Meryl Stryfe--Prologue

[Lady Zeia]

Okay...Ahem...Well, I decided I'd give this ficlet idea a try here. Tell me what you think, okay?

Title: Meryl Stryfe
Rating: PG-13-ish
Summary: Meryl ponders on Vash a year after he's left...praying and praying that he'll come back. After he had wormed his way into her heart, why wouldn't she? Will he come back? Will she tell him her feelings? And will he accept them?
Spoilers: Er...Yeah, you'll have wanted to know just about each and every one of them...^^o
Disclaimer: If I owned Trigun...Well, 'nuff said.

***

Prologue






























Finally, at long last, we had caught up with Vash the Stampede! He was standing there, his henchmen surrounding him, huge weapon glistening in the suns of the planet Gunsmoke.


"We?re going in," I said softly to Milly, but my voice was firm as I kept my eyes on the criminals.


"Right." Nodding, she cast a determined smile towards the small group.


As we climbed off our Thomases, I could see a man that looked to be around his late twenties and early thirties tied and shoved up against one of the cliff faces. He was whimpering, blond hair sticking up in a way that defied all laws of gravity, green eyes watery. But he blinked twice when he saw us, raising his head, a puzzled, yet hopeful expression on his face.


So they?ve already got innocent people? Mmm. Work?s not going to like this. And neither are the bounty hunters. And to think: We?ve got to work in this environment as long as we have Vash the Stampede under twenty-four hour surveillance.


It was when I was halfway there that I began to grow nervous. After all, who wouldn?t be in the presence of a man with sixty double billion dollars on his head? I was shaking from head to foot, I knew, and my steps were labored as I swung my arms back and forth to steady myself; that and the fact that Milly was hiding behind me, gently pushing me along.


A big girl hiding behind a small one. Interesting.


Vash the Stampede snarled, "Now what do you want?" He had a green Mohawk, just like all the rumors said, with an earring dangling from his left ear. He was tall, fairly huge, and had short legs.


"I?m very p-pleased to meet you!" I swallowed, but it did no good. I knew my blue eyes were wide and filled with fright. This was shameful on my pride. "My name is Meryl. I?m Meryl Stryfe and I?m here representing the Bernardeli Insurance Society." I licked my chapped lips.


Milly was whimpering behind me. "And I?m Milly Thompson!"


"This. . .Uh. . .Is a small token of our good will!" I said quickly, withdrawing a box of donuts from my vest and holding it out in front of me. I beamed a smile.


"Nice goin?, Meryl!" Milly whispered, giving me thumbs up.


Vash was unmoved. "What are you doing here?" he growled. "Are you here with him?"


Confused, I looked to the side to see the blond.


"Aheheheh." He laughed nervously, giving a sheepish grin.


Raising an eyebrow, I looked back to Vash. "Actually, not at all! We were sent here on behalf of the Bernardeli Insurance Society to investigate a report?"


A bullet shot sounded, and Milly and I winced, cowering.


Vash looked up with his henchmen. "What!?"


A man with long blond hair and a mustache stood on the cliff wall, chuckling, gun raised. "I finally found you. It?s the sixty billion double dollar bank bounty." He smirked. "Mr. Vash the Stampede."


"Huh." Vash grunted.


"Huh?" Milly and I chorused.


"Eh?" the blond man quipped.


"My name is Ruth Loose," the man introduced himself. "I?m a bounty hunter, and some people know me as ?Constance Rifle.?" He tipped his hat up. "Mr. Vash the Stampede. Time you know that I?m here for the price on your head."


"What?s that!?" Vash demanded.


"Well, Meryl?" Milly whispered.


"This looks bad." I gulped.


The blond man narrowed his eyes, speaking in a loud voice to draw our attention, "Uh, did I miss something?"


Ruth?s grin was unnerving. "Mr. Vash the Stampede?it?s a privilege to meet you. Your face is starting to look like it belongs on the double dollar. You really can?t blame me for coming after you now. Since your head is worth sixty billion."


"What?ll we do, Meryl?" Milly asked in a shaky voice, hands tightening their grip on my shoulders.


"I think it?s pretty obvious! We?ve gotta stop them!" What was I saying? Was I really going to step in the way of a bounty hunter and the Humanoid Typhoon? I must have been out of my mind!


Vash was speaking again, causing us to jump. "So, did you say your name was Ruth?"


"Uh, could you excuse me!?" I asked rather loudly.


Vash completely ignored me, which caused my temper to spark a bit despite the fear I was feeling. "Well, I?m glad to see you enjoy your work, Mr. Ruth, but I?m afraid that you?re just a little bit late."


I sighed, gritting my teeth. "Please listen to me!" Could I not do anything at all to grab their attention?


Ruth smirked. "Me late? I don?t reckon so." He raised his gun.


"Ugh!" Vash yelled. "You asshole! What the hell do you think you?re aiming at!?"


"Just a sixty billion double dollar skull, that?s all," Ruth replied casually.


"Don?t be a moron!"


One of Vash?s henchmen began to laugh. "You think the Boss is Vash? Where?d the hell did you get that idea?"


Milly and I exchanged puzzled glances.


"I ain?t fool enough to listen to some lame henchman. Sorry, joke?s over, and I ain?t laughin?." Ruth?s eyes narrowed.


Vash closed his eyes, shaking his head. "This is just stupid. Quit wasting my time. Get the hell?"


"Don?t move," Ruth growled. "You?re dressed in a red coat, you?ve got earrings, your legs are short?I?m convinced you are Vash the Stampede!"


"You?re out of your mind!" Vash cried. "Vash is a blond-haired man with a red coat and carries a great, big handgun, okay!?"


I shook my head, refusing to believe this. "No he isn?t! Vash the Stampede is a giant man with a really huge weapon and a Mohawk!"


Milly frowned. "That?s awfully strange."


The blond man tied down frowned.


I nodded, ignoring him for the time being?cornering Vash the Stampede was more important. "Yeah, the rumors don?t match," I agreed.


"What?ll we do now?" Milly questioned.


"?What?ll we do now??" I repeated. "We have no choice but to believe what we heard!"


"But Meryl?"


Vash was talking again. "You?re all crazy! I?m not Vash!"


The wind whipped Ruth?s coat back, revealing red velvet as the material within.


"Hey, Boss!" the henchman cried. "Look!" He nodded towards Ruth.


"The Feds will pay sixty double billion dollars for Vash the Stampede?dead or alive. So it?s your choice, friend," Ruth told him. "I?d be happy to kill you now, if you like."


Vash grinned, bowing his head in thought. "So he?s blond, has a red coat, a big gun." He chuckled. "I get it. You?re trying to get the jump on me, aren?t?cha. . .? Vash the Stampede!" He withdrew his weapon.


"What?d he say?" Ruth questioned, blinking incredulously, momentarily lowering weapon.


Milly and I were once again left in the dark.


"You even came up with that stupid fake name! Nice touch!"


"Huh? Now wait a minute." Milly?s eyes narrowed as she looked up at Ruth.


"He is definitely the real thing. Let?s get him!"


"Hm, well, I?ll be. So this is how he stayed alive this long." Ruth raised his weapon.


And as he shot off rounds at the criminal, Milly and I cowered in fear. What was going on here!?


"I?m really scared!" Milly cried, trembling. "The Humanoid Typhoon is on the loose! What?ll we do, Meryl!?"


I strengthened my resolve?if anything, I had to be the strong rock against the tidal waves of disaster. "What?ll we do!?" I was already running for my Thomas, Milly right behind me. "Duh! We run away, that?s what!"

I sighed, looking up at the starlit sky through the bedroom window as I hugged myself. Memories of the Humanoid Typhoon were coming back to me like they did every night, teasing, taunting, making me want to cry.


And I had believed I was strong.


It was funny how we had first met. Vash was chomping down on our donuts that we had reserved for him in actuality, but at the time I hadn?t believed it was truly him. He was such a dork, such a dense-head, a pervert who chased anything with a skirt?or at least that?s what I thought at first. . .Until I got to know the real Vash the Stampede. The man who was hurting deep down, the man who rarely showed his true emotions, hiding them all behind a mask of goofiness.


But Vash, I thought, sniffling, bowing my head and squeezing my eyes shut. That wasn?t really you. Deep down, you were all alone, and yet I mistook you for someone who needed to grow up. But in fact you were grown up?grown up so much that it hurts to see the faraway look in your eyes when you?re thinking about the past.

I remembered the incident after Vash had killed Legato to save Milly and I. The feelings of anxiety, waiting all those days for him to wake up, still crowd in on me sometimes, when I?m least expecting it. After all, Vash wouldn?t hurt a fly?until Legato came along.


Haunting, demonic yellow eyes, raven black hair that fell over his forehead and left most of his face in shadows?Legato Bluesummers.


You tortured him, I thought bitterly. I can?t help but feel glad you?re gone.

Vash had been really wounded. I had had to dress his wounds every day just to keep the blood in?and I got my fair share of seeing his scars. They were inhuman, ghastly, and yet fascinating all at once. This was where the real Vash lay?this was where you got to see the torture that he had been put through.



I walked into the room, carrying my bag of groceries, and looked up?to find him staring back at me, aqua-green eyes wide and haunted.


It was like a freeze in time as we stayed that way, neither of us moving, neither of us breathing. Vash had his hand outstretched before him, and his shoulders were slumped. His skin was pale from days of not being out in the sun, and shadows lurked under his eyes despite all the sleep he had gotten. Had nightmares plagued his dreams? I couldn?t help but wonder.


Finally, I put on a warm smile, exclaiming in a cheery voice, "Oh, you?re awake!" I knew I wasn?t fooling anyone, but I just had to get rid of the chill of depression that had fell upon the room as soon as I had entered. "Well, already an improvement!"


Vash watched me as I hurried over to the stove where I had homemade soup boiling and ready.

"I was really worried about you! You must be hungry!" I sat my bag down on the small table in the room, then moved to lift the lid off the pot. "I fixed you some soup!"


"W-Where are we?" he questioned.


I stiffened, then forced myself to swallow. His voice was hallow, yet filled with confusion and the same anxiety I was experiencing as the minutes dragged on.


I forced myself to relax.


"It?s a small village." I cleared my throat lightly. "About two hundred Iles from the town of LR." I poured some soup with a large spoon into the bowl I had grabbed. "A lot of kind people living in this town. They let us stay at this house so we could care for your wounds." I paused, then turned around slowly. "Do you remember anything?" I offered a small smile. "You?ve been asleep since we arrived?for ten days straight now!"


He was still silent, continuing to watch me.


I swallowed nervously, my smile wavering, then forced it back and placed the soup beside him on the bed. "Here. It?s my own recipe." He took it, staring into its murky contents. "Drink up! It?s good for healing."


Again, silence.


"I. . .remember," Vash said softly.


My eyes widened a little as a sickening feeling swamped over me.


Vash swallowed. "I remember all of it." He shook his head, wisps of his blond hair moving back and forth lightly.


I remained frozen. I couldn?t move, I couldn?t breathe, I couldn?t seem to think straight. He remembered. . .all of it. . .And. . .I couldn?t help but feel empty knowing that. . .


Tears burned at the back of my eyes, snapping me back into the present.


"Oh! Hey!" I clasped my hands together. He looked up, startled. "I forgot! I need to be somewhere! I better hurry! I?ll be back later, ?kay?" I was already halfway to the door.


I needed to get out of there. I felt so smothered.


"Cya!"


I could feel his eyes boring into my back as I left. I paused halfway through the door, casting him a merry smile. "Make sure you drink up all your soup, okay?"

Slowly, I closed the door, then let out a weary sigh and leaned back against it. I bowed my head, bangs falling over my eyes as I sniffled, swallowing at the growing lump in my throat.


"Oh, Vash," I whispered.


I gasped as all at once sobs reached my ears, muffled at first, then growing louder and louder until they were all out screams of agony. Part of me wanted to go run back in there and comfort him until he was calm again, but then the other half was frightened and paralyzed.


I clamped my hands over my ears, clenching my teeth.

It had been horrible?sitting there listening to him cry. Later, once he had fallen asleep, I had gone back in there, placing a damp cloth over his head, watching him silently. He had looked so peaceful, aqua-green eyes closed as he slumbered, yet even while he dreamed, pain was visible on his features. I remember gingerly touching his jawbone, running a finger down it slowly, lightly as his face contorted into a look of horror. He had stirred, then his breathing had evened and he had relaxed.


I didn?t trust myself to go back in there the next night, or the one after that. I didn?t trust myself to go back in there again at all.


When Milly had tried to convince me to tell the man of my feelings, I had at first denied it all. Then, as the days progressed, I couldn?t help but feel that she was right. I indeed felt something for the man that had supposedly killed innocent, harmless people, and it was deeper than just liking him beyond the bounds of friendship.


But when he had left that day, left that day to go out and find his brother, Knives, I couldn?t force myself to move my feet to run after him, to stop him, to shout out my feelings and hug him and cry until the tears wouldn?t come anymore. When I had finally found the courage, Milly had interrupted, and then it all faltered. Vash possibly couldn?t feel the same way for me. . .could he? He was a plant, he was over one hundred and thirty-one years old. . .Even if we did get together, I?d grow old and die before even half his lifetime was finished.


After Vash left, I was left with nothing but sorrow. I?m still left with nothing but sorrow, as he hasn?t returned.


"Well, you can tell him when he gets back!" Milly?s optimistic voice came ringing back in my mind. "You can go nuts on him!"


I sniffled, tugging my blanket around me tighter, choking out, "I don?t think it?s that easy, Milly. He hasn?t shown up for nearly a year now."


"Meryl! You up here!?" Milly cried, and I could hear her footsteps climbing up the staircase to our temporary home.


"I?m fine. I. . .I just need to be alone for a while!" I called back, swallowing. That was an understatement.


I knew Milly hated it when I shut her out like this, but I couldn?t help but?I just couldn?t bring myself to talk to anyone. I felt an empty void inside of me, and it wouldn?t be leaving anytime soon. . .I don?t even know if it will leave once Vash comes back.


If Vash comes back. . .


I shook my head furiously, clutching the sides of it, squeezing my eyes shut. NO! I won?t think this way! Vash is coming back! Vash will come back! Tears began to leak slowly down my cheeks. He will! I could feel my entire body shaking with my sobs that racked through it. God damn it, he will!


*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, insurance girls! I?m home!"


I turned my head around slowly, smiling, then ran forward and into his arms?only to fall to the floor as he vanished.


I woke up with a start, sweat bathing my body, hair damp and clinging to my head. My breath was coming out in short, uneven rasps, and I placed a hand to my heart, forcing myself to calm down.


But it didn?t matter.


Slowly, I bent over, hugging myself, sobbing.


I fell back to sleep that way, but it was uneasy, and I didn?t really get any rest at all.

*~*~*

Ahem, well, that's it for the prologue...Please tell me what you guys think, okay!? ^^

[Lara Winner]

Wow, I'm impressed.

Awesome character development. This seriously felt like I was watching a Trigun episode. I'm certainly interested where this goes because I'm just a sucker for Merly and Vash. I'll be looking for the rest!

[athena]

I totally agree with Lara...I haven't seen the whole series..yet! But I really liked how you did the flashbacks and commentary. Its nice to know what the characters are thinking!

I can't wait for the next chapter!! This is a great idea for a story. Happy ending, please? *big watery eyes*

[aku_ryo]

oh geeez so sad!!!!

akuuuuu

[TigerQueen]

*clears throat*

YOU AREGOING TO CONTINUE THIS, RIGHT?

Sorry if it sounds like I'm ranting...I just really love the way you've set this up. We don't have nearly enough Trigun fics, and you have such an awesome grasp of Meryl's psyche. I've seen the whole series...repeatedly ...and I'm desperate to see something happen between these two! There are far too many Vash/Wolfwood ( ) fics out there...

Lovely start, but where's the rest? *whimper whimper*

I had to go back and read it again...I wish I could offer constructive criticism, but there isn't any to give! Beginning with the confused "introduction" was an especially nice touch -- I like the way that it shows Meryl's hidden self-doubt and feelings of overwhelming responsibility without turning her into a whiny mess. It makes her final partial breakdown even more cutting.

I gasped as all at once sobs reached my ears, muffled at first, then growing louder and louder until they were all out screams of agony. Part of me wanted to go run back in there and comfort him until he was calm again, but then the other half was frightened and paralyzed.


I clamped my hands over my ears, clenching my teeth.

I especially like this moment -- it's so much more real than it would have been had Meryl gone back inside his room. She's so young (I see her as being about 23 or 24) to have so much pressure, and to have a 130+ year-old break down...oi. Perfect and frustrating at the same time.

I'll leave you with one final plea...please, please, PLEASE CONTINUE!!! -- TQ

[Kanya Barton]

*clears throat*

There are far too many Vash/Wolfwood ( ) fics out there...

:eek: I haven't seen any of those...but if I did...God why are there sickos like that in our world?! WHY??!! They already ruined Gundam Wing with all those guy-guy relationships...my mom is still convinced that I'm reading fics with gay guys in it because she accidentally passed a site that I accidentally clicked on a few years back... These sick perverts have RUINED my life!
Peace out!