| Vash |
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-----DISCLAIMER----- I've had an epiphany!!
-----AUTHOR'S NOTES----- Lynda: Egad, sorry it took so long. Real life has been pretty hectic.
O_o;; ... Ooooh ho ho!! ^o^ \V/ Kuroneko: =^ò_ó^= Mraaaawwww~ Lynda: O_o;;....
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'I don't have time for you.' Vash snapped, slipping a head through a random door and peering through. No Meryl. Dammit. What is time, to your kind? Legato retorted cooly within the panicking depths of the gunman's mind. 'Something I'm rapidly running out of.' he replied shortly, trying in vain to block the blue haired Winger from his thoughts. You shouldn't concern yourself with humans. You are a superior being. 'A superior being wouldn't be having so much trouble finding one little girl...' muttered Vash bitterly, his anxiety mounting with every Meryl-less moment. The corridor he found himself in was just like every other damn corridor in the whole damn mansion. He had no idea where he was going, or where she might be. Vash had followed the hallway Wolfwood had pointed down, but within seconds it had turned off to the left. Then to the right, then right again, left, right, straight, left and some other turns he can't remember and now he had absolutely no idea where he was, let alone his Guard. Why do you insist on turning your back on the Master? 'Shutupshutupshutup-' You are a Plant. 'Thanks for reminding me.' There is power that your kind possess. A power only you can use. Why waste it in such an ego-centric being like this human of yours? Vash winced at the force of Legato's message. If there was such a thing as a mental bulldozer, this seriously Demonic Angel had the art down to a 't'. But some things were unbreakably solid; Vash's resolution being one of them. 'Why not?' the blonde Winger replied quietly, finally swallowing his panic and clearing his head. It wasn't that hard. Meryl. Meryl Stryfe of the Bernadelli Insurance Society. His Guard. She was in severe danger. It was his job to get her out of it. Where- This is futile. Without a Meta-Kard, you are nothing. You do not belong as an Angel. You belong with your brother. The world he is creating was designed for the two of you. -is she? If I was an evil scientist taking a short tempered insurance worker to her death, where would I take her? I'm pretty sure she's on this leve- There is no connection between Plant and Human. 'I'm doing the best I can!' Vash whined, getting very annoyed at the
mental interruptions. They were most obviously deliberate. Then, because
he was getting seriously sick of having Legato in his head, Vash snapped,
'If there's no connection, what the hell do you have with Knives?' Silence
ensued. 'Hey there, my jumpy little friend.' Vash grinned, reaching down and pulling up the human by the collar. Again the scientist squeaked. 'Wh-What do you want Mr. Demon sir?' he croaked, trembling in the invisible
grip. 'I've taken the girl to the factory, as ordered.' Angel blinked.
Now he was getting somewhere. But, unfortunately, he was as lost with
finding 'the factory' as he was with finding Meryl. And what's more,
how was he going to ask for directions if he couldn't be heard? There
had to be a way of communication... 'Ta-Take me,' the shaken man mumbled, following the words as they appeared
across the wallpaper, 't-to the in... Insewrence gi-girl.' he finished
as the pen was placed back into his pocket. There was a long pause.
Then the scientist cleared his throat and mumbled, 'Um, insurance is
spelt I.N.S.U-' 'I don't have time for this!' he complained, setting the screeching man on his feet again. 'I-I-I couldn't t-take you... E-even if I w-w-wanted to!' the scientist exclaimed pathetically as knees gave out, leaving the human dangling from his collar. 'I'll smite you, mister.' Vash warned, hurriedly scrawling the message on the wall and drawing a little lightening bolt next to it to make his point. 'NOoO!' the scientist gurgled, waving his hands hurriedly, looking close to losing control over his bladder. 'Just tell meeee~' Vash whined, shaking the human again in his impatience. 'Downthiscorridor-twoleft-straight-tworightandaleft-' the Living burbled, trying to loosen the collar that was bundled in an invisible fist. Winger breathed out in relief. 'That wasn't so hard, was it?' Vash asked him, slinging the poor man's
limp body over a shoulder and jogging down the hall. The scientist screamed
all the way. 'Hey, which way?' Vash asked the Living slung over his shoulder, reaching up and prodding the whimpering fool in the ribs. 'Left!' was the tiny little squeak. Vash sighed and turned left. As
he journeyed down the strange twists of the hallways, he began to think
about what he would do when he found Meryl. How was he going to get
her out of the mansion? And what would he do if they all managed to
flee safely? What would Knives be capable of, alone and brooding? 'Left here.' the human stuttered as they neared another intersection. Meryl going to hell would be so very wrong on so many levels that Vash didn't even begin to think about it. And Meryl going to heaven was a crime. He doubted tempers were allowed there, and well... Meryl going to heaven was a crime. 'Ba-back up, Mr. Demon sir! You have to take a right back there!' And would they give him another Guard? Would he even want one? Vash shook his head to clear the slow slip into angst in his mind. First things first. So far all he had had to deal with was Legato. And, thankfully, only as an annoying and creepy whisper in his mind. No evil and blood thirsty demons as of yet... Which was just as well, because Vash was running out of ammo. When his reserves were completely depleted, his gun arm would be useless, much to his own dismay. 'Keep going...' What else did he have to defend his Guard with? Vash seriously doubted
he could beat Vaults off with lemon meringue pie. Donuts and cake were
equally non-deadly. 'Um, take a right here.' the scientist croaked, his voice jumping awkwardly as Vash continued to jog down the hallways. The Living didn't seem in danger of passing out in fear anymore, which made listening to his directions a whole lot easier. 'Hey, you're a very... Considerate Demon.' the man noted shakily, as if uttering this observation would jinx it. 'You haven't severed any limbs off yet.' The Winger patted him on the back reassuringly. 'Just the sight of blood makes me a little faint.' Vash admitted, knowing very well he couldn't be heard, but talking anyway. It was strangely comforting to be able to talk to someone who wasn't an Angel or Demon. Or his brother. 'Take a left here, Mr. Invisible man.' the Living instructed. Vash
blinked. He'd been promoted from 'Demon' to 'Invisible Man'. Pondering this, Vash sighed in relief as a staircase suddenly appeared in front of him. 'The Fa-factory is ju-just down there.' the scientist stuttered, fearful again. Angel put human down and patted him on the head in thanks. The scientist gratefully scuttled away, burbling 'thankyou's all the way. 'Well, I better hurry...' Vash muttered, pulling his thoughts back to the impending danger Meryl was in. Steeling himself, he made his way down the stairs, squinting in the sudden lack of light. As the darkness crept in, a chill joined it; creeping and biting deviously. And the stench of oil. It was so familiar it was near painful... The dream. And just like that, as the Winger's boot left the last stair and fell to the metal of the room below, everything clicked into familiarity. Yes, there was the big machine in the corner; the conveyor belt working now, not snapped and dismembered. And the pulley revolving ceiling that creaked. The gaping hole in the wall that was lined with rubble. The only thing missing was the humans dragging away the mess. So they had cleaned this up since the time he was behind Knives' eyes... 'Not bad, your Holiness. Finding this place without being pulverized is quite an achievement.' a voice said from somewhere in the gloom behind him. 'But the ball's in my court now.' Very slowly, Vash turned, wincing in the chill of Demonic activity. Sure enough, one stood half bathed in shadow just behind the stairs. There was a strange sound as fingers flexed, the wire string attached to the digits creaking. 'I didn't know I was playing.' Vash replied carefully, trying to make out who or what was addressing him. 'In this game, everyone plays. But there is only one winner.' was the slightly melodramatic response. The Angel winced. Great. He was dealing with an idiot. 'I don't have time for you.' he muttered, turning and walking further
into the factory, eyes searching for Meryl. There was a strange sound
of metal sliding against metal behind him, followed closely by a click
that sounded an awful lot like something being loaded. Vash made the
mental connection about a split second before multitudes of spikes were
launched his way in a loud explosion. The Winger managed to throw himself
to the side in time to miss the majority of the projectiles, but a nick
across the shoulder and a sharp pain in his thigh spoke all too clearly
his mistake. Wolfwood would have a fit if he knew his Angelic counterpart
had turned his back on a conscious Demon. Even Vash was seriously kicking
himself for it. Not matter how dorky they appeared to be, all Demon's
were equiped with sharp objects. 'That... Was uncalled for. What kind of person fires on a man with his back turned?' he managed, hand over his bleeding leg, lips pulled into a grim, pain induced line of stubbornness. 'A Demon, who else dumbass?' was the reply. The figure finally stepped into the light. It was thankfully human shaped. Or, rather, someone human shaped in a huge spike mounted ball that surrounded their body like two halves of a metallic bubble. Within the two halves of the sphere, the man's arms were crossed, wire attached to his fingers. He flexed the bound digits. 'I am E.G. Mine. A Demon of the Gung Ho Guns.' E.G introduced, the clothe covering his mouth crinkling with the veiled motion. Vash, gun still aimed, managed to shift himself into a kneel. The position pulled at the torn muscle on his thigh and it induced even more bleeding, but, it was either that or be sprawled on the floor awaiting crucifixion. 'A Demon, huh? Listen, if you'll just let me be on my way, I won't have to hurt you.' Vash offered, wincing as he hauled himself to his feet. E.G sniggered. 'Take a good look at your position, idiot. Do you really think you can hurt me? I'll be sending you to hell soon enough.' he said, smirking as a fresh set of spikes slid into position with a tweak of a wired thumb. Upon seeing this, Vash readjusted his aim. 'This is your last chance.' the Winger warned, switching his weight to his injured leg to test the damage. Already it was beginning to heal. At this rate, he would be able to walk in a few minutes... 'Play time is over, your Holiness! Give my regards to the 9th circle of Hell!' E.G shouted a little over dramatically, fingers moving to curl inwards. Vash didn't give them time to do so. In a quick burst of gunfire, the straps encircling the scrawny torso of E.G. Mine strained and snapped, severed cleanly by the bullets discharged. In a rather spectacular collapse, both halves of the metal sphere surrounding the Demon fell away and hit the ground with a loud clang, the wires still attached to E.G dragging him down with it. As the man struggled in the slowly tangling straps and wires on the ground, Vash leveled his gun at the Demon's head. It wasn't death... It was... It... It only sends them to Hell... Wolfwood's voice filtered through the turmoil. But... It was still... Vash grimaced and lowered his arm, heedless of the blood that ran down his leg. With a final sigh, the Winger turned away from the swearing Demon who, in the process of trying to get free, brought one half of his mine down on himself when he pulled too hard on a strap. 'Be seeing you.' Vash muttered, limping slightly further into the factory.
E.G swore after him, another clang indicating he was probably doing
more damage to himself struggling than not. Sighing, the Angel brought
his gun arm up to his face for closer inspection. He was out. Fortunately, Vash didn't have time to mourn this revelation. As he stepped even further from the stairs and into the light of the enormous mechanics room, he was greeted with an interesting scene. To the left lurked the gigantic machine; a huge hunk of metal with a medly of pistons and pumps sprouting from it in random installments. On the side of the monolithic contraption was what appeared to be a control panel, buttons and dials taking up most of the brightly lit section. And, emerging from the end of the machine like a extremely long and grey tongue was a conveyor belt; moving along merrily, if not uselessly. There wasn't anything rolling along the assembly line from the mysterious inky depths of the aperture. The machine was the one from his dream. Vash didn't reflect on this much, for to the right of the monstrous contrivance was a huge amount of empty floor space. Which, obviously, wasn't all that empty being that it was hosting a small congregation of 5 scientists, a crate and Meryl Stryfe. The crate was unopened. The entirety of the scientists were trying to leave the scene hurriedly, but a Derringer weilding Insurance Investigator was bringing their escape to a quick halt. Vash did a double take. Derringers?! 'I said don't move!' Meryl snapped as one of the taller men tried to shuffle away, one of her one shot pistols shifting to aim at the offending scientist. 'I want an explanation and I want one now!' she continued, motioning with her head to the unopened crate. 'Hey! Where did you get the guns?!' Vash demanded, forgetting momentarily in his shock that she couldn't hear him. 'It's Master Millions' orders.' one of the braver of the cowering group
offered. 'If you would just let us... Open the evidence box, we can
let you do your job!' One of the men behind Meryl reached surreptitiously
into his lab coat and slowly withdrew what looked like a hand held detonator.
Meryl flickered her wrist backwards and fired. In a sharp metallic clatter,
the metal cylinder was sent flying to slide across the floor. Vash,
who had been in the process of stopping the man himself, stumbled in
surprise. So his Guard had guns he was unaware of. And she could use
them. Well. But that leaves her with one Derringer left, and that won't
be- '50 Derringers?!' he managed, staring owlishly at his Guard as if he had never seen her before. 'I was not informed of this factory, or it's purpose. And I doubt kidnapping Claims Investigators will help Master Millions' case any!' Meryl continued in a voice that spoke much misery for all if it were not heeded. 'Where's my partner?' 'The other girl was taken to the second damage site. We don't know what your getting worked up about-' one began, only to be staring down the barrel of Meryl's guns. 'Then take me to her. If there is no threat, why were we forcefully seperated?!' she demanded, her aim unwavering. Shooting each other glances that were obviously panic stricken, the smallest of the scientists cleared his throat. The answer died when an explosion rocked the room. The quaking was distant, a few floors above, but the force was enough to make the foundations creak. The pully crossed ceiling wavered and a few of the ropes snapped, raining sections of metal and quite a bit of dust onto the group below. Meryl coughed in the debris and the scientists took the opputunity to make a break for it toward the staircase. 'Wolfwood.' Vash muttered in reference to the explosion. Meryl regained her composture quickly and leveled her gun at the retreating men. When she realized they wouldn't stop, at gunpoint or no, she sighed and lowered her piece. Vash winced and turned to watch the escape. The last of the scientists bent and managed to pick up the dropped Detonator from before, and, shooting one last terrified glance behind him, pressed the button. Meryl jumped when the crate behind her began to creak. Vash swore quite audibly when the bolts began to unscrew from the metal, wavering and clattering to the ground dramatically. Meryl, against all the sense she appeared to possess, leant in to get a closer look. She poked at the discarded bolts curiously, then turned her inquisitive gaze to the lightening lanced crate. The sides wavered, no longer held together. Despite his healing leg's pained protests, Vash sprinted forward, panic seizing his thoughts like a vice. He really wished he had a better idea than this. In a terrifying explosion of movement, the crate was blown open by the force of the Vault inside registering a nearby soul. Not even waiting to orient itself with it's surroundings, the shadow burst out of it's confinements at surprising speed, indefinable limbs outstretched for the human. The creature was centimeters from an unsuspecting Meryl when Vash lunged and caught it around the midsection, tackling it with enough force to send them both flying. It screeched in indignant rage as the pair thudded to the ground heavily, sliding across the room toward the giant machine. Surprised that he could touch the creature at all, Vash grimaced at the feel of it against him. Like ooze. Very, very unpleasant ooze. It let out another inhuman scream and slid about in the Winger's arms, trying to slip out of the strangle hold it was in. Everytime it came close to seeping through the embrace, Vash would tighten his grip and drag it back into submission. 'What an anti-climax...' Meryl murmured, kicking the empty crate with
a disappointed boot. If Vash hadn't been grappling with an enraged Vault,
he would've been tempted to say something nasty. In any event, the creature
he was gripping figured out the futility of escape and changed tact.
With surprising force, the oozing Vault lashed out and knocked Vash
up onto his knees. It then loomed up like a vengeful shadow and proceeded
to drag the Winger to his feet. Vash, momentarily taken aback by the
strength the creature appeared to possess, managed to regain a grip
on it's arms. Or the limb things that were clawing at the Angel savagely.
'O-Ow-' Vash managed as the Vault applied more pressure. The blonde's back was being pushed against the large outjutting control panel, and the resulting kink was quite, quite painful. His shoulder blades were pushing buttons that, by the sound they were making, probably shouldn't be pushed and there were quite a few dials digging into the small of his back. In fact, as the creature slammed into him again, Vash doubted his spine could take much more of this before snapping. His position completely destroyed any hope of fighting back, and strength was ebbing quickly... Then Vash nearly kicked himself for being so stupid. Grinning mirthlessly, the Winger switched Planes and slipped through the metal of the machine. Feet still planted firmly on the ground outside, he heard the Vault shriek in indignation, then lost the sound as his head slipped completely through the sides of the contraption. Then, getting a close up view of what was inside the monstrous contrivance, Vash froze in horror. This, a small voice in the only non-panicking part of his mind noted, makes things complicated.
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-----AUTHOR'S NOTES----- Lynda: ... CHUNKY... CHAPTER... @_@ Seriously. This chapter shouldn't end here. But I had to sever what I had in half so it wasn't 50 bazillion words long. But don't worry, because that means I have most of the next chapter already written! Huzzah! Kuroneko: Myaaaaa~ Lynda: I know... T_T I'm so sorry that took so long. No excuses, really...
Um... I have no confidence, and for the want of not sounding repetitive,
I'll just say that this chappie might be a little... Er... Non-cool?
It was ok in my head. >_< DAMN!!! FF.net CRASHED or something!! ARG!!! **weeps** Well... At least you got the chappie, right? Albeit LATE. And Ms. Cymberleah? Sorry mate, you'll just have to WAIT!! MWA HA HA HA HA. Erm... -_-;; |