grinning man in black with annoyance. Didn't he realize that was the last food there was? There had to have been a better way than this. Now they'd all starve. Meryl spoke dryly, with a weird fake smile. "A background in purse snatching as well Mr.Wolfwood? Exactly in what church were you ordained again?"
Vash's eyes widened as he looked to the brown haired boy for confirmation. "Are you sure? Is that exactly what you heard the voice say?"
He nodded, a bit baffled by the blonde man's sudden concern. "Yeh, do you understand it?"
The Typhoon didn't lie, but he didn't explain himself either. "No, I don't understand why these things have to happen."
Wolfwood glared a little, moving his cigarette to the other side of his mouth in thought. So Legato was playing his vanishing townsfolk act again. All these kids had come from nearby towns to live in this little desert shack when their parents suddenly went zombie and abandoned them. But why let the kids live? It didn't make sense. Weren't they all vermin in Knives' mind? It couldn't be an act of mercy. Those two didn't play the game like that. If they did let someone survive, it was only so they could serve in some other part of the scheme later on. Something was going on here besides the obvious. He hadn't been contacted by Legato in months though, so Wolfwood was just as in the dark on this as Vash for once. But what had the psycho meant by telling the kids 'this is what you get for taking so long'? Who was getting fussed at? Him or Tongari? Nick had done his best to try and keep Vash on the move towards Knives, but all these pit stops just kept presenting themselves. Throwing this in their path sure as hell wasn't gonna speed things up either. The Gung-Ho Guns really should consider passing out memos on this shit.
"Nicholas!"
"Hmm?" He looked down from the little rock formation they were currently standing on, to Milly who was yelling at him from down near the front porch.
She'd already called his name twice, what the heck could those boys be talking about up there? "Come here! I need your help!"
He blinked, fearing the worst and jumped quickly off the ledge.
The kid spoke up while looking at Milly. "They're really very nice."
Vash glanced down at him, seeking more clarity on that statement. "Who?"
Wolfwood came to a quick halt in front of her. "What's the matter!?"
Milly cocked an eyebrow at his startled demeanor. "We just needed your help..."
"We?"
Three little girls peeked shyly from around the tall girl's legs as he looked down. One spoke softly while glancing up at him. "They want to get married."
The boy didn't understand Vash's confusion. "Meryl and Milly. You and the priest's wives. They're very kind."
Vash paled, staring in complete disbelief. "EXCUSE ME!?"
Wolfwood looked back at big girl in total confusion. "Married!? Who!?"
Milly smiled, pulling him down by his hands to kneel on the ground with her. "What are you getting all excited for?"
One of the girls placed the confiscated portable confessional in between them and then two hand-sewn dolls in front of it. "They want to get married..."
Nick looked down at Milly's hands in his, then at the confessional, the dolls, and the little giggling girls surrounding them. He suddenly felt his training stirring up. Had he ever had a lesson of how to survive in an enemy camp?
"MERYL IS NOT MY WIFE, OKAY!? NONE OF US OUR MARRIED!"
The kid backed off, raising his hands defensively. "I just assumed...I mean from the way you were acting, I thought you liked her..."
Vash sighed, covering his eyes. "I love her! But you just..." He grasped for words to explain to a kid something as complex as this. "It's just a big commitment and men as a whole aren't to keen on discussing it...ever."
The priest stared at her helplessly. Since when was his confessional a dollhouse!? "The toys want to...get married?"
Milly nodded, amused at how uneasy he was getting with all this marriage talk floating around. "You do know how to do that right?"
She couldn't actually expect him to do this, could she? "Of course I do, but..."
The little girls all gave pouty lips. "Please Mr.Wolfwood! Milly said you would!"
He gave her a pleading 'why did you promise them that!?' look.
Big girl answered with her own persuasive, puppy-eyed stare and removed the smoldering cigarette gently from the corner of his mouth. "Please?"
Wolfwood gave the most pitiful sigh any of them had ever heard, turning to face the poorly stitched bride and groom. The things he did for this girl. The priest crossed his arms and glared at the dirt through black sunglasses while abruptly beginning the ceremony. "We are gathered here today in the sight of God and these witnesses to unite-"He glanced over at one of the children.
She beamed. "Marcus and Princess Miko!"
Nick's shoulders sank. "To unite 'Marcus' and 'Princess Miko' in the bonds of holy matrimony..."
Meryl looked up from the stove as the legendary outlaw came tottering in with four little boys clinging to his limbs.
"Hiya! They wanted to know if the food was ready yet. Please say yes, because I think I'm fixing to become the main course."
The insurance girl cocked an eyebrow, while stirring the soup. "It's almost ready." She smirked. "And I wouldn't recommend taking a bite out of broom hair here. You'll probably just get food poisoning..."
The kids laughed, jumping off while Vash pouted. "Are you trying to say I'm disgusting!?"
Meryl smiled, and turned back to tend her cooking. "Nah. But what were you screaming about earlier?"
"Hmm?" He came up to lean against the counter beside her while the children ran back outside to play. "Whatcha talking about?"
She added some more seasoning. "I don't know. I just heard you scream something a few minutes ago."
"Oh..." Vash grinned. "That."
The short girl looked up at him with suspicion. "Well you know you have to tell me now."
"It was just something one of the kids said." He craned his neck to look in the pot. "Is that gumbo!?"
Meryl wasn't distracted. "Vash."
He blushed a little, putting his hand behind his head. "Sorry. It's just kind of embarrassing...see the kids think that-"
"Food ready yet?"
They both looked up as the priest walked gruffly in and sat at the kitchen table, lighting up another smoke.
Meryl glared as he carelessly propped his dirty boots onto the seat of the chair across from him, slouched back in his chair, and exhaled a wispy cloud of tobacco while looking at her expectantly.
Wolfwood cocked an eyebrow, taking another drag on the cigarette. "What!? You been cooking all damn day, how long can it possibly take?"
The Stampede nervously sidestepped away as she calmly placed the stirring spoon onto a nearby saucer and walked towards the door. "Excuse me for a moment, Vash." Meryl gently opened the screen door and cleared her throat with a false, extremely frightening smile that quickly vanished. "MILLY THOMPSON! COME DRAG YOUR FILTHY SAND URCHIN OF A PRIEST OUT THIS KITCHEN, THIS INSTANT BEFORE I SHOVE THAT CROSS SO FAR UP HIS-"
The tall girl stood up in a panic as the girls blinked and the boys snickered. "HAI! I MEAN YES! I MEAN COMING SEMPAI!" What the heck had he done now!?
The men stared as Meryl became silent again, quietly returning to the stove. A few seconds later, the tall girl entered, glared at Nick, and instantly yanked the confused preacher back out the door before he knew what hit him.
Meryl tasted the gumbo as Milly's accusations and Wolfwood's frantic declarations of innocence drifted in from the front porch. "Now what were you saying Vash?"
He gave a sight smile, eyeing Nick's previously occupied but now violently overturned chair. "The kids think you're my wife. A hell of one too, obviously."
The short girl blushed, looking up at him. "Your...wife?"
Vash grinned. "Mrs. Meryl Stampede. Does have an interesting ring to it, doesn't it?" He laughed, thinking of something ridiculous that he couldn't help but share. "Oh man, and when we have kids, they can be Stampedelets!"
"Oh my God." She turned the burner off, looking away from him. Meryl couldn't even think of anything else to say in the face of such a horrifying concept. For some reason she had this vision of weird mutant children running amuck and destroying everything they came upon. Stampedelets. She shook her head, trying to dismiss the mental image. Holy crap that was scary.
THAT NIGHT
"You can share a bed with us!"
Milly smiled, tucking the girls in. "Nah. You guys are already too crowded as it is. I'll be okay. Want your dolls?"
They nodded outstretching their arms. "Can we have goodnight hugs too?"
She handed each of them their respective toys. "But I'm all dusty and gross."
They frowned, putting on the pouty faces. "So!"
Milly laughed as she was almost pulled into the bed with four little girls hugging her at once. "Alright, but will you rest now?"
"Uh huh! Tell Mr.Wolfwood that Mr. and Mrs.'s Miko say goodnight too!"
She smirked standing back up. "I will. Night girls."
Meryl, who had been putting the children on the other half of the room to bed, joined Milly as the two began to walk for the door. Halfway there, the short girl looked back over her shoulder to the soft sound of whimpering and Milly stopped to wait on her. It was the boy from before, the one that had led them here in the first place. She hadn't actually spoke to him that much during the day because she'd been so busy helping with everything but he did seem to put up more of a tough front than the others. He was still asleep, but tears shone from his cheeks in the darkness. The boy whimpered again and she pulled his ruffled blanket gently up to cover him more. Vash had said he thought that man named Legato somehow involved in all of this. Meryl's eyes softened looking down at the boy. What did any of this suffering have to do with Vash? Maybe one day he'd explain the rest of the story. Her and Milly weren't idiots. They knew he only told them bits and pieces. But they both gave him the benefit of the doubt, believing that he'd clue them in when the time was right or that maybe they really were better off not knowing. Somehow she thought the priest tied up in these secrets as well. After all, he'd been hanging around long before Milly gave him a reason to. And it didn't seem that a wandering guy like Wolfwood would want to stay long with any particular group unless he had good cause. Meryl gave the boy a gentle kiss on the forehead and his crying ceased.
The insurance girls exited the room of sleeping children only to find their men leaning outside in the hallway. Milly stopped, a bit startled by their sudden presence in the shadows. Her voice was an angry whisper. "What are yall doing hanging out here all creepy like that!?"
Nick grinned as his voice went menacing. "We're bandits come to abduct our pretty young prey..."
She hated when his teeth glinted in the dark like that. It made her feel like little red riding hood about to be devoured by her not so grandma. "Stop it!"
Meryl moved around her. "Quit trying to freak Milly out. Why didn't yall go to sleep yet?"
Vash cocked an eyebrow. "Well...we just wondered if you guys were gonna sleep with us or what."
The short girl blushed, staring at him.
Wolfwood snickered. "Got your mind in the gutter, huh!?" He dodged with a smile as Meryl's hand swung for his face.
Milly got him anyway with an elbow to the side. "Why are you being so bad today!?"
The priest smirked, deciding not to let the joke die just yet. "I'm bad every day." He caught Milly around the waist, moving behind her. "Wanna sleep with me?"
She blushed and Meryl groaned. "Milly for the love of God, it doesn't matter if he's a priest...just slap him!"
The tall girl stared up at him and he gave her his most charming smile. She looked from the smug preacher back to the fuming Meryl. "I can't..."
There was no way she could get him now. Nick placed his chin on Milly's shoulder, smiling arrogantly at Meryl. She rolled her eyes, grabbing The Typhoon by the arm. "Forget it. Wolfwood you're an asshole. Vash you're coming with me."
"Huh?" Vash looked helplessly back as he was dragged off into another room down the hall.
After they were long gone, he let go of her and Milly sighed turning to face him. "Why do you tease Sempai like that?"
"Just bugging Needle Noggin all the time gets old...besides, he's such an easy target it's barely even sport anyway."
"Uh huh...but now we have nowhere to sleep."
He grinned in the way that made her nervous. "Well I can think of a few things we could do instead..."
She knew he was only kidding, but she still felt a tingling of heat begin at the mere insinuation. It was alarming what feelings this man had so easily put inside her in the last few months. Emotions she'd never known before. Things she couldn't name. Milly looked to the floor, trying to ignore how enticing his voice had just sounded. "You really are the big bad wolf, aren't you?"
Seeing he'd made her a little uncomfortable, Nick forgot the game and grew serious again. "Only sometimes..." After a bit of silence, Wolfwood took her by the hand finishing his statement. "Only when I have to be."
Milly looked down at the rough, tan palm clasped so perfectly over her own. Their hands were so different. Hers seemed so small and fragile when grasped by his. Yet the fit was still undeniably flawless and brought satisfaction to them both. She smiled, realizing a metaphor for their whole relationship could be found in this one simple gesture. Milly looked back up at him with sudden thoughtfulness. This dangerous preacher with the shaggy black hair and the dark blue eyes. Not the type many would trust on first sight. Always dressed in a dusty old suit, and a low white shirt that teased the imagination with a partial view of the muscular frame beneath it. A man with cross cufflinks and filthy yellow shoes. Hot blooded and quick to anger, but protective and giving when it was needed most. Being alone with him in times like this, she could see through his defenses to the side he hid so well from the others. Maybe the side he himself didn't even realize was there. And even though she was still quite fond of the name Daffodil...Nicholas 'Diamond In The Rough' Wolfwood didn't sound like a bad guess either when he held her hand and looked at her in such a tender way as this. But regardless of that love in his eyes, she knew there was still a shadow in his heart. A place he wouldn't open to anyone. It hurt her so much to know Nicholas was still lying to her. Preferring to suffer alone when she'd give anything to help him.
Nick blinked as big girl suddenly let go of his hand and hugged her arms around his lower back, burying her head against his chest. Wolfwood placed his hands lightly on her hips, not sure what to make of the action. "Milly..."
She forced a smile, knowing she couldn't tell him what was upsetting her. Milly tried to push the sadness away by focusing on how comfortable it felt to be against him like this. Her voice was a shy whisper as she kept her face to his chest. "I like your hands there, could you...hold me tighter?"
He looked a bit unsure but did as she asked, taking a firm grip of her hips.
Milly smiled. He was so much stronger than she was. It always felt good to be caught in his grasp. "Thanks..."
Wolfwood could see she wasn't just going to up and say what she was being comforted for. But he wondered what connection it could possibly have to how hard the two of them were currently pressed below the waist. "There, uh...wasn't something else you wanted, was there big girl?"
She surprised him with a sudden giggle. "Now you're the one in the gutter..."
Nick sighed with a slight smile. "Sorry honey, but I can't help it. I've already partaken of the fruit..."
Milly went silent again. He was comparing her to forbidden fruit? The temptation mankind sacrificed Eden to posess. Was she really be that special to him? She knew she wasn't the first to have his body. Surely more experienced girls had known how to please him more. She knew so little about the desires of men. How could she be the best he'd known? "I'm really the one you want most...out of everyone?"
Once a dog had had real meat, it never went back to the common scraps of before. She was the one and he knew it. A girl that made his heart weaken and his body yearn just by looking at him with those bright blue eyes. "There've been women here and there. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't, but it was just understood. I didn't love them and they didn't love me. Most the time I didn't even know more than their first name. A couple days and I'd be gone again. I know it sounds pretty horrible now, but that's all I had the capacity for back then." His eyes softened, looking down at her. "I really don't know how you turned me around, but you did. You got under my skin, big girl. You're the only woman that's ever meant anything...and definitely the only one I've ever loved. It's selfish how much I want you Milly..."
She knew this man damn well good enough by now to know when he was being absolutely sincere. And that's why she felt the tears forming. Everything he'd just said had been the honest to God truth. So why...how could he still lie to her about his own identity? She was so close to confronting him. The words hung on the tip of her tongue, just begging to finally be released. To say she knew Nicholas D. Wolfwood wasn't his only name. Not the name he did business under at least. But she couldn't. She just couldn't say it. All she could do was hug to him like the coward she was.
Vash looked affectionately down at the spiteful girl he was currently sharing his sleeping bag with. "Meryl, you do realize this the only room in the whole house that isn't a bathroom, a kitchen, or have tons of kids sleeping in it..."
She snuggled closer against him. "So?"
"Well where are Wolfwood and Milly supposed to sleep?"
Meryl sighed. "Quit trying to make me feel guilty."
"But all their stuff is in here."
"I doubt he'll need his stupid cross."
Vash laughed at the animosity still in her voice. "Jeez Meryl, lighten up. I mean he's Wolfwood after all. If he knows he can get under your skin, he does. Just ignore him. I guarantee that'll piss him off more than anything."
"I don't know. I guess I'm just use to our relationship. If you act like an ass, I hit you and that's the end of it. He acts like an ass and nobody's there to stop him."
"So let him be an ass, I think he's more under Milly's finger than you think." Vash smiled, remembering how the tall insurance girl had so easily yanked the six-foot something preacher from his chair and out the door like it was nothing at all.
The boards in the hall began to creak with the sound of footsteps gradually getting closer. Vash tilted his head. "That should be them now, shall I invite them in?"
She considered it for a moment. "But what if I want alone time with you?"
"You really want to do stuff with kids in the house?"
Meryl grinned. "Excuses, excuses..."
The Typhoon smiled, getting up. "Next time we're really alone...I promise we will."
The short girl cocked an eyebrow, considering what that meant as he opened the door.
Vash raised his hand in his usual cheery manner. "Hey gu-"
The priest didn't even give him a chance. "Just leave the door unlocked and we'll come in later, Tongari..."
He gave them an odd look, confused as to what other place there was to go right now. "Well where are you going?"
"What the hell does it matter to you?"
Vash looked a little embarrassed once he had to time to think about it. Yeah, that probably was none of his business.
"Heh, um...I guess it doesn't."
Milly could tell Vash was getting the wrong idea. She told the truth while keeping a hold on Wolfwood's arm. "We're just going sit on the porch for a little while and talk. Mr.Priest won't sleep without one last cigarette and I can't talk him out of it...but we won't be long."
"Oh." He put his hand behind his head, still feeling a little awkward. "Well have fun then! I'll leave the door unlocked for ya."
Wolfwood sighed. "Just go to bed already!"
"Right..." Vash shut the door, still a bit confused. He walked back over to Meryl. "They said they'll come in later."
She sighed to herself from inside the bag. "They're probably going fool around. I really don't understand her sometimes. You know that man has to taste like an ashtray broken on a bar room floor..."
Vash slid into the bag, ignoring her odd analogy. "What do I taste like?"
"Excuse me?" Meryl blinked at the almost childlike question.
He smiled. "Seriously, I'm curious."
"Um, you taste like Vash. I don't know..."
He kept prodding for a real answer. "Sweet or salty?"
She gave him the weirdest look. "Sweet I guess."
His eyes brightened. "Like a donut!?"
Meryl stared at him as her voice went harshly sarcastic. "Yes Vash, every time I kiss you it adds 100 calories to my daily intake."
The Typhoon frowned. "That would suck."
"I'd be a blimp."
He smiled. "But a blimp of love."
She sighed in self-pity, burying her face in the hollow of his neck. "A blimp with thousands of stampedelets..."