| Shadows |
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-----DISCLAIMER----- I don't own Trigun. (Lynda-chan's 'Disclaimer' Haiku.)
-----AUTHOR'S NOTES----- Lynda: Thank you SO much for the reviews. I was really worried about
how last chapter would register. O_o;; And thank you if you are still
reading this fic! And to think I'm JUST gettin' to the main story line!
There will be more chapters like the previous one, but few and far between.
Philosophy needs to fit, and I don't want to ramble into boring-ness.
But thats ok, because there will be a smidgeon more sobriety from now
on. Due to story line, y'know? Kuroneko: =^ò_ó^=MYA!!!! Lynda: AAAIIII~ WRONG ANALOGY!!!! **is mauled**
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'FINALLY!' Meryl exclaimed in exhaled relief, breathing in happily and stretching in the light of the double suns. Her small suitcase was behind her and she relinquished her grip on the strap to stretch her arms luxuriously to the noon sky. Milly had the bigger of the luggage and was lugging it over her shoulder, equally relieved by the fresh, but warm air. 'What an eventful Steamer trip!' the brunette giggled as the pair made their slow way down the exit ramp to the streets of December. 'I'm just glad no one was hurt.' Meryl replied mournfully, her cheer short lived. 'They weren't very good bandits.' Milly noted, waving to the sheriff and the tied up highwaymen at the bottom of the ramp. The deputy blinked and waved back in that way people have when they have no idea who they are waving to. Meryl swayed on her feet slightly, eyes distanced, but checked herself and frowned in determination. 'C'mon, I think the thomas stables are this way.' she declared, immediately heading left as soon as her feet left the exit ramp. Milly blinked. 'Wait, Sempai!' she called, jogging to catch up with the small woman, suitcase in tow. Meanwhile, at the top of the ramp, two very flustered Wingers burst from the Steamer exit. 'I can't believe you slept in!' Wolfwood shouted angrily, buttoning his shirt and dragging his cross behind him by a strap. 'You were the one who didn't wake me up!!' Vash retorted sharply as he ran a gloved hand through his hair, spiking it up in the process, the collar to his red coat unbuttoned and open. 'I could've set off a grenade and you wouldn't have woken up!' snapped the priest in retaliation. 'I would've been glad for a grenade! You shoved your fingers up my nose!!' the gunman shouted. 'The kids used to pull it on me all the time at the orphanage; best way to wake the dead!' replied Wolfwood sharply. They continued to argue like this all the way down the ramp, not bothering to run around the people. This in turn caused the strangest Mexican Wave of shiverings the world had ever seen, from the Steamer exit to December streets. 'Which way did they go?!' Vash asked in mild panic, turning to face Wolfwood. The priest rammed a hand in his pocket and withdrew his Meta-Kard, pressing buttons hurriedly. 'Hadn't used this function for 4 years, now I'm using it every day. Sorry 'bout this.' he muttered to his Kard, shooting a sour look at Vash then pointed to their left. 'Come on, they went this way.' They picked their way through the crowd in a far more sedate manner, jogging in their haste but actually bothering to dodge the living this time. They had been oddly silent for the rest of the trip after the Howler incident. There wasn't much to say, and Vash had been nursing an odd feeling in the back of his mind like a wounded muscle. The feeling had increased the closer they had gotten to December, and now it was strangely dormant. Despite lack of activity, the feeling still managed to lurk. He had asked Wolfwood about it, but the priest had failed to feel anything. Whatever it was, it was big... Vash was in the process of buttoning up his collar when a movement to his left caught his eye. He turned his head and saw a black shape perched upon a trash can lid. It was blinking it's huge green eyes at him, one paw placed protectively over a small retangular shape. The black cat yawned. Vash came to a sudden halt. 'Wolfwood!' he hissed, trying not to move under the piercing and scrutinous gaze of the feline. The priest stumbled to a standstill and turned. 'What are you doing, Tongari?! Pick up the pace!' he shouted loudly, waving a hand to the general direction they were meant to be moving in. 'SHHHH!' Vash managed, flapping his hands frantically in the universal sign of Shut Up. 'My Meta-Kard! That cat has my Meta-Kard!' he continued, ever so slowly creeping forward and trying not to look like he was. The cat eyed him warily. Wolfwood shook his head, raised his eyes to the sky and said nothing, using the break in pursuit to take time to light himself a cigerette. 'Here kitty...' Vash coaxed, holding out a hand tentatively, inching forward again. The cat glared at him stoically. It looked down at the Kard pinned under its paw and then back up to the Winger, glare intensifying. Vash paused then inched forward again. Wolfwood grinned at the scene, looking casually aloof in comparison to the other who was currently making an idiot out of himself. 'Mya.' the cat said, choosing that time to pick up the Meta-Kard in
its mouth. It bounded off the bin at about the same time as Vash launched
himself at the feline. Bin and gunman connected and the resounding crash
made some of the closer people near the alleyway jump. 'TONGARI, COME BACK HERE!! YOU CAN'T LEAVE YOU GU-' Wolfwood began in anger, but soon realized it was a futile effort shouting after the now small red form of Vash the Stampede which was retreating quickly into the horizon of dark alleyways. The priest uttered some very unholy words and switched his gaze repeatedly between the street and the alley. After a few more bouts of swearing, Wolfwood sent one last glance after Vash before continuing up the street, Meta-Kard in hand and beeping.
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'COME BACK YOU EVIL DEMONIC HELLHOUND!!!' Vash shouted at the cat, dodging all the clothes lines and trash cans the feline was managing to throw in his way. Considering the fact that the animal had twice as many legs to coordinate, one could say the cat was doing remarkably well in current circumstances. But then, it didn't have issues with solidity. As he continued to stumble down the alley, Vash found that he would unknowningly put a foot through a bin, realize that, yes in fact he had put a foot through it, and promptly get stuck. Hopping on one foot and shaking the other which was embedded in a trash can lid, Vash tried to clear his head. Wolfwood hadn't noticed, but when they were running down the ramp of the Steamer, the blonde had managed to pass through everyone along the way, not even a breeze betraying his presence. But then, Wolfwood normally missed these things when he was pissed. After the incident with the Holwer, Vash had been mulling over his own musings almost all night. If he really thought about it, the whole thing; Planes, worlds and himself, clicked into place like a well made puzzle. Frowning in slightly concentration, Vash resolutely stepped through an old milk-crate and managed to continue his pursuit without the traditional falling on his face and miraculously not breaking his nose. Blinking in mild surprise, the Humanoid Typhoon grinned in victory. It wasn't so hard after all... He vaulted over an abandoned wagon and kept on running, airly passing through a few clothes lines, grinning all the way. After the first few alleyways; about 2 minutes after he realized he was lost, Vash began to wonder if chasing the cat was a wise thing to do. He might not be able to get back to his Guard... But if he caught that damn animal, he could use the Kard to track her, so that would work. That is, if his Kard had decided to stop the silent treatment it was giving him. Vash grimaced as he remembered the odd argument, but shoved it to the back of his mind. First task: Get that cat. After a few more alleys and a few more practices with immaterialism, Vash managed to launch himself forward and snag the black feline by the tail. It wailed in abhorrence, dropping the Kard, twisting and managing to drag its claws down Vash's cheek.The blonde yelped and released the animal, quickly grabbing the Meta-Kard while holding a hand to his face, eyes watering. The black feline hissed and bounded on top of a fence to shoot one last antipathetic glare before dropping out of view. Vash blinked, looking at his fingers and finding a little blood there. Could Angels bleed? I guess so... Vash thought distantly, turning his gaze resolutely down to his Kard. It blinked at him. Unhand me, you furless abomination. 'Aw, are you still mad at me?! Come on...' Vash pleaded a little breathlessly. 'I just chased you across half the city; I'm sorry, I really am.' How did the Steamer trip fare? Cause enough damage? Break enough rules? It asked him; somehow, despite a huge lack of features, managing to sneer at him. 'How- How did you know about that?!' the gunman asked incredulously, blindly beginning to walk randomly down an alley, all the while clutching the small rectangle as if it were a life line. I know everything about you. Who you are and what you do. It's my job. It retorted sharply. 'Oh. Listen, can we just let bygones be bygones? I'm having a rough time without you.' the blonde whined, carefully keeping his thumb away from the button. I know. came the smug reply. 'So you'll come with me?' ... I do not think it is possible. My people need me. 'People?! What are you talking about?!' The Fighting Kuroneko's Bad Macho Cats. '... The WHAT?!' My extensive omniscience apparently compliments my feline companion's omnipresence. I have been officially initiated. I must say I was enjoying myself until you ruined it all, you overgrown and sacriligeous orangutan. 'You're... you're choosing a feral cat gang over ME?! And I am NOT an orangutan!!' We are an enlightened affilation. NOT a GANG. Are all anthropoids as blasphemous as you? Bow down to Kuroneko, biped. '...If I do will you be my Meta-Kard again?' No. 'Why not?' Because I bear the tattoo of the Almighty Kuroneko. 'Hey, you're Angel's equipment. Isn't worshipping a false idol against the 10 commandments?' Vash asked suspisciously. There was some electronic silence. Finally, a new screen sprang into life. ... I still enjoy myself far more by laughing at your idiotic antics from far away. Being up close to the destruction would simply cut down the amusement factor. And anyway, my feline companions and I are formulati- WATCH OUT. 'What?' Vash asked, bringing the Kard up closer to his face. It was blinking frantically. WATCH OUT. The blinking escalated into a frenzied retina-assaulting flash. 'I don't follow.' the gunman admitted, grinning. DUCK. the screen read in huge letters. If this warning hadn't been enough, Vash's never-fail intuition would've caused him to comply. Even so, he wasn't quick enough to avoid nearly being decapitated by something white and thrumming which embedded itself into the wall where his neck would've been. The unscathed cheek suddenly seared with sharp pain, warmth slowly washing down to his chin. Stumbling away from the wall in a hurry, Vash raised a hand to his cheekbone. Again he was bleeding, this time possibly slightly deeper and a great deal more painfully. Whatever it was had been very close to taking his head off. Grimacing, he turned to the offending object. Looking to the wall, the tall blonde observed what seemed an elaborate hunk of metal stuck against the rough vertical surface. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a sword hilt, white and thrumming blade sunken completely into the brick of the alley wall. Vash reached out to touch it. Fingers hit invisible solidity. He immediately withdrew his hand and grimaced. Someone had tried to decapitate him, and with an object he couldn't touch. On the basis of his lack of skill at not touching the solid, this was a very bad thing indeed. Glancing down the angle of the strange weapon, Vash found himself infront of a dark and metallic building; graffiti covering most of the dark surface in dripping words. One word dominated however. Trying not to swallow his heart which had paid his throat a visit, Vash stumbled away from the building, frantically looking around for his dropped Meta-Kard. He needed a quick escape route as he didn't really know where he was. The Kard was gone. There was a brief flash of black before... It had probably returned to it's Cult or Clan or whatever it was... Vash shook his head resolutely. It didn't matter. He'd find his own way back. Anything to put some distance between himself and the building, anything to ignore what it might be telling him. What the proximity might mean. So this is what that feeling at the back of his head was. It could, of course, be a coincidence, but some small niggling in the back of Vash's mind denounced this possibility. It was exactly what he thought it was. And slowly the feeling grew. Textured and fabricated until it was all the tall gunman was conscious of. A fellow consciousness surrounding and asphyxiating like a smothering and rancid blanket. Run, Angel. a voice said slowly in his mind, creeping into his consciousness like an insidious disease, clawing at his fear like a rabid animal. 'Who- Who are you?' Vash managed, mutinous feet taking a step back. And all he could see was one word, written carefully in red. Do not interfere. Return to your duty. the voice continued casually, coldly. A strange sound caused Vash to turn, and he watched with unrequited fear as the sword slowly extracted itself from the wall and began to float to the building, passing through the graffitied wall like mist. Eventually even the white and pulsing blade vanished from view. Vash narrowed his eyes. 'What are you?' he asked, gritting his teeth slightly, his glare rivetted on the word in red. RUN, Angel. The sentence drifted into Vash's mind sickeningly, biting
and manipulative, a billowing cloud of frost. Controlling. Vash took
a step forward then paused, unable to tear his gaze from the one word,
surrounded and magnified by small and worthless graffitiings. Whatever direction he was walking in, wherever he would end up, at least it was away from it.
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A figure stood completely motionless in the warehouse, single visible eye focused on something outside of vision. After a great deal of silence a sword slid through the air to rest in front of him. Left hand reached out and grasped the hilt lightly, the blade of light fading into non-existence. The figure blinked it's yellow eye and stared down quizically at the hand that held the sword. 'This hand is tingling.' it noted discompassionately, clenching the grip experimentally and observing as the knuckles went white. The sword fizzled in its grip, hilt sparking with hidden voltage. The warehouse was working. Crates rolled by on a metallic and smooth assembly line, humans lugging them about and packing them into trucks. One could only notice that the living passed through the strange man standing alone in the middle of the factory, heedless of the activity around him. The figure in white looked up to the ceiling in contemplation, right hand gently stroking the back of the left. 'Master.' he said simply, finally closing the topaz eye. There was a strange silence, filled yet empty; textured but insubstancial. 'Yes, we had contact with another Angel. Yes. No, I dismissed him. No, we cannot have Angels in the area. Shall I dispose of him? Yes. I serve. Yes, Master.' he said in an oddly calm manner, callous and cold. Right hand rose to push aside blue hair lightly. 'Angels, Demons and Humans alike. Oblivion comes to all.' the strange man said simply, lowering his face to the sword and smiling eerily.
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-----AUTHOR'S NOTES----- Lynda: Short, short chapter. And very stupid. I just wanted to get past this. Get into the plot, y'know? Arg. Ahwell, no biggie. If you don't know who the guy was at the end of this chapter, then I didn't hint enough. Yes, I'm introducing some of our favourite villians now. I'm introducing the plot. Sigh. I suck. That was so lame I might just die. I JUST WANTED THIS CHAPTER FINISHED!!!! **weeps** **can't be bothered writing anything about the suckiest chapter in all suckdom** ... **allows herself maybe one note...** Um... I couldn't be bothered looking through my Trigun DVDs and finding out where Carcasses is in comparison to December, so I made it up. I'm pretty sure they are both in the Boonies, so I hope I'm right. Feh. You don't care, do you?! ... **allows herself maybe two...** And The Fighting Kuroneko's Bad Macho Cats? The name came from Slayers Next. Adapted of course, but still as silly as he original. Sigh. Kuroneko: Mya. Lynda: I KNOW IT SUCKED!! I GOT THE CONCEPT!!!! Next chapter... Next.... |