Trigun is owned by Yasuhiro Nightow.

Shadows

Meryl and Stella stayed away from Millie for the rest of the night. They had agreed that that night they would leave; all they had to do was tell the men. They heard Millie go up to her room and throughout their packing they could hear Millie quietly crying, not that Meryl wasn't.

"Meryl…" began Stella but found that Meryl had turned away went to the other side of the room.

Meryl sniffed back a tear and said, "Do you think we should take these shirts? They don't really fit us anymore and I think some of the girls here would like them."

Stella sighed and handed over the give away bag. Meryl like every other time they had to leave someone behind was denying any and all knowledge about it.

They heard the men rise to the second floor, Nick walked by their room into his with Millie while Vash and Knives stopped at their door.

"Do I really have to sleep with you in here?" whined Vash as he opened the door. As he stepped in a bag came flying at his head. Catching it in startled surprise he looked at Meryl who had tossed it and asked, "What's up Meryl? Are we going somewhere?"

Meryl was sitting silhouetted by the early moonlight on the desk in front of the window. "Yes Vash we are, and we're leaving - tonight."

Vash looked to Knives, questions on his lips. Knives just shrugged and took the two bags by Stella's feet. Meryl did like wise and followed Knives out.

"What…what's going on here Stella?" begged Vash, his eyes filling suddenly with tears.

"We're leaving. It's not safe to stay here long. And we are leaving without Millie and Nick. It's not safe for anyone to follow us. Meryl and I won't allow anyone else to die protecting us." Stella pushed off the wall and standing beside Vash laid a hand on his arm, "I'm sorry Vash but its best this way, Meryl was always best at this." And she walked out.

Vash was left standing in the now empty room with his bag in hand.

----

Nick entered the room he shared with Millie only to find the poor girl curled up in a ball on the bed crying. "Big girl? What's going on?"

"They…they're leaving."

"Who's leaving?"

"Sempai!" Millie cried and threw herself into Nick's arms. It took Nick moments to figure out what Millie was crying over. That was why Knives had been so quite and rather docile that afternoon. He knew that they would be leaving. It was then that he heard the revving of the truck they had 'commandeered' for their flight from the mercenaries. He pulled Millie up from the floor and dashed to the window. When they looked out Meryl was standing in the boot of the truck, looking back at them, with translucent tears in her eyes. The three locked eyes as the truck was thrown into first and pulled out.

"They are leaving," whispered Nick. He tried to catch Vash's eyes but the man was holding Meryl's free hand, he was giving the same support that Nick was giving Millie.

"What am I going to do Nick? She left, sempai really left me." Wailed Millie burying her head in Nick's chest.

"Don't worry big girl. I have an idea where short girl is heading."

----

"Are you sure about this Meryl?" asked Vash as Meryl lost sight of Millie and Nick in the window and sat down.

Meryl curled up in Vash's arms and clutched his shirt. "No, but we don't have a choice. We have to destroy everything that relates to us, we can't have them coming after us for that, not any more."

"We're going to them, we're going to May?"

Meryl nodded, her face pressed into his chest. "Yes my mate, to May, where everything ends and begins."

"Then we need to make a pit stop." 'Knives.' Called Vash.

'Yes Vash.'

'I think we should take our guns to an old friend, you know where to go right?'

'Of course brother, why wouldn't I know where you spent most of your time with the humans?' with that Knives turned the wheel in the opposite direction of May and headed south east.

"Where are we going Vash?" asked Meryl pulling Vash's face to hers.

"Don't worry; we're going to see some friends."