Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ The Night's End ❯ Drinking Lessons... ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: Don't own Trigun. Do own this story however, so please refrain from doing... unnatural things with it. (Don't ask, I'm writing this disclaimer at 3 in the morning to the theme of Mortal Kombat... it's not an environment conducive to coherent thinking, if you get my gist).

-----------------------------

"You did what?!" Two figures stood in the hallway, the taller of the two cringing under the smaller one's tirade. "Millie, I left you in charge of keeping him out of trouble, not in charge of barhopping with him while he was still recovering from his last idiotic escapade!" Behind Meryl, a picture was rattling in its frame, but Millie didn't think that this was a good thing to point out to her partner at this point. "Okay, okay, I can see how THAT man might have confused you into thinking that a drinking contest was acceptable while I was gone.... but Millie, for the love of God, why on the company credit card?!" Despite the reasonable phrasing of that last question, it was very evident to Millie Thompson that her Senpai was not thinking very reasonably. She also highly suspected that the color of her Senpai's face wasn't a healthy shade for her to have.

Millie mumbled something under her breath. Although it was very apologetic, Meryl didn't seem to think it was enough. "Hmm? What exactly was that supposed to be? Why don't you try saying it louder?"

"Sorry. The credit card was my idea because, well because Mr. Vash's idea was just plain wrong." Attempting to discourage any further questions down that route, Millie recalled Vash's 'idea.' When the subject of their impending bill had first popped up, they both had had more than their share to drink already. Vash had then decided that the only plausible way to pay off their debt was to pawn off Meryl's belongings. The only way a very drunk Millie could convince him that this wasn't a very workable idea was to point out that if he followed through on this, Senpai would be forced to go clothes shopping, and didn't he recall what happened the last time? After a few nervous twitches on his part, he agreed with her that Bernardelli was the only answer.

"And what was Vash's idea?" Meryl's hands were on her hips and one foot was tapping out a staccato rhythm on the hallway floor.

"Umm..." Millie wished for the fiftieth time this conversation, that she had as ready an excuse to not be here as Mr. Vash. She was horrible at lying, but sometimes she was forced to out of necessity. "I don't remember. I think it involved the woman in Room 3B though. " Don't ask Senpai, please don't ask...

Her psychic energy seemed to work this time, for Meryl accepted the lie with a vague sounding threat towards Mr. Vash, ending with her usual rant about his 'irresponsible skirt chasing.' Although Millie highly suspected that her Senpai liked Mr. Vash as more than a friend, there wasn't a chance in H-E-Double Hockey Stick of getting her to admit it.

Senpai was about to begin dissecting another portion of Millie and Vash's evening on the town when their discussion was interrupted by a cry of pain from Vash's room. Before Millie could even react, her partner had dashed through the door to his room, an expression of panic on her face. Following close on her heels, Millie arrived in the room in time to see Vash clutching his arm in great distress while the doctor stood on, his expression one of slight amusement.

"What are you doing to him?!" Meryl screeched, darting over to Vash's bed to examine an area around his elbow that he was clutching. As her head dipped down to examine the area closer for the problem, Vash looked over her back towards Millie and gave her a conspirational wink. Confused now, Millie glanced towards the doctor who merely grinned wider, a veritable Cheshire Cat with a stethoscope.

Crossing the room towards her, the doctor whispered in her ear confidingly, "We heard your partner harassing you out there. Vash decided to 'assist' you when it looked like you weren't going to pull through." He smiled again again, "You guys bought me a drink last night. I owe you." Nodding vaguely, Millie recalled offering to buy everyone drinks at least once... no, make that twi--oops, um maybe three times. Gulping slightly, she peered around the doctor to where Meryl had stopped examining Vash's arm and had started berating him for 'rescuing' her. Out of Meryl's view, he gave Millie the 'thumbs up.'

"So, is Mr. Vash okay?"

"He's extremely weak from dehydration, but he seems okay. However, if he is planning on ever recovering, he's going to need his sleep. Therefore, I suggest that you two ladies go and get yourselves something to eat while I discuss future precautions with my patient." The doctor watched as both Millie dragged Meryl out. Despite her best effort, Meryl's attempt at an unconcerned look was failing miserably and it was obvious she was really worried. The door shut behind them and you could hear through the door as Millie dragged Meryl away from the door and down the stairs, talking about how nice a good dinner would be.

After a few moments of silence, Vash weakly asked the other occupant of the room, "So Doc, what's my actual prognosis?" Sinking deeper into the bed, he closed his eyes. "God, it's so bright in here."

"Vash, the shades are drawn and the lights are off. This is as dark as the room gets at sunset." The doctor sighed wearily before crossing to the bed and sitting on the side. "You really shouldn't lie to them like that. That one really cares for you, she deserves to know."

"Know what? That I don't know what's wrong with me, and neither do you?" Vash's voice was too tired be anything but flat. "There's nothing to know, really. Nothing except that I'm too tired for simple dehydration--"

"Vash, you're not dehydrated. I've seen you dehydrated, and this isn't it. What happened in the desert?"

"--and I'm getting more tired by the minute." Vash finished his sentence without acknowledging the doctor's question. "What am I supposed to say? That if I get much weaker I'm going to die? No. She would blame herself, and I can't have that."

"Maybe she would blame herself, but she's an adult. She deserves the truth. You don't need to shield her like some child. Now, answer my question, what happened out there?"

Vash glared at the physician, shading his eyes carefully. "Fine. She found a SEED remnant. It wasn't a Plant ship or a portion that would have carried civilians. It looked to be vaguely military, but not carrying weapons, if that makes sense."

"Not really, but then I never really understood all of that technology. Do you want me to call up Max or Sensei?"

"No. I don't like calling people up out of the blue simply because I don't know what's going on. If worst comes to worst I can check in with them, but hopefully it won't come to that. Just give me a day to get my strength back and I'll deal with it myself." Vash carefully avoided confronting the immediate problem. Slumping down further on the pillows, he breathed a heavy sigh before smiling slightly, "She'd kill me if she knew, but could you make sure that those two aren't having any problems? I don't want them to--" Yawning, Vash slid further down into the bed without finishing the sentence. He was having problems keeping his eyes open, so tired...

The physician watched him carefully until Vash was fully asleep. Then, checking to make sure that Vash was not going to freeze during the night, he carefully stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Behind him, Vash the Stampede was in a deeper sleep than he had been in since-- well --since he could remember having a peaceful night's sleep. Certainly since before July. He was.... so very, very tired. Tired enough to let go. Let go of what? Of everything, something deep within told him. It's so much easier that way...

The lady looked down at him carefully. He missed her so very, very much. They had so much to catch up on, so many years she'd missed. Opening his mouth to speak, he found himself asking a question he had asked so many years ago.

"Rem, what happens when people die?"

She smiled down at him briefly before directing the question at his sibling. "Knives, what do you think happens?" She was always trying to draw his twin into their conversations. Some attempts were more successful than others. The concept of death made it an almost sure bet that Knives would have something to say.

Knives glanced over at Rem and Vash, before deigning to speak. "It depends a lot on how you die." Returning his gaze to the vista around them, he stopped speaking, choosing instead to study the landscape.

Vash frowned at the back of Knives' head. Knives wasn't usually so recalcitrant when it came to his favorite subject. "What do you mean?"

"Well," his brother flopped down on the grass, shading his eyes against the light from above, "If you die one way it's going to be different than if you die another way. One way will be more painful than another, I guess. It all depends on the how." He paused thoughtfully, then turned his head towards Vash, his face as serious as his brother had ever seen it, "But in the end it's all the same."

"Why's that?" Behind them both, Rem frowned slightly at Vash's curious tone. Death might be a fascination for Knives, but his brother had always preferred to think of things from the life end.

"Because in the end, all you have to do is to let go."

"Let go of what?"

"Of everything. Everything and everybody."

...but he couldn't do that, much as he wanted to. Letting go scared him, because he had so much left to do. So much to tell. The thought of letting go of everything scared him, but the thought of letting go of everyone scared him more.

"Don't you dare let go, Vash." The spectral Knives warned him before dissolving into the mists from which he'd come. Rem lasted a few minutes longer, just looking at him fondly. He would've spoken to her if he hadn't been so tired, but she seemed to understand that, and so he was at peace.

"There is a major obstacle ahead, Vash. Just keep your eyes on the future though, and never give up. Letting go is giving up, much as you might deny it. Listen to your brother, if only this once. He is right. Don't ever let go."

The dark enveloped him and he thought no more.

--------------------------------------

Meryl was really worried, but she didn't want to admit it. According to the doctor, who she wasn't entirely sure she trusted but he was the only one in town, Vash was suffering from some form of exhaustion. Fair enough, she guessed. It was true that Vash had been sleeping since their initial conversation after getting back. She blushed slightly as she recalled the panic which she'd burst into his room... only to find Vash complaining about nothing at all. "That man," she muttered angrily. 'If only he'd grow up. If only-- uh oh, dangerous thoughts ahead.' She carefully stopped that line of thought, changing it to one that was much safer. 'I wonder what Millie's doing?'

This question was anwered a few seconds later as her inebriated partner slapped an arm around her shoulders, giggling insanely. "Senpai, do you think Mistuh V-Vash is okay? I mean, he's been in bed all day..." Her voice was grating on Meryl's nerves. Millie would be catching hell tomorrow, if only she knew how much hell. "Maybe you'd better go up and c-comfort him." Millie hiccuped loudly and grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Oops, I wasn't s'posed to say that out loud, was I?" She hiccuped again, drawing the attention of the entire bar.

"Millie, please go away." Meryl whispered this at the swaying drunk behind her. Why had she allowed Millie to have 'one little drink,' simply because they couldn't do anything else right now with Mr. Vash bedridden. Why? Why? Why?

"Why, so you can go up and 'comfort him?'" Millie was really, really drunk. This didn't stop everyone from laughing and applauding her partner's wit. Meryl turned crimson, attempting to sink lower on her stool than she could possibly. All she had wanted was to ask Vash about the ship, and to tell both of them about what she might've done... and here she was with a drunk Millie taunting her and Vash too sick to care about lost technologies. Why did things like this always happen to her?

"Millie, go away." She hoped her tone sounded flat and one that you couldn't ignore, but by the sounds of the audience's laughter, it probably didn't turn out that way.

"C'mon, Senpai," Millie wheedled, "Y'know somethin'? He's in the same shape as you. But don't tell him I told you, okay?" Millie was stage whispering confidentially in her ear, "Wanna know why? Cuz I'm not s'posed to know. Wanna know how I know?"

By now Meryl was morbidly curious. Even a very drunk Millie didn't lie very well. "How do you know that he's in the same shape as me?" What on earth did Millie mean by that anyway. The same shape as her? Damn Millie and her ideas of fun... Damn drunks...

"Cuz he talks in his sleep." Meryl jerked up suddenly, throwing Millie off balance. Another man at the bar caught her before she fell, and Meryl stepped off of the stool, helping to steady her.

Talks in his sleep? Wha-? No, Meryl Stryfe, stop that train of thought right there. Good.

Propping Millie up on a barstool, Meryl watched as Millie forgot her conversation and decided to lead the entire room in a rousing rendition of "Friends in Low Places." Now might be a very good time to leave. 'Right,' she thought to herself, 'Leave while Millie's busy, and go check up on Vash. After making sure that Vash hadn't decided to abandon them,' which Meryl heartily doubted. Even that man couldn't fake being as sick as she'd seen him earlier that day. 'So, after making sure he was still there, come back downstairs and retrieve her erstwhile partner from her drinking buddies. Damn Millie and her hobbies.'

Meryl climbed the stairs wearily, reaching the top just as Millie hit the chorus. Cringing at her singing, Meryl knocked quietly on Vash's door. No answer. Turning the knob slowly, Meryl peeked in the room. There Vash was on the bed, asleep.

------------------------------

The room was colder than the rest of the ship, a small tribute to the ice haven that lay just beyond the window Vash was looking through. So many...

"Whatcha doing?" A voice to the side broke the silence, the voice both familiar and foreign. It was an odd combination that Vash never fully understood, but then Knives was an enigma to everyone but himself. Not even his twin could fathom his motives at times.

"Rem said that everyone in here had a reason to come on this journey. I was just thinking about what their stories were."

Knives sat down beside Vash, pulling his knees up to his chin, before looking squarely at his brother. "Why do you want to know about them?"

"Because they are alive, and they each have a different story." It seemed to make sense, and Knives nodded at that.

"They all have different stories, yes, but their stories all end the same way."

"How?" Vash thought he knew where this was leading, but he felt like talking, and Knives was better company than none at all.

"They are all mortal. Someday they all die." Knives sighed slightly, watching his breath frost in the air before him. "Do you want your story to end like theirs?"

"What?" Now Vash was confused and a little worried. This was a side of Knives he didn't like seeing.

"Don't look at me like that. It's true, we aren't like them." Knives was impatient, he was attempting to get a point across to Vash and Vash wasn't getting it. "We will always be forced to keep alert, because if we attempt to live as passively as the humans we will die. And then our story will be exactly like theirs." Vash was confused, and Knives saw this confusion. "Why won't you listen to me?"

Their surroundings swirled around them, almost making Vash nauseous with its speed. "B-because you--"

"Killed Rem? Is that it?" Now Knives was angry. "Rem died for you, and now you are going to make her sacrifice worthless by dying on me." He turned to one side, staring at the nothingness that surrounded them. "And the ironic thing in this whole situation is that in dying you will be killing me too. And therefore my sacrifice will be made worthless as well." Laughing bitterly, Knives turned back to Vash, a sneer upon his face. "Don't go quoting scriptures at me if you're not willing to back them up yourself. You've got to live. If you slip any farther into yourself, you'll never find your way out again. If you lose yourself, everyone dies. Wake up. Listen to me this once Vash."

But he couldn't find his way out again. The mist around him covered his brother slowly, and the last thing he saw of Knives was the pleading expression on his face. As the mist itself went black, his last thought was that he had never seen Knives with that expression. Maybe he hadn't been lying. But it was too late.

---------------------------------

Far away from the small hotel where Vash, Meryl, and Millie stayed, a man flexed his hand experimentally. Something in the back of his mind was alternately screaming and fading. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand this, the increasing pressure in his mind. And the odd feelings coming from that traitorous hand... Summing up a focus, he asked the one who would know what was going on.

<Master.> His voice was subservient, it's tone that one of a slave asking a favor of its master. Which he was, in a way.

There was no response, and Legato Bluesummers nearly fainted at the feeling he got from his master's end. Something was wrong here, deathly wrong.

His master's life energy seemed to be escaping his body, leaving behind a husk of what once was Knives Millions.

"Master?" Legato broke the silence with a pained cry, his enemy's arm throbbing with pain as his fingers dug into it. For the first time since he had met Knives, Legato was completely alone, and he had no idea of what to do.

-----------------------------------

Meryl eyed Vash from across the dark room. The shutters were drawn to block out the light of the sunsets, but from what she could see, the man was asleep. Drawn into himself, he almost looked like a child, vulnerable and scared. Smiling slightly at the image, she walked over to him to pull the blanket up over his shoulders.

Upon reaching the bed she realized that something was wrong. A faint metallic tang hung in the air. Copper. Ducking down to Vash's level, she brushed the hair back from his face. A dark shadow hung across the pillow, and her fingers touched a faint slick liquid by his ear. Almost running over to the windows, she lifted a shade to light the room. Looking at her fingers, she saw that they were coated in a dark liquid, it's shade impossible to determine in the orange light of the twin suns. Rushing back to his bed, she tilted his head back up. It swung limply to one side to reveal crusted tracks of blood leading from his ears, nostrils, and from the corner of his mouth down to stain the pillow below.

"Vash?!" She was panicking, but she didn't care anymore. Was he alive? Holding the back of his head with one hand, she ignored what probably was dried blood matting his hair, and checked for a pulse. So much blood. It was everywhere, made worse by the fact that she couldn't see it clearly in this light. She could taste copper in the air. Was he dead? No pulse. No, there was a pulse... it was very faint though. What was going on? What was happening? Hugging Vash's face to her, she screamed for help as loudly as she could.

She felt more helpless than she had felt in a long time. All around her there were sounds. The strains of music coming from the bar. The sounds of her own harsh breathing. A faint whistling wheeze that was Vash. Twin heartbeats, one pounding and one almost non-existant. The sounds of people running up the stairs. People's fists beating on the door. And one that outlasted them all, her screams for help.

---------------------------------

"Vash," the woman glared at him accusingly, "Go. Now." Her hair danced behind her in a wind he couldn't feel.

"Rem? I can't. I can't find my way back." Vash's voice was hesitant. "The path is gone."

"Knives can help. Work together, Vash. Do it for me." Her voice, the same one that had comforted him in dreams so many times before, stopped any further argument. And then, she was gone. However, the dark had faded slightly.

Vash smiled hopefully. He could see the mist again, and that was a start.

----------------------------------

Author's note: I think I'm on crack. If this makes no sense, it's cuz this chapter was written at four o'clock in the morning... on a school day. I'll look over it sometime tomorrow and decide if I left any major points out, so if it's completely nonsensical... don't worry, I'll change it later.