| Lament |
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-----DISCLAIMER----- If I owned Trigun, I'd have botched it up something chronic.
-----AUTHOR'S NOTES----- Lynda: GYA HA HA HA HA!!! Kuroneko: Mya. =^-_-^= Lynda: Oooh... I wondered how that chapter would register... I personally
didn't like it, but that's because I'm the author. **sniggers** Quite
a diverse range of comments... Let's clear some stuff up. If people don't understand what's going on... Er... My bad. **whines** Tell me and I'll see what can be done. But all in all, most seem to be following. O_o;; (Good. Grief.) ...Ms. Cymberleah ma'am... DAMN RIGHT I'M GONNA KILL YA!!! **chases after Author Lady with a frozen fish** GET BACK HERE!!!
-----*+*----- It was cool. The frost hung ridgidly in the air, crystalline and biting. And despite the chill, the fan in the room was on. It swung lazilly around, the cracked arms shuddering as they scythed the scene repititiously, shaving slivers of seconds off of Time itself. Dust that had settled on the very top of the dented metal was now blown loose and it hung from the metal wings like great clumps of rancid mould. It was still cold. One heavy and barely conscious head was rested gently on the pillow under it. The bed had been made in the morning of yesterday, and the blankets had not been disturbed since then. They rested exactly where the hands had set them, folded, neat and settled. Lavender lingered on the soft linen of the pillow, sweet and subtle now... But brief. So very brief. An Angel, tired beyond life and reason, so exhausted inside that breathing
required concentration, was curled on that bed. Eyes were open, but
unseeing. Fingers were clenched around the corners of the pillow, but
unfeeling. The unresponsive face, however, was turned into the linen,
breathing slow, deep and deliberate. Drowning in lavender as a poor,
sad substitute for air itself. The calm was decieving. On the bed, turned on it's side and gazing blind out the window, the body was as still as death. But within that mind, a war was being waged. And, like all wars, pain prevailed.
'Wh-what?' asked the blonde Winger, relieved grin frozen in place and
nailed down like a sadistic photograph in bad taste. Wolfwood's eyes
widened further and the rage retreated in horror. The priest backed
up a step slowly. 'Se-Se-Sempai?' Milly whispered wetly from her place by the steps,
tears invading her mouth and sticking her lips and tongue into a thick
mass of incoherence. She obviously didn't have the capacity to swallow
past the grief gripped throat. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot. Disbelieving.
'SEMPAI!?!?' Milly screamed. Life was merciless, really. Vash the Stampede could only smile. He smiled at the people lifting the small body into the Ambulence. He smiled at the tortured torn partner who wasn't allowed to follow her Sempai. Smiled at those who held the pain delirious girl back from the retreating vehicle. Finally, that agonizing rictus met the horrified gaze of Nicholas D. Wolfwood. 'Wolfwood?' Vash queried in a weak and tiny voice, smile hooked up and permanent. It couldn't be ripped down. 'She's dead.' the priest breathed in reply, chest falling then rising again. Silence reigned supreme. It smothered, constricted and bound. Suffocating, Vash dragged the only word he could think of from his throat. 'How?' 'I tried, Vash.' Wolfwood managed, shaking hand raised to his hairline in a farce of recollection. All the gesture did was hide his face away. 'But she's dead?' Vash asked faultingly, blinking in confusion, mind numb. He waited patiently for everything to make sense. 'Damn it all, it was a trap.' the smoking man mumbled, the words falling forlornly from his lips. 'It was a trap from the moment you left that damn apartment. 13 Vaults. Thirteen. I-I tried my best... But they kept coming. I-I couldn't organize the girls. Couldn't watch them. Couldn't, Vash.' 'But... She wasn't... Changed into one?' Vash queried sickly, a leaden weight slowly sinking into his throat. Wolfwood jumped at the sentence, and he backed up another step. 'Th-The Vaults didn't get her.' he stated faultingly, jaw suddenly firm. 'Then... How?' the blonde asked again. His partner seemed genuinely apprehensive about disclosing any more information. But that pleasantly fake smile didn't leave. Nor did it hide the torture that was obviously taking place to the soul behind those eyes. Wolfwood blanched. 'The Big Girl... Was nearly attacked. I-I got her out of it. But... The Small Insurance Girl...' he trailed off weakly. 'Wolfwood, tell me.' Vash croaked, pain cleaving through his throat
as flesh clamped and constricted uselessly over the diamond lump that
had developed. The stress of muscle used in the action drew over his
clenched jaw and dragged achingly at his mouth. 'She... She was over the other side of the @#$%ing room. How the hell
was I supposed to-?! What was I supposed to do?! It had her nailed!
I-I couldn't fire, because it was behind her, and I was too far away-'
the priest near burbled, protective rage back, flaring in his eyes into
an unstoked inferno. 'Wolfwood.' he whispered weakly, eyes darting between the two of his
friend. 'What did you do?' 'I had to make a choice.' the dark haired Winger returned slowly. Warning flickering across his face. The warning wasn't heeded. 'You-' Vash croaked, teeth clamping tightly over his words. This couldn't be happening. 'It- It was either that or have her turn into one of those things. I had to make that choice. I had to.' 'You didn't!' the blonde suddenly blurted in denial, despairing disbelief causing him to shake his head repeately, desperate to shake free of the truth. Wolfwood squared up, anger bubbling from his frame. 'I HAD to, Vash! I had to @#$%ing kill her, because you WEREN'T THERE!' he shouted. Life was, by far, the cruelest of all contingencies. 'Why did you kill her?!' Vash managed, vision blurring as his hand shot forward and grabbed a tight fist full of black suit. Wolfwood glared back, teeth bared slightly but made no movement to defend himself. 'What choice did I have?' he snarled. 'You- You- What gave you the right to DO that?!' Vash shouted, shaking his partner harshly, once. His hand was thereafter torn from the material and the Humanoid Typhoon was shoved back with enough force to send him stumbling across the cobbles. 'What gives you the right to judge me?' the priest snapped loudly in return, fists clenched. 'You weren't there. It was your job, and you weren't there. So I had to make that choice! I made the right decision, didn't I? Didn't I?!' 'No one has the right to make that choice.' was the heated reply. 'Well, I'm SORRY Vash, but I was the only one there to take that responsibility! I don't see you claiming it!' 'It was my Guard's life, Wolfwood. How could you?' Vash whispered, breathless and choking. 'Why the hell are you accusing me?! I did the best thing by her, right? Or would you rathered I let the Vault take her?! You would've blamed me for that too, so what the hell was I supposed to DO?!' Wolfwood shouted, arms waving in rage filled gesticulation. 'She's dead, Wolfwood.' the blonde murmured pathetically as his shoulders suddenly began shaking. 'Then God Willing she's gone to a better place, because I sure as hell don't know where the @#$% I sent her.' Wolfwood snapped harshly. 'Wh-what?!' 'If you hadn't have screwed up your job so damn much, you're Meta-Kard might've informed you that both Heaven and Hell have shut down!' was the scorn laden retort. 'Shut down? Th-Then what happens to-' Vash began weakly, eyes wide. Wolfwood shuddered violently, grimacing. 'She's GONE, Vash!' he shouted brutally as a release for every pained
emotion bottled in his chest. His voice cracked slightly as the dangerous
cocktail seared past his already strained voicebox. Panting, suddenly
empty, Nicholas D. Wolfwood gazed at his struck partner. Guilt quickly
filled the void, and the Winger turned away. He literally stumbled back
to his sobbing Guard, feet tripping slightly with every step. It wasn't fair. Eyelids flickering in a pathetic surrogate emotion, Vash bullied his legs into working and slowly turned. He drifted away from the scene like a ghost. There was, after all, no point in staying. For the first time since that fateful day over 4 months ago, Vash the Stampede truly felt beyond dead.
The fan rattled in it's fastenings, the bolts securing the contraption to the roof loose from too many years of dutiful service. The rotation it managed was shaky at best, dipping dangerously low to the left then rising shuddering to the right. After the first 3 hours it had become hypnotic and welcoming. Moving for the first time in what seemed decades, Vash shrunk in on
himself slightly. Knees bent and rose, head sliding down the sweet smelling
pillow to meet them and arms encompassing the union. He huddled, shivering
in the chill. Despite the contracted position, the Humanoid Typhoon
couldn't crush away who he was or what had happened. He had stumbled before on the treacherous road of Life. He had fallen
so hard it had been near impossible to get up. But he continued. Because
in the end, eternal pain aside, life was for living. He shed his tears,
nutured the splits and cracks his glass heart endured and continued
moving. Continued smiling. Continued breathing every morning until he
didn't have to remind himself to do so anymore. Continued loving life
and all it had to offer with the battered and poorly patched naivete
of a child. Inside he was scared. Splayed on the ground, unable to move, fearing to do so. Fearing what he would see if he looked inside the wounds he'd recieved. How deep they ran. What essential parts required for living they had severed beyond use. Put bluntly, he wasn't sure if he could stand again. Vash let unseeing eyes drink in the moonlight from the window; deceptively dry. The light was dismal. Bleak and desolate. Bleeding grey until everything was saturated with it's morbidity; wallowing in it. He welcomed the chill for it's numbing effects. The stand still of time was ruined somewhat when, with an ominous squeak, the bedroom door opened and spilling disgustingly cheerful light into the room. 'Where is he?' a voice whispered from the door. It was familiar, but
Vash didn't bother trying to figure out who it was. Whoever it was,
they were worlds away. Safely aloft of his misery. 'I can't see a damn thing in this light...' hissed another voice, equally familiar. 'No, wait, he's on the bed.' 'Sleeping?' a third asked. 'I guess so. Awww... Look at him, Geli, he looks so peaceful...' Oh. So that's who it was. What were they doing here? 'Well wake him! We gotta get back!' Footsteps hailed their journey to the bed. Somewhere iles back in his mind, Vash wallowed still, vaguely away of the three Angelinas in Meryl's room, but unresponsive to their presence. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. 'Maybe we should leave him for a while...' Lina conceded. 'You know the repurcussions Wingers go through when they lose their Guards.' 'But we don't have time. We've gotta try and sort out what the @#$% is happening to Heaven and Hell.' Oh yes. The whole reason why Meryl wasn't currently smiling like a marionette Upstairs... Or in eternal pain and suffering Downstairs. Vash wondered what happened. 'But... Puppy said he's been here since he lost her. That's a long
time. Maybe he really is upset?' Ange murmured. Meryl died. And she wasn't coming back. Upset wasn't the word that came to one's mind. Of her smile, her frown, her usually aggrivated voice, the small three
space indentation in her reports, the way she held her coffee of a morning,
the faces she pulled at obnoxious co-workers behind their back when
no one was looking. She'd been torn from the world and the people that cared about her... And the gaping and shredded cavity left behind was only too aparent. 'Winger #8062 Vash the Stampede,' Lina whispered in all the authority she could muster, 'you are under arrest for repetitive use of Ar-' 'SHHHH! You'll wake him!' Ange hushed in a shrill voice. 'That's the intention!' Lina snapped back. 'We can clap him in chains later. Let's just get him back to the Training Center.' Geli huffed. Arrest? Vash ignored them. He couldn't care what they had to say, or what reasons
they had to say it with. What could they possibly do to make him hurt
any more than he already did? The fact of the matter was, in the entire world, it was all he had
left. Memories to huddle around for the warmth that scolded him. Vash
finally closed his eyes, unable to stand even the dreary light that
was filtering through the window. But somewhere, there was a line. A threshold. The 60 Billion Double
Dollar Man had walked that fine line many times, teetering on the edge,
but sure footed and safe. 'Must be tough on him, y'know?' Ange murmured. 'What with Rem and Black Jack missing, who knows where his Guard went?' He had never been aware that he'd allow such ties to develop. 'She probably ceased to exist.' Geli noted. Never been aware that parts of himself would be torn away when those ties did. 'Geli, that's mean! What if he heard!' Ange reprimanded. Never been aware that what was left was not enough to continue existing with. 'It's the most logical assumption, however,' Lina cut in. 'It's been so long since the last Shut Down, I can barely recall where souls went to.' Never been aware just how much he would miss her. 'Well... On the bright side, he won't need another Guard. Can't do that where we're sending him.' Geli replied loftily. Never been aware. With a sharp gasp, Vash's eyes sprung open, tears finally managing
to escape past the wavering lids to flow unbidden down once dry cheeks.
He didn't realize that he'd been holding his breath until his lungs
near burst with neglect, granted the inhalations were shuddering from
pent up sobs. He couldn't take this anymore. He had not so much wavered over that line, that threshold of how much
pain he could take; he'd been thrown over to fall and shatter on the
other side. Vash the Stampede was in jagged pieces. It wasn't until
Meryl had been ripped from him that he realized he'd woven her existence
in with his; the resulting gap was a torn mass of shredded heart, streamers
wavering forlornly in the wind where a soul once was, fumbling desperately
after the departed. 'Ohh, Vash...' Ange whispered in a soothing hush, and arms gently encircled
his shuddering chest to squeeze reassuringly. The only thing it served
to do was stop him from shaking apart. 'Thi-This is worse than I thought it was.' Lina admitted shakily, her voice sounding, for the first time, unsure. 'What do we do?' Geli asked, sounding down right awkward. 'Leave him.' Ange replied firmly. 'But we have to-' Lina persisted, her voice raised slightly. 'Leave him.' the red-head repeated harshly. 'We'll come back tonight
or something. We're... Not going to get much out of him now.' There
were a few half-hearted murmurings that were lost on the 60 Billion
Double Dollar man, and footsteps slowly retreated from the room. The
light disappeared as the door closed. That was it for him. He'd had enough. This was, after all the time spent living, all he could take... But there wasn't anywhere else to go. With a horrified exhalation, the Humanoid Typhoon realized that this was it. What other options did he have? The last resort for the broken... The last choice and the one true
release... Death... Was no longer an option. This was it. There was no escaping this pain, despite acknowledging it had beaten him, cowering in submission and surrender. It smothered the Angel and there was no escape from it's hold. What else could he do? Where was the mercy in this? Taking a shuddering breath, Vash the Stampede clenched his eyes shut in determination. This had to stop.
The room was very, very dark. The door slowly opened and three heads poked into the opening. 'Is he still crying?' Geli whispered, scowling. 'I can't hear anything...' Lina muttered, narrowing her silver eyes and trying to pierce the black to survey the scene. 'This is our fault really,' Ange murmured. 'We only send Angels to guard Living people that they're compatible with. That's pretty mean when you think about it.' 'That's the only way it works.' Geli snapped. 'I see him.' Lina suddenly said. 'There he is. Currently curled up in a fetal position at the foot of the bed.' Three eyes squinted and found the subject of attention. 'Pathetic, isn't it?' Ange sniffled. 'I don't know what he saw in her. She was certainly not spunky like I am. I mean, he looks like a dog or something.' 'I say we bag him now. He's an Arch Angel, you know. If we try to attack him conscious, he might go maverick and eat us or something.' Geli hissed, nodding frantically. 'I find that highly unlikely.' Lina replied in monotone. 'Um, Geli's right, though. You don't know what he's capable of...' Ange finished. 'If he went Spare with that kind of power, we'd be in reeeeal big trouble.' 'We are already in trouble.' Lina retorted. 'Damn right. We got a full statement of what's being going on. If Rem or Black Jack found out we'd let a Winger like that wander around, they'd have our heads. Do you have any idea how many rules he broke in the short time on Gunsmoke?!' Geli demanded. 'Was it lots?' Ange asked innocently. 'One could say that, yes.' Lina muttered. 'But what about those bloopie things?' the red-head continued. 'If you are referring to the claims put forth by Mr. Vash and Mr. Wolfwood of Shadow Creatures in their report, we have no evidence to back that up.' Lina replied, waving her hand in an expansive and aggrivated gesture. 'Yeah, the @#$%ers probably made all that stuff up tryin' to cover up all the rules they broke.' Geli sneered. There was a long silence. 'I'm supposing we should go collect the criminal, then.' Lina noted, raising an eyebrow. Geli nodded quickly. 'Right. I got his head. Ange, you hold down his arms and Lina you've
got his legs.' she ordered, pointing. There was a reluctant nodding
of heads. One the floorboards at the foot of the bed, there was a bundle of blankets huddled on the rug. The figure was so contracted in on itself that not even the motion of breath was present in the shoulders. All that could be seen, in fact, was a pair of boots out the bottom of the bundle, snippets of trademark red coat peeking out here and there, and the unkempt mop of spikey blonde hair out the top. The rest was curled in the blanket. 'On the count of three...' Geli mouthed to her sisters as they surrounded the sleeping Angel. Lina and Ange nodded, crouching slightly. 'One...' Three figures widened stance and brought hands up in attack position. 'Two...' Three figures tensed. 'THREE!!' Geli screamed, then lunged along with her sisters. With an
almight crash, they connected with the sleeping Angel. They were in
the process of finding limbs that weren't theirs to grab when, with
an ominous creak, something gave out. From the darkest corner of the room, the real Vash the Stampede jogged up to his catch, clad in his black body suit. 'Sorry 'bout this.' he apologized, reaching up and pulling his coat and boots from the mess. 'VASH YOU @#$%ING @#$%ER!! WHAT THE @#$% ARE YOU DOING?!?!' Geli screamed, thrashing about wildly. She only managed in concussing her sisters and tangling herself up further in the process. Lina groaned. 'I can not believe I fell for that. How humiliating.' she noted, swinging with the net's motions. With a shriek of rage, the blue haired Angelina shoved the broom head as far away from herself as possible. Being that they were all in the thick roped snare, it didn't go very far. In fact when Ange shifted, it was shoved back in Geli's face and subsequentially near breaking her nose. Vash reached up and prodded the broom. 'I should be insulted.' he noted, pulling on his boots then wiggling into his coat. 'I feel like a tuna fish.' Lina continued, off in her own little world of incredulous rage. 'Vashuuuuu~ How COULD you?!' Ange blubbered, putting on her best cutesy face. Without batting an eyelid, Vash reached up to her. 'But I haven't got time to be insulted.' he continued, reaching into the jump-suit's breast pocket. She squealed and squirmed. 'No! NO! RAPE, RAPE!! BE GENTLE VASHUU~!!' she shrieked, looking, despite her protests, to be enjoying it too much. Her enjoyment was short lived, however, when Vash pulled his hand back. A hand, in fact, weilding a chunky loop of keys. Ange squealed again, but this time in despair. 'GIVE THOSE BACK!!' she screamed, eyes wide. 'THOSE ARE THE SKELETON KEYS!' 'Don't tell him THAT!' Lina snapped, slapping her sister across the back of the head. 'Sorry, girls. But someone has to make this stop.' the blonde gun man sighed, throwing the keys up in a jingling arch, then cutting the sound off by catching them again. 'YOU @#$%ING @#$%, WHAT THE @#$# @#$$?!? #$@# @#$% YOU @#$%ING @#$%ER!!!' Geli cursed, cussing away to herself while thrashing violently. She seemed ready to knaw through the ropes. 'Let us OUT, VASH!' Lina shouted, finally dragging herself out of her disbelieving stupor. 'UNTIE US YOU DIM-WITTED TROGLODYTE!' ''Fraid I can't. Seems you want to arrest me, or at least cause me
some harm.' Vash noted, scratching his chin. 'So, no dice. I'll see
ya around!' With that; one last bright grin and a wave, Vash the Stampede
made his way out the door, carefully closing it and cutting off the
tirade of angry screamings coming from inside. He had a Guard to find. And, even if all else failed, someone had to make it stop. And he seemed the only one willing to try.
-----*+*-----
-----AUTHOR'S NOTES----- Lynda: **has lost sight of her prey and is left panting** MS. CYMBERLEAH
MA'AAAAAM!!! **faints** **gets up** YOU MENTIONED ME AND MY FIC IN YOUR
FIC!! AWMIGAWD, THE FAME!!! THE FAME!!! Kuroneko: Mya, mya. =^-_o^= |