High Speed Romance: Part Four- Last Resort

[bekka_mouri_hibiki]

Here's some more of the clean version of HSR. Enjoy!






































High Speed Romance
By Bekka Mouri-Hibiki

(Trigun doesn?t belong to me and I am only writing this for fun as well as funny looks from my friends so please don?t sue me. The only thing I noticed missing from Trigun was something of a tradition in anime? A hot springs episode!)

Part Four: The Last Resort (Not like that?)

Wolfwood sighed as he looked at the map while everyone else stretched. They weren?t sure how many hours they had been in the car but they would be in some real trouble if they didn?t find a fuel stop. Vash walked up behind him and leaned down, ? So where are we? ?

? About 150 iles from the border of Southern Cornelia, ? Wolfwood muttered and noticed a rather rank odor. ? Is THAT stink coming off of YOU? ?

Vash backed up pinching his nose, ? You don?t smell any better! ?

? None of us smell good, ? Meryl grumbled. ? Jack didn?t give us a chance to shower before he kicked us out. ?

Wolfwood looked at the map, ? There is one more town before we get into the deserted part of Southern Cornelia. We?re stopping and we?re going to find somewhere where we can get a bath. ?

Vash looked at the map without getting too close to Wolfwood, ? Oh yeah! I know which town that is! They call it Warm Springs because there?s two water veins that run through there. No one knows why but one vein is cold water and the other is hot. ?

? Yeah, I heard about that place once, ? Wolfwood said. ? They charge people to bathe in the hot water because it has some sort of therapeutic quality to it. ?

? But isn?t a waste of water? ? Meryl looked at Vash and Wolfwood. ? Why don?t they just cool the hot water so they have more water for drinking? ?

? The hot water is undrinkable, ? Vash said. ? It smells like rotten eggs but the smell doesn?t stick to you. ?

? Oh. Then why don?t they purify it? ? Meryl asked.

Vash shook his head, ? They tried once. There?s so much sulfur in the water, it destroys all of the current purification machines so they gave up. Besides, the town?s main business is from that spring and they would be foolish to do anything to it. It?s how they pay for the plant energy they get wired in from this city, ? Vash pointed to another city that was northwest of Warm Springs.

? Then it is settled, ? Wolfwood said. ? We?re going to Warm Springs! ?

**

Wolfwood pulled into the first fuel station he saw and shut the car off. As far as anyone could see, the town was empty. Wolfwood turned around in his seat and looked at Vash. ? Is there something you forgot to mention, needle noggin? ?

Vash thought for a moment and shook his head. ? This place was still up and running the last time I came through this region. ?

? Do you think the disappearances have spread into this region Mr. Vash? ? Milly asked quietly, her voice quiet and sounding a little worried.

Wolfwood narrowed his eyes at Vash, ? When exactly was the last time you were here? ?

Vash scratched the side of his head and thought. ? Hmmm. I guess it was the last time I went to see Max. ?

? Which was when, needle noggin? ? Wolfwood waved his hand in an ?out-with-it? type motion.

Vash bowed his head, ? Ten deer in the snow? ? He muttered under his breath after he bowed his head.

Wolfwood exchanged glances with the girls and looked at Vash, ? Come again? ?

? Ten gears run slow, ? Vash muttered something even more incoherent.

Wolfwood was starting to get frustrated so he reached into his jacket. Vash glanced up as the black haired priest grabbed something from inside and Vash feared the worst. ? Okay! It?s been ten years or so! ? He blurted out as Wolfwood extracted a cigarette.

Wolfwood held the cigarette between his fingers so tight; the tobacco was falling out of one end. He growled and crumpled what was left in his hand. ? Now I know where I heard the name of the town before. I didn?t want to say anything before because I was afraid of being wrong. ?

? Where have you heard the name before? ? Meryl asked. A vein in her forehead was starting to throb in the same manner it always did when she was about to hit Vash.

? This town shut down about seven years ago. People stopped coming out here so the town dried up and everyone left. Now, what are we going to do? ? Wolfwood said, reaching into his jacket for another cigarette.

Meryl growled, ? I don?t know but I?m certain if we don?t find a place to bathe, we?re going to kill ourselves with the stink. ?

? Amen to that, ? Wolfwood muttered as he lit the cigarette.

Vash looked at the pump, ? Do you think there might be some fuel left? ?

Wolfwood took a long drag off of the cigarette. He exhaled the smoke away from the others and shook his head. ? If there is any left, it?s probably turned into something that is useless to us. ?

? Maybe the spring is still here, ? Vash offered.

Wolfwood started the car and got back on the main road, ? It?s worth a shot? ? He sighed. He had drove for about five minutes when a rather large building came into view. The sign was faded but still readable. It said ?Warm Spring?s Famous Bath?.

Vash smelled the air and frowned. ? I don?t smell any sulfur. ?

? That isn?t a good sign, ? Wolfwood muttered as he stopped the car in front of the building. ? Let?s check the place out anyway. It?s going to be getting dark soon and we can use it for our camp. ?

? That?s a very good idea, ? Meryl said as Wolfwood got out of the car and pushed his seat forward so Meryl could get out. Milly got out on her side but Vash had already jumped out of the back and was looking up at the building.

? Has it really been seven years? ? He asked out loud.

Wolfwood nodded, ? Yeah. I think so. ?

Vash looked over his shoulder at the girls, ? You two stay out here while Wolfwood and I check the place out. I want to make sure it is safe before we go inside. ?

? Okay, ? Meryl said. ? But if you aren?t back out here in a reasonable amount of time, we?re coming in after you. ?

? Sounds fair. Here, ? Vash got his watch from his coat and threw it at Meryl. She caught it before it hit her in the face and glared at him. ? Give us about thirty minutes. ?

? Will that be enough time? ? Wolfwood arched an eyebrow.

? Yeah, ? Vash waved his hand. ? It will be more than enough time. ?

Meryl opened the watch and nodded, ? Okay. I?ll start counting the second you go through the door. ?

Vash nodded and went to the door, pushing it open. Wolfwood followed and Meryl started watching the time.

**

The place looked untouched, a thick layer of dust covered everything and Vash sneezed. ? Wow. I guess it has been a while. ?

Wolfwood looked around the hollow entryway of the former resort, ? I keep telling you it has been. It looks like the place was stripped of everything when the townspeople moved out. ?

Vash nodded, ? I came here once. There used to be couches along all of the walls and a quartz chandelier right over there, ? He pointed towards a staircase that went up and split in two directions. ? It was really beautiful. ?

? So you know your way around here? ? Wolfwood asked.

Vash nodded, ? Yeah. That?s why I said thirty minutes would be more than enough time. We just need to make sure the place is empty and no one is waiting to ambush us. ?

? There are some days I wonder just how many times you were dropped on your head as kid, ? Wolfwood muttered.

? Hey! ? Vash whined sounding a little wounded.

? Let?s just check the place out, okay? ? Wolfwood walked to the stairs. ? I?ll go left and you go right. ?

Vash walked to the stairs, ? Sounds good to me. We?ll meet right back here after we?ve checked the rooms. ?

? Do you remember how many there are? ? Wolfwood asked as they started to walk up the stairs.

Vash thought for a moment, ? If I remember correctly the left side had fifty rooms because it was added on when this place was really popular and the right side only has twenty five because it was built first. ?

Wolfwood stopped as Vash continued to walk, ? What the hell did you just say? ?

? I didn?t stutter, ? Vash smiled over his shoulder at Wolfwood. ? Besides, you?re the one who chose the left. Now, what was that about being dropped on one?s head as a kid? ?

? You?re going down, needle noggin! ? Wolfwood growled and ran up the stairs after Vash. He almost caught him but tripped on a step. He caught himself on the handrails but Vash got too much of lead on him so he gave up and went to the side he had chosen.

? Rotten needle noggin, ? He muttered as he got a cigarette out of his jacket.

**

Meryl looked at the watch and tapped her foot. ? How much longer, Meryl? ? Milly asked. The younger agent was sitting on the back bumper of the car with her elbows on her knees and was getting antsy. She wanted a bath and something to eat.

? Three minutes, ? Meryl clicked the watch closed, ? But I?m getting uneasy so I?m going in. ?

She had just stepped away from the car when Vash and Wolfwood appeared in the doorway. Wolfwood looked a little exhausted and like he was going to strangle Vash. ? The place is empty, ? Vash said with a smile.

? Did you check to see if the spring is still active? ? Meryl asked, an edge of hope to her voice.

Vash nodded, ? It looks like they didn?t bother to plug it up when they shut the place down. ?

? So it?s been running for the last seven years? ? Milly asked, standing up. She shuddered at the thought of all the wasted water. Even if it was undrinkable, it was still a crime to waste it.

Vash nodded again, ? But the water cycles back down into the spring from the baths. ?

Meryl?s lip twitched and she took a step back, ? Gross! There?s no telling what could be in it now! ?

Vash put a hand up, ? It?s clean. ?

? I thought you said it broke the machines! ? Meryl said, her voice getting louder.

? Yes but you never asked about the natural filtering it goes through when it returns to the spring. There are several layers of rock the water had to go through before it gets back to the spring and those rocks clean the water as it goes through, ? Vash explained.

Meryl blinked, ? Oh. Then that?s different. ?

? It?s probably the cleanest it?s ever been. When I came here the last time, the whole town stank like rotten eggs but now just the bathing chambers that smell, ? Vash smiled.

? I suggest that we go in and get settled before the suns go down, ? Wolfwood said firmly. ? Since the place doesn?t get any power, we better get everything taken care of as soon as possible. ?

Vash waved his hand, ? That won?t be a problem. Didn?t you see all the candles? We can just light those and the last one who goes to bed can put them out. ?

? Yeah, that?s about the only thing left in there. The place is bare; ? Wolfwood jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

Meryl held Vash?s watch out to him, ? Can we just go inside or are we going to stand out here all night? ?

Wolfwood and Vash stepped aside and let the ladies in. Wolfwood patted Milly?s rear as she walked by but no one noticed except for her. She gasped and Meryl looked at her. ? Are you okay? ?

Milly faked a sneeze that sounded like the gasp she had made, ? There?s so much dust! ? She said and faked another sneeze, her hand going to her nose.

Meryl really sneezed and she rubbed her nose, ? We?ll just have to deal with it. This will beat sleeping in a cave. ?