FINALLY!: I tried to update this last night but FFnet was being all weird on me. Sorry for the wait. Busy as always. Whenever free time does grace me with its presence, something else always comes up. Speaking of which, I'm supposed to be taking the dog outside before she craps everywhere. Sigh. I love 'em, but two siberian huskies equal nothing but complete and utter chaos(eyes teeth marks all over her hands briefly). But I digress...I didn't want to exactly rush through writing this chapter anyway, because I see it as pretty important. And I'm glad a few of you really enjoyed the MW makeup last update. As always, love to all who take their own precious time to review! I'm sure you guys all have some kind of bizarre chores you're supposed to be doing right now too. We're all so bad.
P.S. Oh yeah, don't jump to any conclusions just now. I still haven't said what I'm going to do with him. Truthfully, I've been on the fence about that for awhile now. Hmm.
For most people every day is the same. Every morning they wake up in the same bed, with the same thoughts, and the same complacency. They see no reason for any certain day to be any different than the hundreds before it, and are completely floored when misfortune seems to quite randomly befall them. But then again, that's only some. There are still others who know something is wrong from the moment they open their eyes in the morning. They can just feel it in their soul. A sick feeling that begs them to remain home today. A nagging at the back of their minds to be extra-careful. Uneasiness without reason. Most have lost touch with these God given instincts because they dismiss them as a trait related only to animals, and thus faulty somehow. They ignore that turn in their stomach as mere superstition and step defenseless out into another day. But of their rag tag group, he knew none of them would ever be caught acting that foolish. Not with the things they'd experienced.
Vash checked the chamber of the long colt, making sure it was fully loaded and then clicked it back, shoving the gun in his holster. He moved his duffel bag across the floor with his foot, making sure it would be in plain view should she wake up in the next few minutes. He knew she had a tendency to assume she'd been abandoned again if she woke without a sign of him or his things in the room. Not that he could really blame her. He glanced back at the short girl, looking slightly guilty. He hated sneaking out like this, but something was definitely wrong. Today was a stomach turner and he had to know why.
She sat silently on the bed with the sheet wrapped around her as he got dressed. Probably the first time in her life she had ever regretted a sunrise. 'It came too soon' was all she could keep thinking. He was going to make her stay here. She had known that from the beginning. That's why she was still sitting here in nothing but this makeshift strapless gown. A few crumbs sporadically dotted the blanket beside her. Remnants of their early breakfast had just moments before, but now already nothing but another fond memory. He slid his jacket on, fixing the cuffs and she looked back up. Their remaining time together was quickly shortening to only minutes.
His eyes were gentle as he focused on buttoning his jacket. "You already know what I'm going to say, don't you?"
Milly moved a stray bang back behind her ear, looking down. "You want me to wait here no matter what..."
Wolfwood's voice became slightly stern, picking up on the reluctance in hers. "Promise me Milly."
She opened her mouth but shut it again not wishing to lie to him.
He was now fully dressed and held back a sigh, walking over to sit back down on the bed. He hated to be so course with her, but they really didn't have time for this. He'd be damned if he was gonna pull her any more into harms way than she already was. Not this time. This battle was his and his alone. "It ain't debatable, big girl." He grabbed her hand tightly, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Now promise me. Whatever happens, you'll stay out of it. I won't be able to keep a clear head if I'm too busy worrying where you are."
She'd known the entire night that this conversation would be taking place come morning, but still she'd found herself completely unprepared to deal with it. She was sickened by the thought of him walking out that door. He'd faced danger so many times. It didn't make sense for this time to feel so different. She glared down at her lap without letting go of his hand. "But I can't wait for you Nicholas...I can't do that unless you promise to come back."
Nick's eyes narrowed as he fell silent. Of course he planned on returning to her. It's all he could do. Have confidence and go out there expecting to survive. But that still didn't mean he could absolutely swear on it. Did she really want him to lie?
In one swift move, the priest pulled her forward by the hand, bringing her against him as he wrapped his other arm around the small of her back. Milly relaxed, letting her chin rest on his shoulder as he spoke in her ear.
"We're both stronger than this. I know it." He pressed the side of his face against her hair, enjoying the comfort it brought him. "Please wait for me, big girl. I can't live this way anymore. I've got to end my part in it. One way or the other, the cycle has to stop. We can't have a life together until I put my past to rest..."
Her eyes widened slightly, but he just smiled.
It'd be wrong to ask her now. He knew that. But she'd caught the insinuation. If they made it through this, she was going to have to start contemplating becoming a Mrs.'s. He pulled back, looking into her eyes. "So will you stay for me?"
It always made her weak when he smiled at her that way. Sly and charming, but somehow beautifully sincere at the same time. Milly couldn't resist and threw her arms around him, hugging him only the way she could. "Please come back, Nicholas..."
A half-truth of "I promise" left his lips as she began to let go again. In his mind it was a swear that he'd try to, not an oath that he would. He took hold of her chin with the intent of one last kiss, but hesitated studying her eyes instead. Still hadn't lost that innocence, even with the things he'd done to her. She looked at him in confusion and he gave an apologetic smirk without really explaining. "Sorry, just noticing something." A deep kiss before she could question the response, and then he let go all together, reluctantly standing from their bed.
She forced herself to remain composed as he grabbed his sunglasses from out his jacket and once again concealed his eyes behind those dark frames before silently lifting the punisher away from the wall. This was it. He was leaving. But there was still something left. What was it? The tall girl blinked, suddenly jumping from the bed. "Wait!"
Nick froze, looking back over his shoulder. "Honey, I can't..."
"Just a second." She kept the sheet around her as she grabbed her coat from the floor and quickly dug through one of the inside pockets to pull out something. The object remained concealed in her hand as she dropped the dirty trenchcoat back on the floor and came to stand in front of him as he turned. Milly took his hand, placing the rosary inside it. "You should bring this."
He smiled sadly, closing his hand around the necklace and placing it back inside his jacket. "Couldn't hurt...did it do any good for you?"
She looked down to the floor. Well leaving it on her bedpost had surely made it easier to sleep at night. "Uh huh. But you need it more."
They were both quiet for a moment until Wolfwood took a breath, forcing himself to turn back towards the door. "Anything else, big girl?"
Milly glanced back up as the door opened. She smiled weakly, knowing she could stall him no longer. "I love you."
Nick paused in the doorway, feeling a slight lump beginning to form in his throat. How did she do it? He may not deserve her, but his heart definitely belonged to her. Whatever happened, his heart would always belong to the woman he was now leaving behind. "Love you too, big girl...always will."
And with that, the door shut with an extremely sobering click. The insurance girl took a deep breath, crossing her arms and hanging her head. Devotion was the only thing binding her to this room now.
He wouldn't lie would he? Not with something like this anyway. Vash looked up as the house across the street's front door finally swung open. "I didn't think you were coming."
And here he thought he'd have time for at least one more smoke. "Didn't think you'd get your ass out of bed this early."
"Well you said you wanted to talk before they-"
"I know what I said, spikey." Nick cocked an eyebrow, stepping off the porch. "So you finally got those goofy shades fixed."
The outlaw wasn't fooled into dropping his guard, but left the wall he was leaning upon to also walk out into the street. "What's going on Wolfwood..."
He came to a stop, placing the cross in front of him. It wasn't hard to keep to his role. The only thing he planned on changing was the ending. "Just can't figure out anything on your own, can ya Tongari?"
Vash froze as the punisher's buckles suddenly snapped away, leaving him to stare down its barrel.
The look of complete disbelief on the blonde's face instantly irritated him. "Dammit, don't look at me like that! Haven't you learned anything? Blind trust gets people killed...ignoring evidence gets people killed. It's all been there Vash. Do I have to spell this out for you?"
For one long moment, the two just stood there. The priest glaring, with his gun aimed straight at Vash's heart while the outlaw remained silent as his mind grasped to understand.
There wasn't time. He knew they were already in Caine's sights and if Vash didn't get it yet, he wasn't going to. So Wolfwood gave up waiting on him. "Knives had to send someone to make sure you got to him in one piece, idiot..."
The sequence of events that came next would forever be a blur within Vash's mind. His heart had all but stopped as he stared at the preacher. All thoughts ceased with that final sentence. Somewhere there had been a gunshot, but none of it seemed real. Wolfwood had shielded him with the cross as a bullet ricocheted. He'd yelled about there being others. A sniper in the desert that should be easy enough to find. And another that he would take care of himself. Then they'd both ran. Nick disappeared onto another street while Vash went to find the source of the bullets that were now flying past him. His legs moved on their own, but it would be much longer before he could truly focus on the gravity of what had just been confessed.
The sheets caught her leg as she tried to escape and she fell hard to the floor, twisting her ankle. Another gunshot, and another. She screamed for him, but no answer came. She kicked free from the bed, stumbling towards her well armed cape. She threw it on over her pajamas and took a Derringer in each hand, running from the room. Meryl called for the other insurance girl as her heart pounded harder with each successive gunshot. How could he leave them? She ran back through the empty house and out the front door. A quick glance down both sides of the street gave no signs of anyone. Their car was gone and she thought she heard the echo of its engine somewhere in the distance. The short girl took off barefoot across the street and into the house Wolfwood and Milly had disappeared to the evening before. She violently slammed the door closed behind her, certain that any moment on the outside was another chance of one of those stray bullets hitting their mark. "IS ANYONE HERE?"
Milly lifted her head from her knees, relieved at the voice despite them both sounding terrified. "MERYL!"
She busted into the bedroom without hesitation. "Oh thank God, Milly what the hell is going on? I can't find Vash, and-"She paused, realizing her friend was alone. "Where's Wolfwood?"
The tall girl was now in her skirt and button up shirt, sitting on the bed with her knees to her chest. There were no tears on her face, but there didn't need to be. Her eyes already held a deeper pain. "Please don't hate him Meryl..."
Her eyes widened at the strange answer. "What? But why would I-"
Milly stared at her pleadingly. "Because he's one of them."
They kept a large distance apart, each one's cold gaze never leaving the other. An odd mutual respect delayed the fight from starting. "Just tell me why you're doing this. You're a man of ulterior motives, I know that. So how does this benefit you? How could it possibly?"
"You'd never understand even if I had time to explain it." He wasn't about to try and reason with him. Nick knew they were both doing what they had to do. He'd played both sides of this game long enough to know what happened to those who broke the rules.
So he'd really made up his mind. Kind of a shame actually. All the stories he'd heard of this man. Midvalley sighed, lifting the saxophone to his lips. "And I always thought they'd send you to kill me."
Both girls flinched as sudden explosions began to vibrate in from the outside. Explosions and machinegun fire. Milly shut her eyes tightly and covered her ears, trying to block out the familiar cry of the cross punisher. The weight it put in her heart was too horrible for words.
A nightmare. Trapped in this room, listening to the sounds of a battle in which either of the boys could be being slain at any given moment. Meryl stood silently with her head lowered and her arms crossed in an 'x' over her chest. She clutched the Derringers a little tighter with each explosion until her hands had gone a bloodless white. She rather go out there and risk her own neck than remain here waiting like this...but she couldn't leave Milly. The tall girl refused to break her promise to Wolfwood. Meryl closed her eyes as another explosion shook the room. That priest...a Gung-Ho Gun. She didn't know what to think anymore.
He'd followed the trajectory the best he could but it'd still been hell to find him, and now this stupid trick was all he could think of. Any second now the man had to realize what he was really shooting at. Vash's hand gripped the top of the ledge as more gunshots sounded. That old car was definitely taking a beating. He dug his boots firmly into the rock, withdrawing the long colt from its holster. He waited for exactly the right moment and then pulled himself quickly up onto the mesa just as Caine fired, in order to conceal the sound of his arrival. The Gung-Ho Gun had just seemed to understand the nature of his mistake as Vash unloaded three bullets onto the pipe-like sniper rifle, effectively terminating Caine's use of it. The strange man jumped back without uttering word, turning to just stare at him. Vash's eyes narrowed as he kept the .45 leveled at him. "You have no reason to be here any longer...besides, it's much too hot. Why don't you just go on home?"
The mercenary gave no hint of emotion as he calmly removed a black revolver from his clothing.
Vash tensed, ready to shoot it out his hand or dodge as need be. But instead of stopping to aim the revolver at him as he expected, Caine's hand just continued upward until the barrel rested against his own temple. Vash felt that horrible fear instantly overtake him as he reached out to stop him. His hand closed on Caine's wrist just as the small backlash of gunpowder and bodily fluid erupted out with a thunder crack. All went still as the hot tears began to drain from his terror-stricken eyes.
He hesitated briefly, catching his breath before diving back out from behind the half-crumbled wall. The rest of it gave way to the concussive melody as he forced himself to his feet, unleashing another round of machinegun fire in mid-run. He'd already taken several direct hits of that God awful force and he doubted he could keep on his feet with much more.
A few bullets actually sliced through Midvalley's suit, producing a slight mist of blood before he could sweep the sonic blast around to deflect the rest. The musician winced at the unfamiliar burning sensation then retaliated with Sylvia's full potential.
Nick quickly pulled the cross in front of him to no avail. The punisher only added to his pain as it slammed against him, knocking them both into a nearby wall with enough force to send cracks through the concrete as they connected with it.
The Hornfreak paused without removing his mouth from the instrument. The man in black slid limply down the wall and to his knees. For a moment Midvalley was certain he was dead. That is until Chapel suddenly lurched forward, coughing out a generous amount of blood.
He dug his fingertips into the dirt, trying to gain back his focus. It was like getting hit with a fucking truck. Several fucking trucks. The metallic taste was thick in his mouth as he forced air back into his lungs. Damn how it hurt to breathe now. His ribs were assuredly broken in several places. The darkness trying to creep into his vision wasn't much of a good sign either, and only God knew what condition his organs were in. Shit, if he didn't finish this soon, his body was going to give out on him. He glared up through his bangs as the blood continued to drip from his chin. There had to be an answer...
Midvalley stared at him in amazement. He was still alive. But how...how the hell could anyone survive that? "You really are like they say, aren't you? You gave your soul to the devil..."
But then there was the solution. Twisting up from a distant pile of debris and shining like heaven's own light. Nick forced himself back up, staying conscious only by the grace of pure will and adrenaline as he ignored his body's screams and took hold of the punisher once more. "Since when do you believe in deities..."
"No one ever said a man had to believe in God to believe in the devil."
Nick smiled weakly, wiping the blood from his mouth. He'd only get one chance. His last chance. "I suppose that's true...and we would know wouldn't we?"
Midvalley's eyes widened as the priest suddenly broke into a run, resuming the fight. He wasted no time, instantly continuing Sylvia's deadly song for him.
Wolfwood dove out the blast's path, letting loose his machine gun. He landed hard on his side but never stopped shooting even as he lie aching on the ground, keeping a steady aim on the goal only he saw. The only way to win.
He smiled, easily turning the brunt of the priest's own bullets back towards him in another sonic wave. Hadn't they already been through this concept?
There was no way to dodge it, but it didn't matter. The game was over for both of them. Even as the blast hit and hot pieces of metal began to slice through him, Wolfwood gave a slight smirk of success. Because at that exact moment several beautiful sparks rebounded from the remains of the steel support beam across the street, striking Sylvia dead on. So much for the Gung-Ho Guns...