Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Cowboy Bebop Meets Trigun ❯ Ultimatum ( Chapter 24 )

Disclaimer: This is absurd. Need I say it again? I DON'T OWN IT!

 

A/N: Let's all say “Yay!” to another chapter! Things are beginning to heat up! Enjoy!

 

 

Chapter 24: Ultimatum

 

Vash opened his eyes and sat up sluggishly, yawning. He ran a hand through his golden blond hair, deep in thought. It had been four days since Knives had escaped and Nightingale's revelations. It was a lot to swallow, but Vash felt inclined to trust her. Sure, it might have just been that he felt kinship with her because of their common background as plant angels. Or maybe he was just way too trusting, as Knives had always been so fond of pointing out. But, Vash couldn't help but sense that she was trustworthy, a trait growing less and less common.

Still, it was true that she wasn't a very open person. Even with his very limited telepathic skills (which were actually improving, thanks to Nightingale), Vash could sense that she internalized most things that bothered her. Whether or not she had always been like that was a mystery. Vash wondered if she had ever had someone to confide in. He doubted she would ever tell him her innermost thoughts and feelings, but he hoped she would at least feel able to trust him someday since they were cousins. Still, sometimes he wondered why she acted the way she did.

Vash heard a knock on the door. “Um, Mr. Vash? May I come in?”

“Oh, uh, wait just a minute, Meryl.”

Vash leapt out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. A few minutes later, after a quick shower, brushing of teeth, spiking of hair, and putting on of a certain trademark red outfit, Vash said, “Come in!”

The door slid open, revealing Meryl Stryfe. She glowered at him. “What took you so long to open the door?”

Vash grinned. “I see. You wanted to see me in my birthday suit, huh?”

A split second later, Vash was sitting on the ground, nursing a lump on his head.

“You are such a pervert!” Meryl huffed.

“Sure, sure.”

Meryl glowered at him some more. Vash laughed nervously at the look on her face. Now might be a good time to head for the hills, he thought. As he began to stand up, he felt her petite hands push down on his shoulders, forcing him back into a sitting position. He looked at her quizzically.

“Uh, Meryl, what are you doing?”

“I'm checking your head wound, you dolt. Now, sit still.”

“Yes, ma'am!” Vash squeaked.

Vash felt Meryl gently run her fingers through his spiky hair and along his scalp, searching for the wound. Vash sat very still, for fear Meryl would smack him again. However, he had to admit that feeling her fingertips massage (or at least that's how it felt to him) his scalp was quite relaxing. Even though she was standing behind him, he could almost see her brow furrowed in concentration.

She smells nice, Vash thought absently.

“Nothing...” Vash heard her mutter to herself as she lifted her hands away.

Vash shifted his position to get a better look at her face. “What is it?”

Meryl blinked. “The wound on your head. It's gone. There isn't even a scar.”

“Well, what did you expect? I AM Vash the Stampede after all,” Vash joked.

Meryl smiled absently. “I know you are.”

Vash stared at her. Why was it that women were so hard to figure out? Just a few minutes ago, Meryl had smacked him. Now, she seemed withdrawn, almost introspective. Of course, as Wolfwood liked to say, women were marvels. That was true enough. But, they defied explanation sometimes. Yet, despite Meryl's quirkyness, Vash couldn't help but like her. But, was it more than that?

“Meryl?”

“Yes, Mr. Vash?”

Vash blinked. “You know, you don't have to say `Mister.' Besides, it makes me sound old.”

Meryl smirked. “That's right, Vash. Being over 130 years old certainly doesn't qualify as `old.'”

“Hey! I look good for my age!”

Meryl shook her head with amusement. “True enough.”

“Ah-HA! So you're ADMITTING I'm good-looking!”

Meryl wrinkled her nose. “I said no such thing.”

“SURE you didn't.”

Meryl sighed exasperatedly. “Vash, will you just get to the point?”

“Ok.” Vash hesitated. “Listen, Meryl, I was just wondering...”

“What?”

“Have you ever...I mean., uh, do you...”

What?”

“What I want to ask is, do you li-”

“Vash-person!”

A moment later, Vash found himself sprawled on the floor (again) with a little red-haired demon on top of him. Not only that, but her partner in crime decided to lick his face repeatedly, getting slobber all over him.

“Mercymercymercy!” Vash squealed.

After about ten minutes of begging and Meryl scolding Ed, Vash managed to sit up again. He took a deep breath as he stood up, trying to straighten the wrinkles in his coat. Then, as Vash looked at Meryl, he could tell that the moment had been lost.

Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I can always ask her some other time.

“So, Ed, what brings you here?” Meryl asked.

Ed grinned. “Ed decided she would visit Vash-person and Meryl-person! Ed knew she would find them both here in Vash-person's room!”

Vash gave Ed an odd look. “And how did you know we'd both be here?”

Ed smiled wider. “Because, Vash-person,” Ed leaned in closer to Vash secretively, “Ed knows things.”

“Uh, ok. So,” Vash leared his throat, “Ed, is there anything else you came for.”

Ed pounced on Vash. “Let's play, Vash-person!”

Vash laughed. “Ok, Ed, which game do you want to play?”

“Let's wrestle!”

Oh, no... :Um, Ed, can't we play something else?”

Ed's bottom lip began to quiver. Vash hastily said, “Ed! It's ok! Wrestling is fine!”

“Yay!”

As Vash began to wrestle with Ed (or rather Ed began pulling Vash's limbs off in weird angles causing him to beg once again for mercy), he was constantly aware of Meryl's presence in the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her smiling and shaking her head at their antics, her violet eyes twinkling with amusement. Vash smiled to himself as he looked at her.

Maybe, someday...

 

 

Faye was currently sitting in Spike's room. She was feeling a bit restless. Faye was also a bit nonplussed about why Spike had asked her to come to his room. He said he wanted to talk to her. That in itself was bizarre. He hated her, didn't he? Of course, there had been that one time where they held hands, but that was it. More than likely, it had been some sort of fluke. Spike didn't like her. He never would for a bunch of different reasons, Julia being the main one.

Faye heard the door slide open. She shifted in her chair to see Spike with to steaming coffee mugs. As he set them on the table, he sat down on the opposite side, right across from her. Faye didn't meet his gaze. Instead, she reached for the coffee and took a sip. She wrinkled her nose.

“Why did you put sugar and cream in it?”

Spike shrugged. “I didn't know you liked black coffee.”

She scowled at him. “You're an idiot, you know that?”

Spike smiled wryly. “It'd be amazing if I didn't. You tell me that eveyday.” Seeing the look on her face, he said, “If it's that bad, we can always switch cups.”

Faye stared at him suspiciously. “You don't mind?”

He shrugged. “Doesn't matter to me.”

So, they switched cups. Faye sipped at the cffes again, this time satisfied with the result. Spike also began to drink Faye's former cup of coffee. The two of them sat there silently for a long time, sipping.

“Faye,” Spike began, breaking the ice, “we'll arrive at Mars anytime now. And, I want you to do something for me.”

Faye stared at him. “What?”

“I want you to stay on this ship.”

She blinked. Then, Faye began to glower at him. “Do you honestly expect me to sit on my ass while you go off to fight some madman and something that isn't even human? Are you out of you damn mind?”

“No, I'm not.”

“Then why the hell are you doing this? All this crap about GENE and the Red Dragon Syndicate, it has nothing to do with you anymore!”

“That's where you're wrong, Faye. It has everything to do with me. Besides, I have a score to settle.”

Faye stared at him. The look in his eyes was hard and cold, and he spoke with deadly earnest. This wasn't the same man who tried to drive her insane. He was someone else altogether.

"Why are you going? You told me once that the past doesn't matter...but you're the one who's tied to the past Spike!”

Spike looked at Faye and put his face near hers and stared into her eyes. "Look into my eyes Faye. One of them is fake because I lost it in an accident. Since then, I've been seeing the past in one eye, and the present in the other. So I thought I could only see glimpses of reality."

Faye stared, for the first time noticing the difference. "Don't tell me things like that…you've never told me anything about yourself...so don't start telling me now!"

"I thought I was watching a dream I would never wake up from, before I knew it the dream was over."

“Are you telling me you're just going to throw your life away?”

"I'm going there to die. I'm going to see if I'm really alive,” Spike intoned.

“Bastard!” Faye shouted, as she stormed out of the room so he couldn't see the tears in her eyes.

(A/N: Yes, I lifted part of that conversation from the anime. At first, I had an ORIGINAL conversation planned, but I like this better.)

 

 

Nightingale paced about the command center of her ship. It had been a few hours since they had arrived at Mars through a hyperspace gate. (Luckily there had been no unforseen problems.) However, the longer it took to find Knives and Vicious meant the more precarious the current situation would become. Nightingale already knew the location of the Red Dragon Syndicate's headquarters, but the ”breaking and entering” bit was going to be the difficult part.

Nightingale became aware that her abnormally agitated state was not going unnoticed. When she saw a few of her ship's operator looking at her quizically, she stopped pacing and sat down in her chair. Then, as she sank into the leather material, she managed to regain some of her composure.

Why am I so anxious?

She didn't understand. Even on some of her most stressful missions (most of them when she was a novice in GENE), she had never felt so agitated. Granted, none of her previous missions had had such high stakes, but still, why was she so affected? Normally, Nightingale was able to reman calm and in control of the situation as well as her emotions. What was so different about this particular venture?

Could it be because of him?

Nightingale dismissed that thought immediately. She hadn't had feelings for anyone in a long time. Only one person had ever gotten through her defenses, and he was long gone. After him, she had determined she would never grow emotionally attached to anyone ever again. Had she been going back on that vow all this time?

I can't think about this now. There is too much at stake. Tatsujin warned me about letting my emotions cloud my judgement. I must remain in control.

“Captain?”

Nighitngale blinked, her train of thought interrupted. She almost felt...relieved? “Report.”

“Ma'am, you might want to take a look at this,” the Lieutenant replied nervously.

Nightingale frowned. She stood up and walked over to the monitor. Upon seeing whose face was plastered all over the screen, grinning insanely, her face paled.

“Lieutenant,” she began slowly, attempting to keep her voice steady and calm, “send for Bebop crew as well as our other former prisoner and his associates.”

“Yes, Captain, but what should I tell them?”

Nightingale rubbed her brow. “Tell them our quarry has made his move and that the situation has become much more serious.”

He nodded. “Very well.” Then, he left the room.

Nightingale sank back into her chair, hand over her face.

So much at once. Can I handle it?

 

 

Spike walked into the command center of the Eden. Everyone else was already there waiting for something. The first thing he noticed was Faye. Her eyes were slightly red as though she had been upset about something.

Me? he wondered. Hell no...

Nightingale strode into view. “Good. Now that you are all here, I can show you what has been playing on the news channels for hours.”

“What's going on?” Vash asked.

Nightingale looked about the room solemnly. “As I told you, it would seem that Vicious has made his move.” She pointed to the monitor. “Watch.”

Vicious's face popped up on the screne. He was sitting behind a desk, hands folded on the table. Spike glared at him and thought, I still owe you for the incident at the chapel.

Vicious grinned. “Ladies and gentlemen, forgive me for interrupting your boring lives. However, rest assured that I will be making them a great deal more interesting.”

“Bastard,” Faye muttered.

“My name is Vicious. I am the head of a crime organization known as the Red Dragon Syndicate. For those of you unfamiliar with the name, check with the ISSP. I'm sure they will fill you in on the less than sterling aspects of the underground of crime.”

“Arrogant, isn't he?” Wolfwood asked.

“Quiet, Preacher Man!” Vash hushed.

“For many years, the governments of Mars and other colonies, as well as the ISSP, have persecuted and made life in general difficult for good, honest, hardworking criminals. Therefore...”

“Is he serious?” Meryl asked incredulously.

“Hush!” everyone whispered to her.

“...I have decided to rectify this situation. Here are my demands: All rights to the hyperspace gates will be turned over to me. In addition, all other crime organizations will be incorporated into my own while the ISSP will be disbanded.” Vicious grinned. “If my demands are not met within 24 hours, I will begin to destroy cities, or perhaps even space colonies, and I have the power to back up my threats.”

“That madman...” Vash whispered, horror-stricken.

Vicious's grin widened. “Oh, and have a nice day.”

The screen shut off. Everyone was silent for several moments until Vash asked nervously, “Uh, how long ago was it that this transmission first came on?”

“Approximately 24 hours ago,” Nightingale said.

“Oh, shit,” Wolfwood muttered.

“How close are we to stopping this thing?” Jet asked.

“We should be arriving at the Red Dragon Syndicate's headquarters within a few minutes,” Nightingale stated.

“Captain!” an alarmed operator suddenly called.

She was there at once. “What is it?”

“Abnormal energy readings coming from that building over there!”

Spike looked. He felt his throat tighten. It was the Syndicate's headquarters. Suddenly, he saw the roof open up. A large cannon-like device lifted out of the core of the building. The glow coming from it seethed with fury.

“Is that...?” Vash whispered.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Nightingale whispered in return, although her entire voice carried across the deathly silent room. “The Angel Annihilator.”

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light and the sound of a rushing mighty wind. The ship shook as the energy blast passed them by, narrowly missing the hull of the ship. The energy streaked off into the night sky. When the glare from the blest finally faded, eveyone opened their eyes hesitantly.

“Uh, where's the ka-boom?” Millie asked.

“Captain! The blast is heading directly for one of the small asteroid colonies!”

“What?” Vash screeched.

The operator brought up the asteroid on the monitor just in time to see the energy blast hit. The asteroid began to crack, until finally, it was swallowed whole in the energy from the Angel Annihilator. Not a single speck of dust remained.

Everyone gaped at the scene in disbelief.

Then, Vicious's face suddenly reappeared on the monitor, a sickening look of satisfaction on his face. “My demands have not yet been met. I will give you another 24 hours. Refusal to comply will force me to destroy yet another colony. So, all you high-ranking officials in the government, do you want the blood of more innocent people on your hands?” With that, Vicious was gone again.

“All those people...damn him straight to hell!” Wolfwood growled.

“Nightingale,” Vash began tremulously after several moments of stunned silence, “Knives once told me that the Angel Arm could only get a 13% output. Using that as a reference, what do you think the output of the Angel Annihilator is in comparison with the Angel Arm?”

Nightingale didn't answer.

“Damn you! Answer the question!” Faye shouted.

Nightingale's voice trembled slightly. “It is true that the Angel Arm can only achieve an output of 13%. However, the blast you just witness was the equivalent of 50% output from the Angel Arm.”

“What was the percent output of the Angel Annihilator?” Spike asked quietly.

“If my calculations are correct, 25%,” Nightingale whispered.

“No way!” Faye said.

“I'm afraid so.”

“Damnit! How are we supposed to deal with something like that?” Jet muttered.

“We suck it up,” Spike said simply. “No one is going to do this for us. It's make or break.”

“Spike's right,” Jet said. “But, who's going on this suicide mission?”

“I am,” Vash said. “Knives is my brother. I have to save him.”

“Not everyone thinks he needs saving, Vash,” Spike said, narrowing his eyes.

“I know. It's just that I made a promise. I intend to keep it,” Vash said, determination in his voice.

“I'm going to,” Wolfwood announced with a grin. “After all, someone has to make sure Needle Noggin over here doesn't hurt himself.”

“Hey!” Vash whined.

“It is my duty to go. This is my responsibility. Therefore, I must see it through,” Nightingale stated.

Spike looked at Faye. When he saw she was refusing to look at him, he said, “I'll go, too. I have some unfinished business to take care of.”

“Then it's settled,” Nightingale said. “Four shall go.”

“What about me?” Jet asked.

“Don't forget about Ed!”

Nightingale's lips twitched. “I have not forgotten you. You three will remain on board the ship. We will have need of your hacking skills, Edward.”

“Yay! Ed gets to help! Thank you, Bird-Lady!” Ed chirped.

Spike looked from one face to another. They all seemed determined to see this thing through to the end. Come what may, they would face it all.

Looks like my past has caught up to me. Somehow, I always knew it would. But, one thing is certain: I will finish my feud with Vicious, one way or another.

 

 

EXPLOSIONS! MASS DEATHS! SINISTER BAD GUY! I LOVE IT!

Whoa, I got kinda crazy there. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Looks like we will see a rescue attempt for Knives. I'm sure he'll like that.

Knives: You are evil.

O.O Hey! Get back in your bulb! This instant!

Knives: No! It is humiliating!

Aw, poor baby. Cry me a river.

Knives: You are heartless, you despicable human.

Thank you.

Knives: ...

Anyway, review for me now, please!