Hello! This is Gunslinger Angel again bringing you Chapter 3! Hope you all enjoy!
Trigun: The Raven
Chapter 3: The Raven vs. Rusty McJones!
I fight to protect. I fight the wicked and cruel to protect the weak and innocent. I fight to make this forsaken world a better place, a place in which the future generations to come can live in peace and without suffering. I will fight to make a better future for all…I will fight till I take my very last breath.
Three Days Later:
The crowded streets of December City were filled with chatter and laughter. Children were playing cops and robbers while the adults shopped and talked to friends. Walking through the crowd was a figure that stood out like a sore thumb, a figure dressed in black. He had a long black coat that touched the ground and had something sticking out in the collar, a big black hat that shaded his head, and a black scarf wrapped around his face. The only thing that wasn't black and stood out was a pair of dark blue sunglasses in square frames.
He walked into a restaurant called The Cat's Meow and once he entered everyone stopped what they were doing and looked nervously at him. There was a slight pause before he walked toward the bartender, who was standing behind the bar that was on the other side of the room. As the black-clothed man walked across the room he could hear whispers and mumbles coming from the people sitting in the tables.
"That's him," whispered one man to another man who was sitting beside him.
"Is that The Raven Mommy?" asked a small girl.
"Shhh!" whispered the little girl's mother while she wrapped her arms around her daughter and pulled her to her side.
When The Raven finally reached to the bar and sat down, the bartender said nervously, "Well…uh…Mr. Raven…What can I get you?"
The Raven was about to order when he heard another little voice called on him, "Uh…Mr. Raven?" The Raven looked down and saw a little boy looking straight at him. "Ummm…I was just going to say…Ummm…Thank you very much sir!" said the little boy and ran back to his mother who was sitting at the corner. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and turned him toward the wall with her body.
"We're sorry that we've disturbed you Mr. Raven but we just wanted to say thank you. Thanks to you, December is a little bit more peaceful now that a majority of the Dust Rat Gang is behind bars. You've finally given us some peace," said the mother as she was holding her son in her arms. Little that she knew that when The Raven heard that, a smile crept onto his face but sadly no one could see it because of his scarf.
The Raven gave a nod to the woman and turned around to face the bartender again. The bartender was about to tell The Raven about some suggestions on the menu when there was a sudden loud crash right outside the door. The Raven was screaming something out loud but no one could hear it due to the shattering of the glass windows and the screams of the people in the restaurant. The Raven quickly ran towards a couple of people, who were sitting close to one of the windows, and covered them with his body.
Once the screaming stopped and the shattered glass settled there was voice coming outside, and it sounded like a drunken old man. "I'm calling you out you little dusty butt muncher! I've got a score to settle with you!" yelled out the voice. "Get out here Raven!"
The Raven rose up and shook off the glass on his coat. He was about to leave when he heard the bartender say, "Please don't leave Mr. Raven! Rusty McJones is a criminal that should not be messed with."
The Raven turned his head toward the bartender, revealing a little bit of The Raven's eye. The bartender could have sworn that The Raven had gray eyes, but they were the saddest eyes that he had ever seen. The Raven gave him a nod and walked outside. Once outside, The Raven was staring at the face of Rusty McJones with his dark blue sunglasses.
"So, you have finally decided to come out," said Rusty with a smirk. What the bartender said was true; Rusty McJones was a criminal that should not be messed with because he was inside of what looked like a giant robot suit that had a rocket launcher in one hand and a machine gun in the other and, of course, he had henchmen with him. They all had evil grins on their faces as they pointed their guns at The Raven. "Think you can arrest us all, Raven?" asked Rusty and gave out a little laugh. The Raven said nothing in response to Rusty's question which made him very angry. "What the hell is wrong with you! Are you deaf or something!" yelled out Rusty and once again The Raven did not respond. Instead, The Raven searched inside his coat and took out something that looked like a grenade. Everyone gasped and stood there in horror, especially Rusty.
"He's not really gonna…" said one of the henchmen but before he could finish his sentence The Raven pulled out the ring and threw it at Rusty and his gang but instead of a bang there was smoke coming out and everyone started to cough and close their eyes from the stinging sensation. Once the smoke had settled, Rusty opened his eyes and saw that The Raven had run away!
"Why that little, yellow bellied blackhead! I'm gonna turn him into minced meat!" yelled out Rusty and started to wave his hands around, "Don't just stand there you idiots! Go get him! And once you do find him, hold him till I get there! I want to teach him a lesson about messing around with the Dust Rat Gang!" The henchmen obeyed and ran down the street in a hurried frenzy.
Vash fell to his knees and started to kiss the ground. "Finally, we're in December City!" rejoiced Vash. It had been three long days since the Doc and he left New Oregon in search of The Raven, who was somewhere in December City. Vash didn't mind the bus ride itself, it was just the people in the bus, who were saying what a cute little boy he was, and that annoyed the heck out him. But now that they had arrived, he was overwhelmed with joy. "If I get another pinch on the cheek, I am going to scream!"
The Doc looked at him and smiled, "Now come on Vash. It wasn't so bad now…"said the Doc but before he could finish, Vash gave him an evil, mean look which meant that he didn't want to hear the rest of the sentence so the Doc decided to start another topic. "Well now, shall we start looking for The Raven?" he asked but before Vash could respond, a person dressed in black ran pass them and a couple of seconds later, a group of rough looking men with guns in their hands ran in the same direction that the man in black ran in.
"The Raven went that way! After him!" yelled one henchman as they ran.
After that, there was a couple of seconds of silence before the loud and fun-sounding voice of Chit-Chat Carl, who also happened to riding in the bus that Vash and the Doc rode, called out, "Did you hear that folks! The Raven is being hunted down by the Dust Rat Gang even as we speak! This could lead to a very messy showdown folks and I definitely do not want to miss this!" After he said that, he hurriedly ran to the direction that the gang ran in and soon the rest of the people around Vash and the Doc followed him.
"I guess that's our man. Shall we…"said the Doc but before he could finish Vash started to run to the direction that Chit-Chat Carl and the rest of the people ran. The Doc quickly ran after him and said, "What's the matter with you, Vash?"
But Vash didn't respond. Instead, he kept on running down street thinking, "That man…The Raven…I sensed something in him when he passed us…It was something familiar but I don't know yet…I have to figure it out once I meet him."
The Raven reached to the center of the city in which the monument stood and stopped. He bent down, put his hands on his knees, and tried to catch his breath. He looked up, turned around with the monument to his back, and saw Rusty coming down the street towards him. He quickly looked around and saw that all the other streets were blocked by Rusty's henchmen and crowd of people that stood behind them.
"All exits are blocked," thought The Raven, "I can't lead them to a more open place…I might as well have to fight them here."
"This is the end of the line for you!" yelled out Rusty and gave out an evil grin. "Now I'm gonna make you pay for sending all my comrades to jail!" He then raised the rocket launcher and aimed it at The Raven.
Vash finally made it to the crowd and squeezed his way through the crowd. When he finally made it to the front of the crowd, he saw a robotic arm holding a rocket launcher that was aimed at the man in black. Vash could do nothing but watch.
"I…Feel so powerless…I can't stop this…Many people, even The Raven, could die from this," Vash thought and tears started to flow down his eyes.
"Some many lives are in danger…Can I be able to prevent any deaths?" asked a voice that echoed in Vash's head, a voice of a woman.
Suddenly, Vash stopped crying and looked around. He was looking at the faces of the crowd. He was searching for the person who belonged to that voice. "Meryl...Where are you? I can hear you but I can't see you…Meryl?" Vash thought as he searched desperately at the faces of the crowd, hoping to find Meryl's face.
"Got any last words before I turn you into ground beef?" asked Rusty while his rocket launcher was still aimed at The Raven. The Raven said nothing but he did lift up his index finger from his right hand which meant that he was asking Rusty to wait for just a moment.
"Well, if I do die here….I should at least show these people who I really am and stop all of these rumors about me being a man…Plus, all this heavy clothing will slow me down while fighting Mr. Tin Can," The Raven thought as he began to take off his coat, hat, and scarf.
"Heavy clothing? What going on here?" thought Vash but before he could think of anything else his eyes widened as he saw The Raven reveal his true self.
The Raven had black cargo pants with a long handgun in its holster that was strapped to each leg, a sleeveless black velvet shirt with gold buttons sewed along his right shoulder, a long rifle strapped around back, black combat boots, a long piece of black duster cloth that was wrapped around his hips and dropped down to his ankles, a black leather belt warped around his hips, some sort of black arm guard that covered both his elbows and a little bit of his arms, raven black hair that dropped to his shoulders, and a pair of gold earrings. But something was wrong with his figure, it didn't look anything like a man, and plus, he was short.
"WHAT, YOU'RE A GIRL!" cried out Rusty with his hands on his head.
The Raven looked straight at Rusty with her dark blue sunglasses, gave a smirk, and said, "Yep, that's right! Your buddies got their asses kicked by a girl!"
"I will not let this fly! I will not be defeated by some little girl!" yelled Rusty and fired. The Raven just stood there until the very last second when the rocket was only a few fields away from her. She quickly jumped away from the rocket, which exploded onto the monument, and reached into her pocket. She revealed another grenade and threw at Rusty and his gang. She then took out one of her handguns and shot at the grenade while it was still in midair. The grenade exploded, and smoke and sparks started to spread everywhere. Rusty and his henchmen started to cough and cover their eyes from the smoke. Rusty then heard the screams and shots coming from his men, attempting to defend themselves, as they were being beaten and shot by someone or something in the smoke.
"Where are you...Cough, Cough…Come on out and show yourself you yellow belly sissy!" yelled Rusty while choking from the smoke and covering his eyes. When the smoke finally settled, Rusty opened his eyes and saw all of his men lying on the ground moaning and groaning in pain. The funny thing was that none of them were killed.
"I really do hate the idea of taking someone's life. Sorry if you were expecting corpses," said The Raven. Rusty jerked his head around and saw that The Raven was standing on his robotic arm that carried the rocket launcher, which was still aiming at what was left of the monument. She had her rifle in her arms and was aiming at Rusty. "Now will you please behave like a nice old man and give up?" asked The Raven in a sweet and polite voice.
Rusty fumed and yelled out, "Over my dead bod…" But before he could finish his sentence he was pistol-whipped with the butt of The Raven's rifle and fell off his robot suit. He tried to crawl away but it was too late, The Raven had jumped down and aimed her rifle at him again.
"I will ask politely one more time. Will you please give up!" demanded The Raven.
"I'm not gonna get my ass whipped by some short bitc…" yelled out Rusty but before he could finish his sentence; The Raven hit him in the head with her fist.
"Now now now," said The Raven and pointed toward the crowd. Rusty followed the direction of her finger and saw a little boy with blonde hair and aqua eyes. "We've got children here and I don't want them to be exposed to such language at a young age," said The Raven and hit Rusty again in the head with her fist leaving him unconscious. Soon after that, a group of cavalry men came out of the crowd and began to handcuff and carry the injured members of the Dust Rat Gang.
Vash couldn't help but stare at The Raven as she turned to face him. She slowly walked towards him and bent down to look at him face to face.
"The feeling that I sensed before…It's Meryl," thought Vash as tears streamed down his eyes, "Meryl is The Raven."
The Raven took off her glasses, revealing a pair of sad, gray eyes, and smiled at Vash, "Hey it's okay little buddy I'm fine and that mean old man is arrested. There's nothing to be sad."
"Meryl…"sobbed Vash while tears still flowed down his eyes, "You've changed so much."
The Raven's smile faded and she asked, "How did you know…My real name?"
But before she could get an answer, Vash went back into the crowd and started to look for the Doc. "Why her…Why did she have to be The Raven! I didn't want her to be danger...No! I won't let her be the one to protect me…I won't left her life be on the line for mine," thought Vash while running through the crowd and fighting back his tears. He finally found the Doc who was standing on a box that was located around the edge of the crowd and holding a pair of binoculars in his hands.
"What an amazing showdown! I can't believe that The Raven was actually a woman! This is certainly going to be interesting!" said the Doc in an excited tone.
"Forget it! I don't want her to protect me. I'll take my chances by myself!" demanded Vaah and started to walk down the street.
The Doc got down from the box and caught up with Vash, "Now why the sudden change in mind?"
Vash stopped and looked at him with his tear-stained eyes and cried out, "It's Meryl! The Raven is really Meryl! I can't let her join us. I don't want her to lose her life for me!"
The Doc looked down as they continued down the street. It was a long moment of silence until the Doc finally said, "I'm sorry Vash but I can't let you face Knives in your current position. We have no choice but to trust in Meryl. She is the only one who could possibly defend you from Knives' assassins. You've seen her fight and you know that her skill is equal to yours! I'm so sorry Vash, but we are still going to ask for Meryl's help whether you like it or not."
Vash couldn't help but agree with the Doc with a slow nod. Behind them were the shouts and cheers of the townspeople, but one voice in particular struck Vash in his heart. It was Chit-Chat Carl's voice yelling out, "GIVE IT UP FOR MERYL THE RAVEN!"
Her name echoed in Vash's mind. Meryl the Raven…The one whose skill was equal to his own…Meryl the Raven…The short Insurance girl whom he had grown to trust while traveling together…Meryl the Raven…The one who would risk her life, her very own existence, in order to protect his life.
The next morning, Meryl was sitting at the desk of her apartment and drinking a cup of coffee. She was still tried from yesterday not only because of the fight she had with Rusty McJones but also from running away from some crazy, loud man who called himself Chit-Chat Carl. She gave out a sigh and continued drinking her cup when the image of the little boy she met yesterday popped up in her head. She placed her cup on the desk and looked out into the window.
"That little boy…He knew my name before I even said it…Who was he? He looked so familiar. He looked like…" said Meryl but she gave out a little laugh before she could finish her sentence. "Naw...It can't be him…I must be going crazy for thinking that, "she said and looked at the sky. "But I really do wish that you were here," Meryl thought and picked up her cup.
She then heard someone knocking at her door and quickly took out a gun that was in one of her desk draws. "Hello? Who is it?" asked Meryl.
"I'm sorry to disturb you Miss Raven, but can we come in? My friend and I are wondering if you could something for us?" asked the voice through the door. The voice sounded like an old man.
Meryl quickly walked to the door, looked through the eye hole and saw a short old man with someone hiding behind him but she couldn't get a good view of him. "Okay, hold on a sec, "said Meryl as she locked the door.
The old man walked into her apartment with a big suitcase in his arms but the other person stayed behind and covered his head and face with the grayish-brown cloak that he wore. Meryl raised an eyebrow in confusion and was about to invite the hiding person in when the old man said, "Thank you for meeting us at such short notice."
Meryl turned around and said, "Oh no problem." She then walked toward her small kitchen and asked, "Would you like something drink or eat?"
"No thank you, we won't take too much of your time. I've got a bus to catch anyway," said the old man as he placed the suitcase on the floor.
Meryl walked back out of the kitchen and saw that the hiding person had finally entered into her apartment. She smiled, walked toward the door, and closed it. She then walked to her desk and sat in the chair and asked, "So what is it that I can do for you?"
"I need you to protect someone for a certain amount of time. We don't have much to pay for your service but what would you gain from this task would certainly be more fulfilling than money," said the old man with a smile.
"It's okay if you don't have much money to pay me, I don't mind. I'm already loaded from the bounties that I catch so this task of yours is free of charge, "Meryl said with a smile. "So who is it that you want me to protect and for how long?" she asked.
"I would like you to protect Vash the Stampede for at least four months. Once the four months have passed, you are free from the task, "said the old man.
Meryl's eyes widen as she said, "Vash…the Stampede? You want me to protect Vash the Stampede! But…can't he protect himself! I mean…Isn't he the outlaw who can get out of the worst situations with little damage?" She couldn't believe it! She was actually quite thrilled to see Vash again but then again...What if he asked about Millie? What would she say to him?
"Well until further notice, Vash is in a bit of a situation in which he is unable to protect himself," said the old man.
"Oh I see," said Meryl as she began thinking of situations in which Vash was unable to defend himself. "He could be injured, sick, or even worst…on the verge of death!" thought Meryl. "Alright then you got yourself a bodyguard!" she said.
"Excellent! Shall we shake on it then?" said the old man as he reached out his hand to Meryl, but she jerked back from the hand like as if she was scared of it. "Is something wrong with my hand?" he asked.
"Oh it's nothing!" said Meryl and quickly changed the subject, "So where is Vash anyway?"
"He's right here in this very room with us," said the old man and motioned for the hiding person to come forward. Meryl once again raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Don't be afraid Vash, she agreed to help us," whispered the old man and the hiding person slowly uncovered his head and face.
Meryl's eyes widen when she saw his face and thought, "It's that little boy I saw yesterday!"
Vash's face reddened and lowered his head in shame. "I want to die or at least dig a hole in this floor and never come out of it again…This is embarrassing," thought Vash.
"Miss Raven, allow me to introduce you to Vash the Stampede," said the old man and put his hand on Vash's shoulder.
"This is going to be the beginning of a beautiful conversation," Vash thought sarcastically and lowered his head even further.
I hope you all are starting to like this so far. Please review! I'll have chapter 4 coming up ASAP!