Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Kaleidoscope ❯ Chapter 1: Dawn ( Chapter 1 )

Marvel was a beautiful woman who made the mistake of saving Vash the Stampede now she couldn't get rid of him if she wanted to. Knives lay in bed recuperating and pushing everyone buttons. Will Meryl be able to take care of Knives without killing him?

 

 

The Beginning After the End

 

Kaleidoscope 1-2

 

 

Chapter 1: Dawn

 

Gunsmoke a desert planet home of outlaws, marshals, and innocent bystander a like, where some people struggle to provided for themselves and others live in opulent luxury. One man wanted to end it all, stop the heartbeat of this world, and kill all those who gave life to this dry planet, the human race. Another man wanted to stop the first from accomplishing this goal and in a bright flash of brilliant light and a charge of gunfire the world was saved, for at least one instant.

 

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

 

The room was baron. Little sat in the space, the floor made of wooden planks seemed naked. A chair, bed, and small nightstand were all that sat in the chamber. In one corner, seated in the rooms lone chair, sat a tall lean gunman with spiky blond hair.

 

Vash the Stamped shifted in his spot, the uncomfortable cedar seat causing his rear end to ache. He had moved most of the room's contents out to protect everyone from the man who lay injured on the beds lumpy mattress. Nothing but what was needed he said. But it didn't seem to matter the beds occupant hadn't moved since Vash brought him to this room, it had been six days. Light shined through the window illuminating the sleeping mans handsome face. He almost looked like an angel with his soft blond locks and serene sleeping expression. Too bad there was nothing angelic about Millions Knives.

 

^*^*^*^*^*^*

 

The small saloon in the center of town was full of town's people. They laughed, danced, but mostly they drank. They drank because they were happy, dank because they were sad, and drank to get away from it all. Vash just watched them as he smiled a sad smile. He thought of what had brought him here as well, why he was here to drink. If you wanted to find Vash the Stampede just look wherever they served alcohol, or pastries.

 

Through the warn swing doors of the tavern stepped a petite woman with short dark hair and stormy gray eyes. Meryl Stryfe searched the room before she noticed the blond spiky haired man sitting at the bar from the entrance. His body hunched over the counter, back to her with a beer in hand.

 

The outlaw hadn't donned his trademark red coat since the day he brought Knives into this town. Vash's leather body armor fastened with its silver buckles was his normal everyday attire now. Meryl dragged herself in and sat down next to him. The insurance woman's black hair was out of place and small frame looked rundown and worn out, gray eyes were noticeably weary and she seemed exhausted.

 

"Hey Meryl, you know you look kind of tired! You should …I don't know take a nap or something." Vash gave a sloppy smile and took a big gulp of his cold frosty beer.

 

"Well you know Vash, I would but someone has to stay awake to take care of your dangerous brother and some how I got volunteered!" Meryl gave him an irritated look only she could give him. " How the heck did I get this job any way? Isn't he your evil bent on world destruction brother? Why aren't you watching him?"

 

"Well Meryl," Vash jumped up and casting a finger to the sky his blue green eyes shining bright. "Someone has to protect this world form evil while promoting love and peace all over! I must keep Gunsmoke safe!"

 

"And you're doing this from a bar stool how?"

 

In one clumsy motion the golden haired boozer plopped himself down next to her again.

 

"Hey, heroes need a drink every once on a while too." Suddenly Vash burst into a loud inebriated laughter.

 

"One of these days you're gonna drink yourself to death!" Meryl watched the barmaid as she poured softhearted gunslinger another drink.

 

"Well at least I'd die a happy man!" Vash howled with laughter again.

 

Fed up the small woman slid her hand over and slipped her fingers around Vash's mug. Then Meryl, with more force them anyone in the room thought her capable of, promptly smashed him over the head with it. In turn Vash's face had firmly been planted into the wooden bar with a large thud. Injured, Meryl's unsuspecting victim tried to recover as he rubbed the large lump on the back of his head. Vash's face glowed red where the flesh made contact with the top of the bar.

 

"Hey what the hell ways that for!" Large tears streamed down a face that ached.

 

"Just proving a point you big baby!"

 

"And what would that be!"

 

Meryl smiled. "Drinking Hurts!"

 

"Well you got that right." Vash continued to rub the back of his head trying to shrug off the looks from onlookers their little outburst had caused.

 

"All right Mr. Love and peace I need you to go two towns over for some medical supplies. I've looked all over this town and I just can't what I need. Take this list and go to the general store in Pebble Town. An old woman in the inn told me they should have everything we need at their general store" She slid him the list.

 

Causally taking the list in his leather glove covered fingers Vash scanned the items hand written in neat script before he took another swig of his beer. Looking over he noticed an angry expression being directed at him from the frazzled woman beside him.

 

"Oh, you mean now?"

 

"YES I MEAN NOW, SO GET GOING YOU IDIOT!" Everyone in the bar watched on as she huffed and puffed. Vash scrambled to his feet quickly

 

"OK! I'm going, leaving now, right out the door!" Right before Vash stepped out to complete the small task at hand he looked back at little woman seated in the small tavern. "Meryl, if he wakes up I want you to know he's extremely dangerous. If he gets life -threatening under no circumstances do I want you to try to handle him yourself, ok? Take the people of this town and go some place safe. I'll return as soon as possible. Lets hope it doesn't come to that." Vash gave a small wave then went about his new journey. Meryl watched the doors swing closed behind him and thought to herself.

 

//Some times I just feel so sorry for the guy but most of the time I just want to hit him over the head with a blunt object. But still, I wish his heart raced whenever I was around like mine does when he is. If I could only tell him maybe, he feels the same too. //

 

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

 

He couldn't remember a thing. There was a shot, the church, a bright flash of light, and then darkness. After that the as a burl of people, sounds, and light, it was memories from a lifetime of living passing through the young scruffy haired priest's blue eyes as they lost their life luster. Then there was a felling of peace. And then he heard a voice, a beautiful voice of a woman. The voice told him every thing he needed to know. They weren't ready for him yet. He had to go back it wasn't his time and he had more good to do.

 

"Go back Nicholas, go back and protected them. Protect all our children. Go do what you know is right."

 

Then there was blackness again, then nothing.

 

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

 

Meryl moved the chair in Knives room closer to the slumbering beast sleeping form preparing to calmly do the flood of boring paper work awaiting her. The hard working insurance worker was lucky that she got the chance to follow Vash and get paid to do so. Since The Humanoid Typhoon had not cased any major damage lately her employer, The Bernadelli Insurance Society, were convinced her and her coworker Millie Thompson had been fulfilling there mission. The mission of course was to keep Vash out of trouble and keep his destruction rate down, which is no easy task when dealing with captain destruction, trouble fallowed him like a sad and lonely puppy.

 

The need for sleep was looming over her again. Worn out a tired body called for a much-needed rest but Meryl refused to give into the urge. Sleep was impossible when she knew `that man' could wake up any moment. The reality of the situation woke Knives watcher out of her sleepy daze. If Millions Knives woke up what would she do, what could she do?

 

// Extremely dangerous he says, if he becomes life threatening he says. Thanks Vash, I feel so safe you stupid bonehead! // Meryl sat in the silent room thinking to herself. //I hope he has a safe journey. The big moron! //

 

Alone and exhausted the Bernadelli worker sighed, even know the charismatic gunman had been the source of most of her woe's Meryl missed the fool.

 

//When he gets back I'll tell him, I'll tell him how I really feel. I promise myself I'll do it this time. // It was love. She wanted to murder that man so much. Unfortunately, she loved him with the same amount of compelling emotion.

 

At that moment, the beds occupant began to stir and started to toss. The sheet-covered body moved for the first time since Vash had brought him here. Meryl stood fast almost knocking the chair she'd been sitting in over on it's back rocking the nightstand she had set her dinner, a bowl of hot chicken soup, on. Luckily it didn't fall but papers scatted allover bare floor falling out of the arms of their pencil-pushing owner into an unorganized mess as the fearful woman back herself up against to wall opposite of the bed.

 

Knives groaned in pain feeling for the first time the ache of injures his body had suffered during his face-off with Vash. Every inch of alabaster coved muscular seemed on fire and his painful empty stomach threatened make him retch. This was the most horrible feeling the plant could remember ever having to endure. This wasn't at all like the aftermath of his first two encounters with his brother.

 

The gentle light from the sun reached the window and wormed the man's faces casting a glow on his sharp features. Bathed in sunlight Meryl couldn't help but notice his resemblance to the most spiritual of beings, but she noticed something else as well. Knives really did look like his brother.

 

//Two men who look so much alike but so incredibly different//

 

Knives realized he didn't know where he was. What he could remember was the fight and how he obtained these injuries, but what had happened next? What was this place and who had brought him here?

 

Meryl herd the bed creek as she saw Knives try to lift himself into a sitting potion. It was useless the discomfort to his body was too much for him bare. Despite his incredible will the man whose icy blue eyes had burned with such intense hate couldn't even raise himself off the bed. He groaned loudly letting a sound much like a yelp escaped his lips.

 

All at once Meryl felt her terror subside. In his physical condition Knives was little to no threat to the bold-spirited woman and her lightning fast derringers.

 

"You know you shouldn't do that. You're hurt pretty bad and been asleep for a whole week now." Meryl looked over at the 'dangerous' man.

 

//He doesn't look so dangerous. //

 

Knives looked over at the young woman who stood across the room back pressed against the wall opposite of him. She was a small woman dressed in white business attire looking tired and frazzled. Her gray eyes seemed concerned, but he was too tired to even think about stepping into her mind to find out why. She looked fragile almost like a china doll. Fragile or not she was still human, still part of the problem.

 

"Human, how I hate your kind. When I am able to get out of this bed you will find out just how much." He needed to do something, he needed to show her he wasn't kidding and that he was in control of this situation, but with his body in this condition, he couldn't even move. This was just going to have to wait this out till he was well enough.

 

Meryl moved slowly closer to the battered man in the bed. She picked up the bowl of now lukewarm chicken noodle soup sitting on the table next to her. Sitting back down in the chair beside the bed she placed the bowl in her lap. Sitting so close to this murder of hundreds, if not thousands, was a bit unnerving but nothing Meryl couldn't handle.

 

"Well until then," she spooned out some soup placing her hand underneath the spoonful to keep it from spilling. Then with great strength the small woman forced a spoonful of chicken noodle soup into Knives mouth making him almost gag. "You'll just have to deal with me! Now you're going to eat this soup before it gets any colder!"

 

The injured plant gave his attend a distasteful look that threaten to spit the heated liquid nourishment back in her face, but he swallowed warm noodles in defeat. Knives knew if he didn't get back on his feet soon he could not continue his quest for humanity's extermination. The all mighty being would endure the company of this mortal as long as he needed her assistance to recover his strenth. Right now with out Merly he would be helpless.

 

Meryl couldn't help but be troubled by the newly gained consciousness of the man who also occupied the room. Though he appeared to be a manageable pussycat too wounded and powerless to harm her right now it was apparent that any moment he might break free of his pain bearing his sharp claws and pointy fangs.

 

//Hurry back, Vash please just hurry back! // Meryl seemed calm and in control, in truth she didn't know how long she could contain this weapon of mass destruction.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*

 

"Boy it's hot." Vash made his way out of Pebble Town with every item on Meryl list stuffed in the pack slung over his shoulder.

 

Things had been hard for Vash since he brought his injured brother Knives to that town with him. He had been extremely worried about his brother's injuries and really he had little regard for his own well-being. Injury and pain had been something both plants had gained during they're duel, but Vash hid it. He played it off like he was fine bush Meryl off when ever she offered to look him over and properly dress his wounds. The gunman smiled telling her he was fine. It was knives that needed looking after. Taking no time to rest Vash tried to take on strenuous tasks as if he hadn't even gotten a scratch. His body started to feel the result of his negligence about the time Meryl had asked him to take this trip, but there was no way he could say no. Knives needed his help to get well. He was going to be there for his brother, he had to show him the way. Vash had to take care of Knives just like he had been told so long ago.

 

The traveler continued on his path and to pass some time he placed his small headphones in his ears and turned on his Walkman. While marching on, he danced around like a fool bopping to the beat of the music. He might be the greatest gunslinger ever, but in the rhythm department, he was lacking. The important thing was keeping his mind off how overworked his body felt.

 

"There he is do you see him!" A dirty looking man in a dusty old cowboy hat asked.

 

"Oh yeah, I see him that's our meal ticket." The man next to him responded.

 

A group of bounty hunters had come together to take down this Vash The Stampede. He couldn't be so dangerous with a large group of men, right? They waited in an area of the desert full of large rock. They hid tying not to be detected by the 60,000,000,000 $$ man. There were fifteen of them how could he fight against that.

 

"Are you sure it's that guy is him. He doesn't even have a red coat? I mean look at that guy he's just doesn't look dangerous."

 

"Looks are deceiving boys. I saw him in May city so I know that's him. On the count of three!" All of the men raised their guns.

 

Vash should have been paying attention to his surroundings, but he wasn't.

 

"ONE!"

 

He shouldn't have turned that Walkman on so he could listen to what was going on.

 

"TWO!"

 

If he had only used his normal caution, He was always so careful because danger seemed to fallow him.

 

"THREE!"

 

But it was to late, the men let lose a hail of gunfire on the unsuspecting Vash. The sound of bullets being fired echoed through the lonely desert. But when the smoke cleared there was nothing.

 

"Where the hell did he go?!" All the men looked around shocked.

 

"I don't know! Fan out he's got to be some place!" The men started to comb the desert looking for the man who disappeared in the discharge of fifteen firearms. " He couldn't have just disappeared, could he?"

 

Vash was lucky to escape, but he didn't without damage to his body. He had minor scratches and bruising but what worried him most three bullets that had entered his body. None of them had hit any thing fatal but he was bleeding a large amount of dark crimson blood. One bullet went through his left shoulder above his cybernetic arm, luckily not causing any damage to it's inner working. Another went through the left side of his abdomen, ones again he was lucky it didn't hit any vital organs. The last one hit Vash on the upper inside if his left leg as he was running. It hit closer to an artery and to his groin then he would have liked it to have.

 

Already worn out from the gunfight with Knives now dealing with a large amount blood loss the fallen fugitive began to feel dizzy, week and sleepy. His liquid life was warm and tacky causing sand to start stick to his body. For the first time in a long time Vash was terrified. This new circumstance on top of his reopened wounds sustained in the fight with from his own brother the broken man fought to stay conscience knowing his body couldn't take much more.

 

//So this is how it ends huh, guess I'll see you sooner than I thought Rem, Sooner than I thought. // And with that last thought Vash passed out.