Hmm... Seems like I picked up a few more friends thanks to my writing habit. I've also
started to get deluged with E-mails, which are turning my poor starving Ego into Ego the
Hutt. All it needs now are bikini-clad dancing girls. Volunteers?
Disclaimer: Terms of employment offer no restitution should anyone be messily devoured by pit-monsters.
Rise of the Silver Stars
Chapter 24: Good Sneaks
"There he is!"
The aforementioned 'he' looked up at the voice. He had woken up just moments earlier to find the day nearly half gone and both sides of the bed empty and cold. One of them could have woken him up, but he must have been dead to the world. Okay, so that was fairly normal for him, but nobody coming in to try and wake him? In any case, he was awake, and feeling like sixty billion double dollars. He had gotten up and started his morning stretching, but found that there wasn't a stiff muscle anywhere on him. He could slack a little on his gun practice and did so, since nature was calling. However, he hadn't so much as stepped out before the voice cut in.
Well. Looks like someone must have called for backup, because the last time he'd seen a space this packed it had 'Sardines' on the label. He put on his smile and waved to the mass. "Hello!"
"Finally!"
Meryl's head popped out of the crowd, and he watched the top third or so of it bob and weave as it navigated through the morass. Just what were all those people doing here, anyway? They weren't equipped for a lynching and no tar or feathers were in evidence, well, aside from those three huge feathers stuck in that one cavalry cap... Ah. This must have something to do with Milly and Roy. A surprise party! He'd have to get them a tankard of pudding. "Hmm... They are pretty good at eating... Better make that one each."
By this time the bobbing mass of black hair had finally made it out of the cavalry crowd. Come to think of it, this crowd was doing very little partying for a party. And why was everyone scribbling stuff down? Oh well, he'd figure it out. Right now, it was time to play for the audience. "Oh my beloved raven-haired beauty, have all these people come to behold the mighty radiance of our affection?"
She blushed, grimaced, and hissed out "Sort of" through clenched teeth. Eep, next time try for less sap or he might get a headache. However, all she did was grab his arm and drag him into the crowd. This wasn't much better, as he kept getting pats on the back and pinches on the butt. "Mer-yl, they're not keeping their hands to themselves!"
Uh oh. He knew what that tightening grip and slight hunch meant. He had officially stepped over The Line. Luckily, though of what type he wasn't sure, he was spared her wrath as a foot slammed into his shin. "Cut the crap Eriks, we're trying to plan your wedding here!"
"Ow ow ow..." He would have said good morning, but she had managed to plug him in the exact same spot from last night, sending him to the floor as people looked on. He was hauled up moments later by one of the perpetrators of this planning-party, who proceeded to slowly move his head back and forth all the while looking with an intense stare. After a bit of that, the elder Thompson squinted out one eye and began to poke at him. "She calls you Eriks and you went down with one kick- are you sure you're Vash the Stampede?"
Meryl sighed. "Yes, he is. I just wish I had that sort of problem."
He suddenly found himself stuffed under one of Roy's arms, while Meryl was likewise treated by the other. "Hoo boy! I can see why little sis likes you two so much! Hardly had half of the fun you two are in her letters!"
He dropped them and cut a path through the crowd, laughing more like a little kid than a grown man. Some space was made for them on the sofa, which the two of them gladly took. Man, why couldn't the powers-that-be let him have a few moments of peace in the morning before starting up his daily injury quota? Then he remembered that they had let him sleep in, so it was sort of balanced. The Thompson emerged from the crowd again, and squatted in front of the sofa. "Well, impressed? I asked if a few of my buddies could lend a hand, and the response was great! Even had a few of the ones who hail from the city join in, so we should have the whole thing tossed together in no time flat!"
He beamed a grin forward and orated. "So, all of this just for us? I will always remember you gratitude and generosity in making this the most happy of events!"
"Well... It's not entirely just for you." His voice dropped to a whisper. "We're kinda going to drag the commander and the quartermaster into a second ceremony. It's a secret though."
Ooh, devious. Somehow, he knew that Milly had suggested that, probably intending to boost the turnout and get more help. She was really pushing to get the two of them together, and to get everything as close to perfect as possible. There was helping to catch the mayfly of love, and then there was pinning it to the wall with a stungun bolt. He'd have to ask her about that sometime. In any case, he was getting a feeling that the crowd would break up soon, and sure enough the various scraps of paper were being stuffed away.
"Okay boys, time for you to get lost, there are bridal matters to be attended to!"
The male half of the crowd, including himself, was prodded toward and out the front door. "Er, ladies, just one second..."
"No way! It's bad luck for the groom to stick around. Out you go!"
He was shoved out the door and had it slam behind him. He blinked a few times at the rest of the men in the hall. Well, mostly men. Looked like Lina had a bit of an attachment to him. Still, had he just been tossed out of his apartment? He turned around and called through the door. "Er, but what about- oh, morning Knives."
He brother scowled in his face, not exactly the most pleasant of things to have all of two inches in front of you nose. The door slammed again behind his brother's scowl before he could ask over the suddenly appearing shoulders for another minute inside. His upraised finger wilted a little, then crumbled entirely to join its brethren in twiddling behind his back. "So... Feel like touring the city, bro?"
His forced laugh did nothing to move the glacial expression that was still so close that he could see every crease in the frown. "We appear to have an infestation."
"All right! I knew you'd get a sense of humor one of these days..." The scowl remained immobile, and though Knives said nothing there was the slightest of motions on his face. "You were being serious... Oh man, well, let me show you to the plant facility. Nobody goes there." He made little grumbling noises, but Knives didn't take the bait. It looked like there wouldn't be much conversation.
Seems that Knives was taking being escorted out of his hidey-hole pretty well. No screaming or blood at least. When he turned towards the stairs, he noticed that the rest of the group had already cleared out down the stairs or into the elevator, unwilling to endure the scowl and also knowing what the plant behind it thought of them. Okay, so Knives was still being his usual master of socializing with large empty areas. They started toward the stairs, but just as he reached the first steps down he ran into an unlikely pair coming up. The frowns sported only looked right on one of the two.
"Hey big girl, you look a little down."
"Oh, hello Mr. Vash! Sorry, just had a bit of a bad day so far."
The Thompson grin was set at half mast, so it had to have been more than just a bit of a bad day. "What happened?"
"Well, somebody put a bomb into Meryl's luggage."
"What?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Knives was really helpful in disarming it this morning!"
"Who did what?"
"Though when I went back to the office to ask them why, a whole lot of lawmen attacked."
"Who attacked where?"
"Mr. Rai-dei was really helpful too, you should have seen it. He must have knocked out at least ten! But don't worry, they were all fine, I think I even saw a few of them looking for us as we were running."
He turned to the samurai. Rai-dei gave an almost imperceptible shrug. "There were no fatalities or permanent injuries."
What was all this about? He turned back to Milly, but found the spot she had occupied empty, save for a cat that meowed at him then pranced on up to the next floor. He heard a knock behind him, and her voice announced "It's me!"
"Wait a sec!" He ran after her, but she was already inside the door. He dove for the opening, but only managed to get a facefull of the textured plastic that passed as wood. The sounds of the slam and his impact both reverberated down the hall, as Knives and Rai-dei scowled at him. He picked himself up and stared forlornly at the door that blocked his passage to the place he really needed to be.
"Vash-san, I can inform you of all that happened."
"Wha? Oh, that's great."
"Forgive me, but you seem less than interested."
"Oh, I am, I am, it's just that I, er... gotta go potty."
Knives' face twitched.
¤ ¤ ¤
Life was funny, sometimes. An old question that had once been asked of her came back. It was one of the many questions asked of her when she was being interviewed for a position at Bernardelli, and it was so inconspicuous at the time... "Where do you see yourself in five years?" She couldn't remember what she had answered with back then, but she was certain that "On the run from the law alongside Vash the Stampede. Oh, and we'll be getting married" was not what came from her mouth that day. So much had happened, correction, was still happening. It was happy, sad, and scary all at once, but she'd do it all over again if given the choice. Those old philosophers were right, love really does conquer all, even one Meryl Stryfe.
"Woo-we! I thought we'd never get rid of those guys."
Radiohead bounced back from the door after shooing out Knives. The woman's real name was still unknown to her- all anyone ever called her was Radiohead, a nickname earned for a pair of reasons- first, she was the communications head of the 3rd, and second, she tended to repeat everything she heard during the day at night. That was just one of the innumerable little stories she had been told during her stay with the 3rd, but they only hinted at just how much there was to know. Or maybe she just wanted to get the most out of life while she could, and was suddenly seeing so much of it she had used to ignore. Such as this whole marriage thing.
"Well, now that they're gone, we can work on the dress. One of my roomies had one, and it shouldn't be too hard to fit..."
A large wrapped bundle was brought out and unrolled. There was so much fabric that it took a while for her to finally see what it was, and gasped. It was a dress, yes, but there was so much fine detail to it and so many frills... It had to be worth over a thousand double dollars. Someone had just handed this over? "I can't accept this.... It's too much for someone to just give away."
"Well, Susan said the sand would turn to water sooner than she's be using it, and that it'd be a shame to just keep it bundled up."
So the benefactor of this outrageous generosity wasn't even here? "I don't know how to thank her for this."
"She also said, and I quote, 'If she wants to thank me, tell her to wear it with her heart and to not invite me. I hate weddings.' Seems straightforward enough."
"Wait, if she hates weddings, why did she have a wedding dress?"
"Dunno. I never asked, and she never talked about it."
A knock at the door interrupted, and Milly's voice floated through. "It's me!"
A second later she was inside, though the door made a horrible bang as it was closed. The noise made her jump- it was a tad too similar to a gunshot. Milly looked the very image of happiness as she began to buzz over the dress. However, there was a certain forced quality to the look, one that she hadn't seen for a long time- ever since Wolfwood died. Just watching her was creating a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Milly... What happened?"
For a brief moment, an almost... frightened expression crossed Milly's face before the forced visage of happiness came back. "Oh... Nothing happened!"
"Nothing?"
"Nothing means nothing!"
That cinched it. The last time Milly acted like this, Legato had made his introduction earlier and Monev the Gale blasted his way in to try to kill Vash. It wasn't until later that she finally realized just how much danger there was at that time, but Milly seemed to have known that they had just stepped in the quicksand. If she was acting that way again, then whatever had happened was anything but 'nothing'. A sick feeling came over her as a memory from that morning came back... "...then use an expendable patsy to deliver the bomb." Knives' words echoed in her head. Damn it all, why did he have to be right? More importantly, if they now considered Milly expendable, and she found out... No. They couldn't. Milly deserved nothing but the best, not this! A wave of anguish built up, but she allowed no sign of it to surface. If Milly wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong, then she could go along with it.
Fingers snapped in front of her face. "Hey! You with us?"
"Wha? Oh, yeah. Just thinking."
"Better not be cold feet! Now, shuck that uniform so we can fit the dress."
The next hour was spent standing up as the voluminous fabric was tucked, folded, and hemmed around her. For all its bulk, it wasn't very heavy, which was good because standing up trying to remain motionless was far more tiring that most people realized. After poking a few more needles into the folds, her entourage drew back while Milly ran an appraising eye over the work. After finishing her orbit, she smiled and clapped her hands. "Perfect!"
There wasn't a mirror available, which may have been for the best considering how many pins were sticking out. The dress was shed so the sewing could be done. The Cavalry, now mostly unneeded, discussed a few more points then showed themselves out, with Radiohead flashing the two of them a thumbs up. Thus they were finally alone. Milly was nothing short of a speed stitcher, which put her own 'adequate and that's it' skill with needle and thread to shame. A wordless song came out of Milly, softly hummed while inch after inch of newly formed seam emerged. The tune was melancholy, almost forlorn.
"I'm sorry."
Milly looked up. "For what, Meryl?"
"Nothing."
Milly nodded, and they went back to the dress.
¤ ¤ ¤
Meanwhile, a certain broomhead was skulking through the city without a care in the world- at least in the judgment of those that saw him. Inside, the tumult of thought was leading him in mental circles. Even without Rai-dei telling his tale, he knew the second he saw Milly that something was wrong. The information just fleshed it out in gory detail. He no longer had the insurance girls after him, but couldn't things have worked out differently? His record for protecting people was spotty- even at his best, sometimes he failed, and failing this time would be the worst since then.
"/Why do you persist like this?/"
"Knives, that's rude. We're not all telepathic, you know."
"Huh? What'd he say? Was it about me?" Lina turned to glare at his brother, who followed a few steps behind them. Knives simply snorted. "Irrevelent. How quickly you humans assume the worst."
"What was that?!"
"Uh oh." "Now now, let's all be friends!"
"Fat chance!" "Unlikely."
He turned forward again and sighed. He really hoped they'd stop snapping at each other, otherwise this would be one long day. Still, they did manage to keep from bickering until they were inside the facility. At least there were plenty of rooms he could duck into if they wanted him to pick a side.
He tried to ignore the insults and comebacks by picturing the layout of the ship. They were in the plant section, the engines would have been back about one hundred fifty feet, past the reception area, where a street currently was. They should be right over the command computers, and from there was the docking bays, cold sleep area, general stores... Huh. The corridor they were in ended too soon. Must of had an emergency bulkhead come down. Wasn't too much beyond there anyway, just the... He froze as an idea came. If the bulkhead was here, then nobody had likely been beyond this point since the ship crashed, which meant that it could still be there. He sprang at the barrier, hunting for the opening controls. Prying off the panel, he gave them a jab. Nothing- time and a sharp sliver of shrapnel had drained the batteries of all energy, but this was a simple enough setup- he was a plant, a quick zap shouldn't be any trouble. Just find the right points, send a bit of power...
"What are you doing?"
"Hot hot hot hot!" He batted down the flames that sprayed out of the recessed mechanism and hoped his eyebrows hadn't been singed off. At least it had opened up enough for him to wiggle through.
"I'll be right back, you two play nice, okay?"
Before either could protest, he slithered under the door into the space beyond.
¤ ¤ ¤
Okay, he got another minute, then she was going in after him, air quality be damned. Knives was no help- she could have sworn he nearly laughed when she last tried to go in after Eriks, only to get a faceful of air so stale it was practically unbreathable. Now he was staring off into nowhere, and wasn't even reacting to her, as he had been for what felt like hours. She had even fallen asleep sometime, what with Eriks taking forever. Knives was so infuriating. She idly though about what would happen if she gave him her best kick to the groin. She'd bet everything she had that he'd fall over, curl up, and bawl his eyes out. His type never were able to take it. Eriks, on the other hand...
A number of thuds and a familiar "Aw man..." from under the door signaled that Eriks was back. She started to bend down to get a look at wheat he had dropped, but jumped back up as a box came sliding out. Another followed, and then a few more came through before a pair of legs poked out and began to slowly squirm the rest of him under the metal. Impatient, she grabbed his ankles and yanked.
"What on gunsmoke were you doing in there? What's with all this stuff?"
Eriks gave her that goofy grin. "I got a few presents! Let's see... Ah, here's yours!"
He thrust a box into her hands. It looked downright ancient, probably from before The Fall. What could he have possibly found back in there? There was only one way to find out... Prying the box open, she rummaged through the contents. Most items were completely unfamiliar- the only ones she recognized right away were the clothes.
"Brother, this is not a good idea."
"I think it's a great idea! This is just what we need!"
"Will you two shut up and tell me what the idea is?"
"Oh! Yeah, well, it's a lot to explain, so I'll save the big speech for everyone. The short version is that everyone'll get a survival suit, two-way radio, MediPatches, and some body armor. Just in case."
Okay, most of that had flown over her head. She tried to link the names to the items in the box, but all she could come up with was the survival suit had to be the clothes. Come to think of it, didn't Eriks and Knives wear similar things under their clothes? Great. Eriks got her underwear as a present. At least he didn't forget her while plundering lost technology. "This is great and all, but is it okay to just take all this?"
"Well, nobody else was using it... Besides, there's plenty more back there!"
Eriks just laughed it up as he piled another box into her arms. He swept up the rest of the grayish objects and led them back out, going through a hole that conveniently led them past reception. It felt a little like they were running off with the contents of a bank vault, except that money would probably weigh more and be less valuable. Still, what was he thinking might happen that would require them to run off with all this? Whatever it was, she'd deal with it. Anything was better than being alone.
Well, it's been a long, hard slog, but I think we've finally cleared out all the critters that wanted to eat us. No thanks to you, Legato.
Legato: ...
Yeah, you do that. Anyway, my apologies for taking so long on this chapter. I didn't mean to worry ya'll, I just got so many distractions. Whoever sent the hired goons to check on me, thanks.
Hired Goons: Fagetaboutit. Just make sure youse keep up the chapters, cuz the boss dun like to wait, ya know? There might be an "accident", if ya know what I mean.
Great guys, great guys. Real inspiring fellows. Got me out of my slump. And now, to wrap things up with-
Reviewer Responses
cjflutterbye: Well, the weather has spared me, nothing happens this far inland except drenchings. I hope I'm not too rusty after the break in writing...
betsytheripper: The trees are starting to drop leaves. Sometimes the leaf will change colors, sometimes it'll just be dry. The plot action is slowing down for a bit, but all things will lurch forward in due time. Hopefully less time than this action-deficient chapter took...
kitsune: Cats, angst, forbidden bathrooms, technological goody grab bags, and hair-singing spurts of flame. I can feel it in this chapter! Looks like Vash finally decided to get some decent equipment for his beleaguered band, should have done it a good deal sooner, I'd say.
Sorian: Knives will get a wanted poster? Somehow, that just seems too fair. More fun to have blame everywhere but the one who most deserves it.
Weeble Wobble Chic: .......¤stares at length of time to get this chapter up, then slinks into shadows¤
Luna-Blu: I've been nit-picked! NOOOOO! I'll get you next time, nitpick girl, NEXT TIME! And no stabbing the characters, stabbing not nice.
Neptune Butterfly: No figuring out was done- those no-good lawmen just snuck it in to the branch office, told them to give it to Milly, and let the poor girl unwittingly drag it back to the hideout. Those mean ol' nasty lawmen.
millythompson: Oo; ...I need to fortify the fourth wall, the characters keep sneaking out. Still, all are welcome to review! Heh, I can't help but smile every time I hear comparisons to the top of the heap in Trigun fanfiction.
Yma: I'll forgive the late review if you can forgive the late chapter. No comment on the rest of the comment
Aku: Glad you could take a moment away from plotting Jack's demise to review. Let me guess- Knives fan?
Hopeful Wings: It's been something I've had in The Plan since day one. Those two are getting married, no matter who may object :P As for the other plant, well, there's one scene in the next chapter where Knives will meet some ladies. Whatever will he do?
Disclaimer: Terms of employment offer no restitution should anyone be messily devoured by pit-monsters.
Chapter 24: Good Sneaks
"There he is!"
The aforementioned 'he' looked up at the voice. He had woken up just moments earlier to find the day nearly half gone and both sides of the bed empty and cold. One of them could have woken him up, but he must have been dead to the world. Okay, so that was fairly normal for him, but nobody coming in to try and wake him? In any case, he was awake, and feeling like sixty billion double dollars. He had gotten up and started his morning stretching, but found that there wasn't a stiff muscle anywhere on him. He could slack a little on his gun practice and did so, since nature was calling. However, he hadn't so much as stepped out before the voice cut in.
Well. Looks like someone must have called for backup, because the last time he'd seen a space this packed it had 'Sardines' on the label. He put on his smile and waved to the mass. "Hello!"
"Finally!"
Meryl's head popped out of the crowd, and he watched the top third or so of it bob and weave as it navigated through the morass. Just what were all those people doing here, anyway? They weren't equipped for a lynching and no tar or feathers were in evidence, well, aside from those three huge feathers stuck in that one cavalry cap... Ah. This must have something to do with Milly and Roy. A surprise party! He'd have to get them a tankard of pudding. "Hmm... They are pretty good at eating... Better make that one each."
By this time the bobbing mass of black hair had finally made it out of the cavalry crowd. Come to think of it, this crowd was doing very little partying for a party. And why was everyone scribbling stuff down? Oh well, he'd figure it out. Right now, it was time to play for the audience. "Oh my beloved raven-haired beauty, have all these people come to behold the mighty radiance of our affection?"
She blushed, grimaced, and hissed out "Sort of" through clenched teeth. Eep, next time try for less sap or he might get a headache. However, all she did was grab his arm and drag him into the crowd. This wasn't much better, as he kept getting pats on the back and pinches on the butt. "Mer-yl, they're not keeping their hands to themselves!"
Uh oh. He knew what that tightening grip and slight hunch meant. He had officially stepped over The Line. Luckily, though of what type he wasn't sure, he was spared her wrath as a foot slammed into his shin. "Cut the crap Eriks, we're trying to plan your wedding here!"
"Ow ow ow..." He would have said good morning, but she had managed to plug him in the exact same spot from last night, sending him to the floor as people looked on. He was hauled up moments later by one of the perpetrators of this planning-party, who proceeded to slowly move his head back and forth all the while looking with an intense stare. After a bit of that, the elder Thompson squinted out one eye and began to poke at him. "She calls you Eriks and you went down with one kick- are you sure you're Vash the Stampede?"
Meryl sighed. "Yes, he is. I just wish I had that sort of problem."
He suddenly found himself stuffed under one of Roy's arms, while Meryl was likewise treated by the other. "Hoo boy! I can see why little sis likes you two so much! Hardly had half of the fun you two are in her letters!"
He dropped them and cut a path through the crowd, laughing more like a little kid than a grown man. Some space was made for them on the sofa, which the two of them gladly took. Man, why couldn't the powers-that-be let him have a few moments of peace in the morning before starting up his daily injury quota? Then he remembered that they had let him sleep in, so it was sort of balanced. The Thompson emerged from the crowd again, and squatted in front of the sofa. "Well, impressed? I asked if a few of my buddies could lend a hand, and the response was great! Even had a few of the ones who hail from the city join in, so we should have the whole thing tossed together in no time flat!"
He beamed a grin forward and orated. "So, all of this just for us? I will always remember you gratitude and generosity in making this the most happy of events!"
"Well... It's not entirely just for you." His voice dropped to a whisper. "We're kinda going to drag the commander and the quartermaster into a second ceremony. It's a secret though."
Ooh, devious. Somehow, he knew that Milly had suggested that, probably intending to boost the turnout and get more help. She was really pushing to get the two of them together, and to get everything as close to perfect as possible. There was helping to catch the mayfly of love, and then there was pinning it to the wall with a stungun bolt. He'd have to ask her about that sometime. In any case, he was getting a feeling that the crowd would break up soon, and sure enough the various scraps of paper were being stuffed away.
"Okay boys, time for you to get lost, there are bridal matters to be attended to!"
The male half of the crowd, including himself, was prodded toward and out the front door. "Er, ladies, just one second..."
"No way! It's bad luck for the groom to stick around. Out you go!"
He was shoved out the door and had it slam behind him. He blinked a few times at the rest of the men in the hall. Well, mostly men. Looked like Lina had a bit of an attachment to him. Still, had he just been tossed out of his apartment? He turned around and called through the door. "Er, but what about- oh, morning Knives."
He brother scowled in his face, not exactly the most pleasant of things to have all of two inches in front of you nose. The door slammed again behind his brother's scowl before he could ask over the suddenly appearing shoulders for another minute inside. His upraised finger wilted a little, then crumbled entirely to join its brethren in twiddling behind his back. "So... Feel like touring the city, bro?"
His forced laugh did nothing to move the glacial expression that was still so close that he could see every crease in the frown. "We appear to have an infestation."
"All right! I knew you'd get a sense of humor one of these days..." The scowl remained immobile, and though Knives said nothing there was the slightest of motions on his face. "You were being serious... Oh man, well, let me show you to the plant facility. Nobody goes there." He made little grumbling noises, but Knives didn't take the bait. It looked like there wouldn't be much conversation.
Seems that Knives was taking being escorted out of his hidey-hole pretty well. No screaming or blood at least. When he turned towards the stairs, he noticed that the rest of the group had already cleared out down the stairs or into the elevator, unwilling to endure the scowl and also knowing what the plant behind it thought of them. Okay, so Knives was still being his usual master of socializing with large empty areas. They started toward the stairs, but just as he reached the first steps down he ran into an unlikely pair coming up. The frowns sported only looked right on one of the two.
"Hey big girl, you look a little down."
"Oh, hello Mr. Vash! Sorry, just had a bit of a bad day so far."
The Thompson grin was set at half mast, so it had to have been more than just a bit of a bad day. "What happened?"
"Well, somebody put a bomb into Meryl's luggage."
"What?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Knives was really helpful in disarming it this morning!"
"Who did what?"
"Though when I went back to the office to ask them why, a whole lot of lawmen attacked."
"Who attacked where?"
"Mr. Rai-dei was really helpful too, you should have seen it. He must have knocked out at least ten! But don't worry, they were all fine, I think I even saw a few of them looking for us as we were running."
He turned to the samurai. Rai-dei gave an almost imperceptible shrug. "There were no fatalities or permanent injuries."
What was all this about? He turned back to Milly, but found the spot she had occupied empty, save for a cat that meowed at him then pranced on up to the next floor. He heard a knock behind him, and her voice announced "It's me!"
"Wait a sec!" He ran after her, but she was already inside the door. He dove for the opening, but only managed to get a facefull of the textured plastic that passed as wood. The sounds of the slam and his impact both reverberated down the hall, as Knives and Rai-dei scowled at him. He picked himself up and stared forlornly at the door that blocked his passage to the place he really needed to be.
"Vash-san, I can inform you of all that happened."
"Wha? Oh, that's great."
"Forgive me, but you seem less than interested."
"Oh, I am, I am, it's just that I, er... gotta go potty."
Knives' face twitched.
Life was funny, sometimes. An old question that had once been asked of her came back. It was one of the many questions asked of her when she was being interviewed for a position at Bernardelli, and it was so inconspicuous at the time... "Where do you see yourself in five years?" She couldn't remember what she had answered with back then, but she was certain that "On the run from the law alongside Vash the Stampede. Oh, and we'll be getting married" was not what came from her mouth that day. So much had happened, correction, was still happening. It was happy, sad, and scary all at once, but she'd do it all over again if given the choice. Those old philosophers were right, love really does conquer all, even one Meryl Stryfe.
"Woo-we! I thought we'd never get rid of those guys."
Radiohead bounced back from the door after shooing out Knives. The woman's real name was still unknown to her- all anyone ever called her was Radiohead, a nickname earned for a pair of reasons- first, she was the communications head of the 3rd, and second, she tended to repeat everything she heard during the day at night. That was just one of the innumerable little stories she had been told during her stay with the 3rd, but they only hinted at just how much there was to know. Or maybe she just wanted to get the most out of life while she could, and was suddenly seeing so much of it she had used to ignore. Such as this whole marriage thing.
"Well, now that they're gone, we can work on the dress. One of my roomies had one, and it shouldn't be too hard to fit..."
A large wrapped bundle was brought out and unrolled. There was so much fabric that it took a while for her to finally see what it was, and gasped. It was a dress, yes, but there was so much fine detail to it and so many frills... It had to be worth over a thousand double dollars. Someone had just handed this over? "I can't accept this.... It's too much for someone to just give away."
"Well, Susan said the sand would turn to water sooner than she's be using it, and that it'd be a shame to just keep it bundled up."
So the benefactor of this outrageous generosity wasn't even here? "I don't know how to thank her for this."
"She also said, and I quote, 'If she wants to thank me, tell her to wear it with her heart and to not invite me. I hate weddings.' Seems straightforward enough."
"Wait, if she hates weddings, why did she have a wedding dress?"
"Dunno. I never asked, and she never talked about it."
A knock at the door interrupted, and Milly's voice floated through. "It's me!"
A second later she was inside, though the door made a horrible bang as it was closed. The noise made her jump- it was a tad too similar to a gunshot. Milly looked the very image of happiness as she began to buzz over the dress. However, there was a certain forced quality to the look, one that she hadn't seen for a long time- ever since Wolfwood died. Just watching her was creating a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Milly... What happened?"
For a brief moment, an almost... frightened expression crossed Milly's face before the forced visage of happiness came back. "Oh... Nothing happened!"
"Nothing?"
"Nothing means nothing!"
That cinched it. The last time Milly acted like this, Legato had made his introduction earlier and Monev the Gale blasted his way in to try to kill Vash. It wasn't until later that she finally realized just how much danger there was at that time, but Milly seemed to have known that they had just stepped in the quicksand. If she was acting that way again, then whatever had happened was anything but 'nothing'. A sick feeling came over her as a memory from that morning came back... "...then use an expendable patsy to deliver the bomb." Knives' words echoed in her head. Damn it all, why did he have to be right? More importantly, if they now considered Milly expendable, and she found out... No. They couldn't. Milly deserved nothing but the best, not this! A wave of anguish built up, but she allowed no sign of it to surface. If Milly wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong, then she could go along with it.
Fingers snapped in front of her face. "Hey! You with us?"
"Wha? Oh, yeah. Just thinking."
"Better not be cold feet! Now, shuck that uniform so we can fit the dress."
The next hour was spent standing up as the voluminous fabric was tucked, folded, and hemmed around her. For all its bulk, it wasn't very heavy, which was good because standing up trying to remain motionless was far more tiring that most people realized. After poking a few more needles into the folds, her entourage drew back while Milly ran an appraising eye over the work. After finishing her orbit, she smiled and clapped her hands. "Perfect!"
There wasn't a mirror available, which may have been for the best considering how many pins were sticking out. The dress was shed so the sewing could be done. The Cavalry, now mostly unneeded, discussed a few more points then showed themselves out, with Radiohead flashing the two of them a thumbs up. Thus they were finally alone. Milly was nothing short of a speed stitcher, which put her own 'adequate and that's it' skill with needle and thread to shame. A wordless song came out of Milly, softly hummed while inch after inch of newly formed seam emerged. The tune was melancholy, almost forlorn.
"I'm sorry."
Milly looked up. "For what, Meryl?"
"Nothing."
Milly nodded, and they went back to the dress.
Meanwhile, a certain broomhead was skulking through the city without a care in the world- at least in the judgment of those that saw him. Inside, the tumult of thought was leading him in mental circles. Even without Rai-dei telling his tale, he knew the second he saw Milly that something was wrong. The information just fleshed it out in gory detail. He no longer had the insurance girls after him, but couldn't things have worked out differently? His record for protecting people was spotty- even at his best, sometimes he failed, and failing this time would be the worst since then.
"/Why do you persist like this?/"
"Knives, that's rude. We're not all telepathic, you know."
"Huh? What'd he say? Was it about me?" Lina turned to glare at his brother, who followed a few steps behind them. Knives simply snorted. "Irrevelent. How quickly you humans assume the worst."
"What was that?!"
"Uh oh." "Now now, let's all be friends!"
"Fat chance!" "Unlikely."
He turned forward again and sighed. He really hoped they'd stop snapping at each other, otherwise this would be one long day. Still, they did manage to keep from bickering until they were inside the facility. At least there were plenty of rooms he could duck into if they wanted him to pick a side.
He tried to ignore the insults and comebacks by picturing the layout of the ship. They were in the plant section, the engines would have been back about one hundred fifty feet, past the reception area, where a street currently was. They should be right over the command computers, and from there was the docking bays, cold sleep area, general stores... Huh. The corridor they were in ended too soon. Must of had an emergency bulkhead come down. Wasn't too much beyond there anyway, just the... He froze as an idea came. If the bulkhead was here, then nobody had likely been beyond this point since the ship crashed, which meant that it could still be there. He sprang at the barrier, hunting for the opening controls. Prying off the panel, he gave them a jab. Nothing- time and a sharp sliver of shrapnel had drained the batteries of all energy, but this was a simple enough setup- he was a plant, a quick zap shouldn't be any trouble. Just find the right points, send a bit of power...
"What are you doing?"
"Hot hot hot hot!" He batted down the flames that sprayed out of the recessed mechanism and hoped his eyebrows hadn't been singed off. At least it had opened up enough for him to wiggle through.
"I'll be right back, you two play nice, okay?"
Before either could protest, he slithered under the door into the space beyond.
Okay, he got another minute, then she was going in after him, air quality be damned. Knives was no help- she could have sworn he nearly laughed when she last tried to go in after Eriks, only to get a faceful of air so stale it was practically unbreathable. Now he was staring off into nowhere, and wasn't even reacting to her, as he had been for what felt like hours. She had even fallen asleep sometime, what with Eriks taking forever. Knives was so infuriating. She idly though about what would happen if she gave him her best kick to the groin. She'd bet everything she had that he'd fall over, curl up, and bawl his eyes out. His type never were able to take it. Eriks, on the other hand...
A number of thuds and a familiar "Aw man..." from under the door signaled that Eriks was back. She started to bend down to get a look at wheat he had dropped, but jumped back up as a box came sliding out. Another followed, and then a few more came through before a pair of legs poked out and began to slowly squirm the rest of him under the metal. Impatient, she grabbed his ankles and yanked.
"What on gunsmoke were you doing in there? What's with all this stuff?"
Eriks gave her that goofy grin. "I got a few presents! Let's see... Ah, here's yours!"
He thrust a box into her hands. It looked downright ancient, probably from before The Fall. What could he have possibly found back in there? There was only one way to find out... Prying the box open, she rummaged through the contents. Most items were completely unfamiliar- the only ones she recognized right away were the clothes.
"Brother, this is not a good idea."
"I think it's a great idea! This is just what we need!"
"Will you two shut up and tell me what the idea is?"
"Oh! Yeah, well, it's a lot to explain, so I'll save the big speech for everyone. The short version is that everyone'll get a survival suit, two-way radio, MediPatches, and some body armor. Just in case."
Okay, most of that had flown over her head. She tried to link the names to the items in the box, but all she could come up with was the survival suit had to be the clothes. Come to think of it, didn't Eriks and Knives wear similar things under their clothes? Great. Eriks got her underwear as a present. At least he didn't forget her while plundering lost technology. "This is great and all, but is it okay to just take all this?"
"Well, nobody else was using it... Besides, there's plenty more back there!"
Eriks just laughed it up as he piled another box into her arms. He swept up the rest of the grayish objects and led them back out, going through a hole that conveniently led them past reception. It felt a little like they were running off with the contents of a bank vault, except that money would probably weigh more and be less valuable. Still, what was he thinking might happen that would require them to run off with all this? Whatever it was, she'd deal with it. Anything was better than being alone.
Well, it's been a long, hard slog, but I think we've finally cleared out all the critters that wanted to eat us. No thanks to you, Legato.
Legato: ...
Yeah, you do that. Anyway, my apologies for taking so long on this chapter. I didn't mean to worry ya'll, I just got so many distractions. Whoever sent the hired goons to check on me, thanks.
Hired Goons: Fagetaboutit. Just make sure youse keep up the chapters, cuz the boss dun like to wait, ya know? There might be an "accident", if ya know what I mean.
Great guys, great guys. Real inspiring fellows. Got me out of my slump. And now, to wrap things up with-
Reviewer Responses
cjflutterbye: Well, the weather has spared me, nothing happens this far inland except drenchings. I hope I'm not too rusty after the break in writing...
betsytheripper: The trees are starting to drop leaves. Sometimes the leaf will change colors, sometimes it'll just be dry. The plot action is slowing down for a bit, but all things will lurch forward in due time. Hopefully less time than this action-deficient chapter took...
kitsune: Cats, angst, forbidden bathrooms, technological goody grab bags, and hair-singing spurts of flame. I can feel it in this chapter! Looks like Vash finally decided to get some decent equipment for his beleaguered band, should have done it a good deal sooner, I'd say.
Sorian: Knives will get a wanted poster? Somehow, that just seems too fair. More fun to have blame everywhere but the one who most deserves it.
Weeble Wobble Chic: .......¤stares at length of time to get this chapter up, then slinks into shadows¤
Luna-Blu: I've been nit-picked! NOOOOO! I'll get you next time, nitpick girl, NEXT TIME! And no stabbing the characters, stabbing not nice.
Neptune Butterfly: No figuring out was done- those no-good lawmen just snuck it in to the branch office, told them to give it to Milly, and let the poor girl unwittingly drag it back to the hideout. Those mean ol' nasty lawmen.
millythompson: Oo; ...I need to fortify the fourth wall, the characters keep sneaking out. Still, all are welcome to review! Heh, I can't help but smile every time I hear comparisons to the top of the heap in Trigun fanfiction.
Yma: I'll forgive the late review if you can forgive the late chapter. No comment on the rest of the comment
Aku: Glad you could take a moment away from plotting Jack's demise to review. Let me guess- Knives fan?
Hopeful Wings: It's been something I've had in The Plan since day one. Those two are getting married, no matter who may object :P As for the other plant, well, there's one scene in the next chapter where Knives will meet some ladies. Whatever will he do?