| Disaster |
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-----DISCLAIMER----- ... ... So there. XP
-----AUTHOR'S NOTES----- Lynda: **frowns in resolution** Let's crash it all down!!! BWA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Kuroneko: MYA!!! =^*_*^=
-----*+*-----
The silver sand crunched loudly under foot, squeaking slightly from
the friction as granules were ground together. Kicking up the flecks
of glinting mirror as the strange pair continued to sprint up the line
of lockers, Vash kept an eye on the numbers flitting past his vision,
ever vigilant of just how far they had to go. It was already known that the Skeleton Keys when used on any door,
thereafter leads the user through another door found at the place of
interest. And further more, it was logical that for utmost convenience,
the Keys opened the nearest exit in this place of interest. Unfortunately
for Vash and Meryl, the closest door to the Silver Dunes was locker
#0000. He didn't know which key took him back to December. And there were
hundreds on the loop. The Humanoid Typhoon confessed that after Phil's warning, he was not
at all thrilled about spending too much time wandering about aimlessly.
In fact, the sooner he got Meryl back to her body, the better. Eventually, an idea formed in his mind. But, like most of his ideas,
it was heavily reliant on chance. Not to mention that it was up near
Lina's laptop. To be perfectly honest, Vash couldn't believe that he had gotten this
far. He hadn't really expected to succeed in reclaiming Meryl Stryfe,
and now that he had her back, he realized the folly of his escapade. But, the 60 Billion Double Dollar Man had to conceed, it might not
be the hopeless cause he was beginning to suspect. The newest problems
with Heaven and Hell might over shadow the smaller problem of a maverick
Angel and his guard. This is exactly how Knives would've planned it. Going over the possibilities in horror, something at the back of Vash's mind was niggling him for attention. After a while, ignoring this sensation was obviously not working, so he grudgingly cleared his head to focus on it. It was somthing simple... Something missing. Like the lack of a cigerette in Wolfwood's mouth, the absence of warmth in Milly's expressions... The sound of footfalls behind him. Coming to an abrupt and immediate halt, Vash turned. Some distance back Meryl slowed from a stroll to a stand still, gazing in a dazed manner straight ahead... And straight through her Guardian Angel. She blinked once, very, very slowly. 'What are you doing? We have to hurry!' Vash implored, fighting off
the urge to whine. Staying in this place just seemed like a bad idea
to him, and the worry that had seized his rational thought showed no
signs of letting go. He didn't want to stay. And it wasn't just Phil's
words... Some sense Vash didn't know he possessed was ringing within
his skull like an alarm bell, loud and distracting. The last thing the
Winger needed was for Meryl to go into one of her quiet and contemplative
moods. 'Well? Come on!' he shouted, motioning frantically in the direction
he wished them to be going in. With a huge groan of pent up anxiety and frustration, Vash turned and jogged the rest of the distance to her. 'Let's go!' he repeated, less patiently this time. To prove the severity of the situation, he reached forward and grabbed her by the wrist again, moving to pull her into motion whether she wanted to or not. Shock stopped the action before it had even begun. Vash could see his fingers. Through her flesh and the white fabric
of her shirt, he could see his own fingers, tensed tight around the
tiny wrist they encompassed. Slowly, he released her, then moved both
hands to grip her upper arms. Uh oh. 'Insurance Girl?' he managed, finally dragging his eyes upwards to her own distant gaze. She frowned slightly, slate pupils flickering in a tiny spark of comprehension. 'Hmm?' was the eventual reply. The transparency marring her arms ebbed into a muted opaque gradient. Some solidity returned. 'We have to go. Now.' Vash restated, slower this time. It would've
been amusing to watch words filter through the ears of the normally
feisty Insurance Worker if the times were lighter. But they weren't,
so her Guardian Angel gave her a short shake to make the sentence stick. 'I got it, you idiot!' she snapped, prying her wrist free of his grasp.
Then returned his words to prove she had understood. 'We go, now.' 'Wha- C'mon! What are you waiting for this time?!' he stuttered. Meryl blinked, then realized she was being addressed. 'Hmm?' she managed, watching Vash expectantly, then forgetting what she was waiting for and slipping back into a daze. Uh oh. Without even asking questions this time, Vash took the few steps distance and grabbed his Guard by the wrist, pulling her along behind him. He was vaguely aware of some struggle, but it was as effective as playing tug-of-war with a monolith. The small Insurance Girl suddenly remembered there were other ways of disagreeing with such motions. 'Le-Let go!' she demanded, tugging uselessly. Vash, well aware of the danger now, replied simply, 'Why?' This induced a bout of shocked silence. As he waited for her to reply,
the Humanoid Typhoon steadily picked up the pace. They had a long while
to go, and the sooner they got there, the better... 'What?' she returned, obviously confused. This was bad. 'You're losing yourself, try to keep a hold.' Vash pleaded over his shoulder fearfully, speeding up slightly in his consternation. Phil's words filtered back to him. 'You're forgetting who you are.' 'Who... I am.' Meryl muttered. The wrist in the Angel's grasp faded slightly. 'Talk to me.' he ordered suddenly, anxiety clipping the words harshly. His Guard jumped slightly. 'About what?' she demanded. 'Anything! Just speak!' 'I don't know-' 'Work! Tell me about Bernadelli!' 'Bernadelli...' Meryl murmured. 'Bernadelli was founded 30 years after the Big Fall by Mr. Beauduex Berna-' 'No, tell me about you and Bernadelli.' Vash hastily amended when he realized having his Guard recite history would not help their situation any. Meryl blinked slowly. Then solidified as she mumbled in a self contained daze, 'I first started working at the Bernadelli Insurance Society when I was 18. It was... Well, it started out as a job to support my apartment. You know, anything to pay the rent. I guess I just really wanted to live by myself...' 'Why?' Vash asked immediately when she showed signs of slowing down. 'Oh, I don't know...' the ebony haired woman replied distractedly. What seemed a contemplative silence slowly stretched into a dangerous one, and still there was no indication of more conversation. So, the gunman reminded, 'Bernadelli?' 'Hmm? Oh. Well... What else? I-It wasn't until I was 20 that I started taking all the "odd jobs", as my co-workers put it. I don't know why... I suppose the boss thought it might be wiser to send armed employees into a hostile claims situations... Instead of office workers like Karen and Mark. That's when I was paired up with Milly.' Again casual breath slid into a void of recollection. In all honestly, Vash had originally thought that work was the only
thing that would get his Guard enthusiastic enough to prattle on for
hours. But she seemed spent after only a few sentences that linked her
work to herself. He then desperately tried to think of anything that
might interest her, all the while keeping an eye on the numbers flitting
by besides them. After a few moments, Vash realized dimly that he knew
very little about the person who, by right, he should know most about. 'Milly?' Meryl's wrist, thinning with every second, was whole and warm again. A quick glance over his shoulder had Vash confirm that a smile resided on the Insurance Worker's features. 'Milly.' she said with a resoluted breath. 'That was the chief's doing. Better to have two armed employees than one, I guess. Strange... I always thought the chief a dull man. But I wonder now if it wasn't some kind of strange insight to have us pair up together.' she announced. Then, without prompting, continued, 'Milly definately needs me. I don't know what kinds of ridiculous things she would get up to without me there to organize things. It's a cruel world outside of December, not like back in her home to-' The sentence was cut to a sudden halt when Meryl tripped slightly in the sand and stumbled. Coming to another abrupt stand still, Vash turned. 'Come on Insurance Girl, we're nearly there!' he pleaded, dismay flooding his features as he crouched by the fallen girl. She blinked and nodded, but made no move to get up. 'Let's go?' Vash reminded fearfully. His Guard shifted slightly but didn't rise from the silver sands. And she began to fade again as forgetfulness began plucking at the hems of her soul. With a sharp inhalation, Vash damned all the consequences to hell as he reached forward and pulled Meryl roughly to her feet. She muttered something in her annoyance, but the rebuke trailed off. When she seemed ready to crumple at the knees and sit down again, Vash ducked down slightly and resolutely picked her up. Without another word, or waiting for the small frame to settled for that matter, he turned and began down the lockers again. Just as she seemed about to protest, Vash reminded sharply, 'Milly's home?' 'Wha-?!' Meryl managed, wide eyed but firmer. She seemed to have completely forgotten the last conversation all together. 'Milly's home?' He nodded and she was forced to continue. 'What, as in her home town? How the hell should I know where or what it's like?! All she says about it is that her family lives there!' 'Family?' 'Yes, the whole Thompson clan. Mother, Father, all 10 older brothers and sisters, not to mention countless aunts, uncles, neices, nephews and distant relatives, might I add. All under the one roof, can you imagine?! It's a huge dillema when she has to write home. There's always monthly letters home; an individual envelope for every single one of them. It takes her all night and she usually comes in late the next day for work.' The weight in Vash's arms that grew with every complaint was lightening the heftier mass of his anxiety. So he let her tirade away. 'So, as you can imagine, she's washing windows for the week afterwards. The cleaner even knows that the first week of the month is free for him to spend as he will, it's that frequent. Needless to say, it's always me that bails her out of too much punishment duty.' 'Sounds tough.' 'It's like I said, Milly needs me. She's very suseptible to gossip and new ideas. Take that Guardian Angel thing for example. I have no idea where that came from, but she is mad on it! I've told her enough that it's all a load of nonesense, but I don't think she has listened to me yet.' Curiosity got the better of the Humanoid Typhoon. 'Guardian Angels?' he asked innocently. 'If there were Guardian Angels,' Meryl replied heatedly with one hand full of red long coat in a tight fist, 'all this terrible stuff would never have happened.' It seemed, Vash thought vaguely, that the further from the Waiting Room they got, the more the Insurance Girl's death slipped from her memory. He didn't see any remedying that, so instead, he let her continue as she was. 'Take the Big Fall!' Meryl snapped, glaring into the distance heatedly. 'If there really were Angels about, do you think that they'd let millions upon millions die like that?' Vash winced. 'I don't think... They could've done anything about that.' he replied softly. It was true after all. The Angels' jurisdiction fell over humans, and humans alone. Vash doubted they would've had any power over what Knives did. 'Whatever... Anyway, if what Milly says is true, then all that trouble on the Sandsteamer and Carcasses was the fault of these "Guardian Angels".' Meryl continued waspishly. 'Hey, that wasn't our fault! Half of that stuff blew up all by itself!' Vash retorted immediately. 'How can stuff blow itself up?!' 'Don't ask me, it just does! I barely touched your typewriter and it blew up in your face!' 'A-Th-That was YOU?!?!' 'I... Well... It wasn't my fault?' 'You-It obviously WAS your fault, you spikey haired, no brained idiot!' 'Was not! Hey, I took a heck of a lot more damage than you did!' 'That was my favourite typewriter!' 'I didn't know what I was doi- It was Wolfwood's fault! He didn't teach me anything!' 'WHO is Wolfwood?!' 'Uh-N-No one.' Vash mumbled in what he thought was a inconspicuous manner. Then, to save himself from blurting any more information that would cause the roles of speaker and avid audience to reverse, he cheered aloud when the Quadro-Atomic-Neutralization-Dissilator was only a few lockers away. 'We're nearly outta here!' he clarified in an estatic fluster to the small woman aloft in his arms. She blinked, turning back to the huge machine, all the while holding onto the loose flap of red coat the angry mob in the Waiting Room had torn loose. Vash rounded the colossal contrivance, finding the energy to bound
the last few yarz to Lina's laptop. Without relinquishing his grip on
Meryl, the Humanoid Typhoon crouched by the slim computer and hit a
random key to clear away the screen saver. A few blinding blinks later
and the guard search was as he and the Meta-Kard had left it. 'Come on, Insurance Girl, we've made it this far.' he gritted, rolling her slightly in the loop of limbs, desperate for a response. 'Just let me sleep.' she mumbled, frowning even as fatigue loosened the rest of her features. Vash wouldn't have it. 'NO!' he shouted, unintentionally in her ear. Meryl jolted awake. 'Wha-?' she managed, solidifying slightly. Fumbling for something to keep her unravelling mind occupied on, Vash's eyes fell on the laptop. 'I need you to hold this.' he announced, using one hand to lever the small computer onto Meryl's lap. She blinked at it. 'What do you want me to do?' she asked. 'Read it.' Vash replied firmly. Straightening, Vash glanced around once, before heading to the general direction of south. A few moments later, 'This is all about me.' Meryl noted suspisciously, sliding from transluscent to opaque, to solid. 'I know.' Vash replied, thankful that he had some time to think about
escaping the Silver Dunes and not having to worry about supplying his
Insurance Investigator with conversation. A few false turns and back trackings later, and Vash found himself at the crater in the training ground. But, to his dismay, there was no trapdoor. 'Wh-Where is it?! It was right here the last time!' he blurted out, impervious to the weight cradled in his arms. 'Where is what?' Meryl asked, looking up from the laptop. 'The trap door! It sent me straight to December last time I was here!' Vash exclaimed, anxiety drawing his arms tighter around the small body he held aloft. The body in mention twisted against the grip slightly in protest, and the fact that his Guard could do it soothed a little of the worry plaguing the 60 Billion Double Dollar Man. 'Well think about it rationally!' Meryl snapped in annoyance. 'Just what happened before this trap door was opened?' 'Lina was on the lapto- Oh!' Vash managed in a startled yelp, realization spreading his cyan eyes wide. Afore mentioned eyes fell to the silver computer cradled in his Guard's lap. They examined the screen for a good long while. 'I think we should press the "enter" key.' Meryl murmured in conclusion, reaching down and doing just that. She blinked as the ground beneath the Humanoid Typhoon's feet gave way. Considering that he'd been given no warning whatsoever, Vash found himself totally justified for the scream that escaped him as he proceeded to plummet down into the inky blackness for the second time in his short After Life.
-----*+*-----
Wolfwood leant against the stone wall of the dinky little hospital
room, slowly breathing in the smoke from his cigerette as he tried to
convince himself that the ache from his shoulder blades was from the
cold metal, and not his own stress. 'Y-Y-You will NOT do that!' Milly shouted heatedly. The panic in her voice caused Wolfwood to breath deeply and straighten. The past 2 days had been pretty much just standing and waiting, trying not to take each of the Big Girl's sobs directly to the heart, but with little else to do. It was hard. But then, no one ever said this job was a pleasant one. Just ask Tongari. With the decieving saunter of a careless man, the dark haired Winger made his way over to the hospitable bed, crushed remnants of his cigerette left at his post. The situation, as expected, was worsening. 'But ma'am, we assure you, there is nothing we can do for her.' the doctor said simply in an infuriatingly calm manner. It did little to calm the savage Insurance Worker opposite. 'I don't care! Didn't your mother ever tell you Not To Lose Hope?! Sempai will wake up! She WILL!!' Milly retorted stubbornly back at the poor man, towering at her full height and all the more intimidating with her tear streaked face and sob flared nostrils. Needless to say, the doctor and the nurse accompanying him backed off somewhat. 'Please, miss, we need the Life Support machine for patients with the chance of survival.' the nurse implored, foolishly stepping forward again. The tall brunette's eyes widened and fresh tears spilled. 'I WON'T LET YOU!' Milly shouted, spreading her arms wide and standing in front of the hospital bed that held Meryl Stryfe. 'You'll kill her! You'll kill Meryl!' she added, her voice more choked with anguish this time, and less fury ridden. 'But keeping a permanently comatose woman on a system needed for savable casualties is ludicrous!' the doctor snapped. His patience was obviously wearing thin. 'I won't!' Milly replied stubbornly, frowning in determination. Wolfwood knew the expression. They would need either a miracle cure for Meryl Stryfe to move the girl, or have a Humpback class Steamer roll up and drag her away. The doctor seemed to sense this because he scowled. 'Don't be foolish!' he warned. When he wasn't heeded, he turned and
shouted, 'GUARDS!!!' Two burly looking men stepped into the small room,
cracking knuckles in an intimidating demeanor and grinning malevolently.
'Don't you dare or I'll shoot!!' Sighing in resignation, Wolfwood stepped forward. It was obvious that
his Guard was taking to a peaceful resolve like a sandworm to bedrock,
so there wasn't much her Guardian Angel could do other than watch out
for her. Therefore, he was already half flabbergasted when Vash the Stampede, carrying an extremely vexed looking Meryl Stryfe stumbled into the small room via a solid wall. They both appeared a little worse for wear, but fundementally unhurt. Breathlessly, Vash's eyes met that of his partners and worlds were spoken voicelessly. Wolfwood found himself nodding. Reunions would come later. That done, Vash glanced in a mild panic around the room, found the recumbent body of his Guard, then carefully weaved through the life support system to get to the bed side. Completely ignoring the rest of the inhabitants found within the room, the 60 Billion Double Dollar Man proceeded to very gently ease the soul in his arms toward the body. 'B-But I haven't finished yet!' Meryl stuttered in indignation, her suddenly distressed expression weakening the words of their initial heat. Whatever she had been referring to, argument or union, she didn't appear to have the capacity to specify. 'Some other time.' Vash replied quietly. With a relieved exhalation and a content grin, he rocked back and sat on the edge of the bed as his Guard sunk away from him. 'But that's- There's no- What about you?' Meryl managed in a panicked retort, the only thing free of her materialistic body one fore arm, her shoulders and head. With the free hand, she reached imploring for her Angel. Vash blinked in genuine confusion, then caught her hand, lowering it the rest of the way into her slumbering form. 'I'll always be here.' he said simply, puzzlement writ on every feature. Meryl Stryfe sunk back to the Living. 'Oh my god!! Doctor, look!!' the nurse screeched, one hand raised fearfully to her face, the other pointing wavering at the "patient". Milly turned slightly. Wolfwood lowered the hand that had been covering his mouth. Meryl Stryfe suddenly jerked on the hospital bed, a short wrench that tested the machine's cables' strength, then having a gasp heave it's way loudly into her lungs. After a few weak breaths after, misty grey eyes fluttered open. 'Se-Se-Se-Seeeempaaaaaiii~~-' Milly wailed feebly, Stun Gun dropped to the floor with a clank. The tall brunette tottered the few steps back to the bed side, then literally fell over her partner, crying extremely loudly. Tears abounded. 'Th-This can't be...' croaked a very shocked doctor, sweating suddenly under the headed glare of his nurse. Meryl, very nearly unaware of her partner sprawled on her, let her eyes linger on a point at the edge of the bed. Vash, who had come to stand, winced slightly as once more he evaded his Guard's gaze. But, as both Wingers had grown accustomed to doing, he swallowed his hurt and smiled weakly. Then walked carefully to over where Wolfwood waited. 'You made it back.' Wolfwood noted, one eyebrow quirked. Vash swallowed, then frowned in resolution. 'Yeah. Listen, we need to talk to Rem now. We don't have time to go through the Angelinas.' the blonde stated simply. 'The Angelinas would arrest you.' the priest replied sharply. But sighed. 'There is a way to contact them, but it's illegal without permission.' The outlaw gazed steadily at his partner. Wolfwood winced. 'Oh, alright. What's one more rule broken gonna do? We'll need my Meta-Kard...'
-----*+*-----
'I think this is it.' Black Jack muttered, sliding down off the desk and back over to the machine's console. One single piece of paper was clutched in his oil stained hands. 'Hurry!' Rem pleaded, using a spanner to tighten some bolts. 'IIO124.' the Manager of Hell announced. 'Sounds like it. I'll manage the wheels, you imput the codes.' his counter part replied hurriedly, sliding over the giant machine to a better vantage. She twisted a caster experimentally. With a nod, Black Jack vaulted over the metal railing surrounding the raised control panel and stood over the console. 'This is mad...' he muttered, but grinned all the same. A few button pressings later and a high pitched whistling pierced the enormous room. He covered his ears with a grimace and Rem twisted a small wheel to appease the pressure. The whistle died. 'Next!' Rem shouted from the altitudinous perch. The next button was imputed. SHHH-SHHH-Sss-STOP!!! 'Wh-' Blinking, both the spokesperson for Heaven and her adversary turned, blinking in the steam. Shifting slightly, but intelligible none the less, a hologram of Vash the Stampede stood wavering at the foot of the grounds, looking up at them. 'Th-That's an illegal transmitting line, what do you think you're doing?!' Black Jack snapped, too angry to be shocked. 'Vash?!' Rem exclaimed in horror, guiltily dropping her hands from the cogs. You-SHHH-c-c-can't shut down the-SHHH-system! the hologram shouted, spreading it's arms. 'Who told you?' the Boss of Heaven stuttered, eyes wide. 'IOOI659' Black Jack muttered, a fresh bouts of button pressings bringing another leak screaming from the Control Machine. Rem jumped as the high pitched sound cut through the thick air. She spun back to her dials. A few twists later and the pressure dropped and died altogether. SHHH-LISTEN TO ME!! 'We can't, Vash!' Rem replied loudly, unable to turn back as her Hellish counterpart continued to imput cooler numbers. 'We don't have time! We don't have any choices left!' You c-c-can't shut it down!-SHHH- It's a mistake!! 'Souls are DYING, Vash, what would YOU do?!' Black Jack demanded, then shook his head to dislodge the distraction. More numbers were entered. I d-don't-SHHH-know... But Rem! Knives! This is Knives' doing!! 'Knives?!' Rem demanded, turning to the hologram, but having to return when another scream of steam split the room. 'Pay ATTENTION Saverem! We nearly lost it that time!!' the lime eyed man at the foot of the machine shouted up to her. Rem clenched her eyes closed. 'Vash, I don't know what Knives is doing, but this is all we can do.' NO, REM!! 'I-I can't concentrate.' the amber eyed woman stuttered, grimacing slightly. Black Jack, patience long since lost, spun and cast a palm at the hologram. 'Go AWAY!!' he shouted, green rippling down his arm. Vash opened his mouth in protest, horror etched on every feature, but the hologram was blasted away with sheer energy, whatever was left spluttered away before anything could be delivered. 'How long?!' Rem shouted down. 'One more.' the black haired man replied simply. He gazed up at her seriously. She nodded, once. Black Jack hit the button.
And It All Came Tumbling Down.
-----*+*-----
-----AUTHOR'S NOTES----- Lynda: **croak** Urg... Um... Sorry. **grins sheepishly** I have sickness.
And it's been strange, because I haven't been able to hold a coherent
thought in my head for more than a few seconds. Thus why this was so
long in reaching you. That's a lot of 2 seconds, you realize. **nods
slowly** O_O Kuroneko: Mya?! =^O_o^= **steps away from author** Lynda: Anyway, allyoop! BOOM!!! Crash the Planes down!! BWA HA HA HA HA!!! **clutches head and swoons** heheheh... Sickness... ehehehe... |