-----Gossamer Wings and Sweet Tasting Things-----
---A Trigun Fanfiction---

 

-----DISCLAIMER-----

... I'm taking this disclaimer thing too far.
If I repeat myself once more...
**twitches**


 

-----AUTHOR'S NOTES-----

Lynda: Mwaaaa~

Kuroneko: Mya!

Lynda: Ahem...
Naito Tenshi: Waaaa!!! ;_; Fanart? ;__; I'd simply adore to see it!
Verthril: And that was a muchly Cool Start on your ficcie!! People! Try out "Of Angels, Cigarettes and Technical Difficulties"! Apparently my humble little fanfiction inspired it! THE FAME! ;_;
Almaseti: **holds up hands** >:D I won't stop writing! Not when I'm so close to the finish line!! Mwaaaa concluuuusion....
Miss Eriks: I knooow... Hardly any Wolfwood and Meryl, or Vash and Milly interaction at all! I thought it might be a challenge. ^^;;

Speaking of which... I MUST CONTINUE!! BWA HA AH!!!

 

-----*+*-----

 

Milly had always stuck by Big Big Sister's philosophy that there's "always a little bit of good in everyone"... But even her Sempai, who had a tendency to blindly assume everyone was being sensibly pleasant, would've been able to tell that the person in front of them was Not A Nice Person. He didn't have a nice smile like Wolfwood, he didn't have nice words like Vash and nor did he have nice eyes like Meryl.

His golden stare was scary and empty.

Milly used to know a boy who lived 3 houses down from her family and he wasn't very nice at all, either. But his eyes had been filled with lots of emotions; all muddled up. And that meant he was Confused, so it was only fair that she had always shared her toys with him when she was little. But this new man didn't seem to have anything at all.
It was like staring into the empty eye sockets of a skull.

And if her judgement of his character wasn't enough, one of the things that worried Milly most of all was the fear and dislike Vash was showing toward the blue haired man.

'Legato...' the blonde managed in a shaky voice. 'How- I defeated y- you should be-...' The new man with the empty eyes smiled. And that was even more frightening than his gaze.

'I am ashamed to admit to such a misjudgement on my behalf,' he said, 'but fortunately my detainment wasn't permanent. I should not have underestimated you.' Vash grimaced.

'I sent you back down to-' he tried, only to be cut off.

'I escaped.' the other man said simply, smiling. 'Is it not ironic that the same system that gave me wings then stripped them from me is the same system that renewed my existence to a more fitting iniquity?' Legato added in query, not bothering to hide his amusement. His smile tweaked suddenly into a broader version and he continued with, 'Considering my multiple ressurections, I'm beginning to believe in immortality.' 

When Vash was trying to think of something to say, the person called "Legato" turned to stare at Milly. She swallowed.

'What have you done to Sempai and Mr. Wolfwood?' she asked. Vash seemed too confused and worried to be able to ask, so Milly decided she had better do so. There must've been a reason why her Sempai's Angel was fretting so, but in situations like these, it was always best to focus on what was most important. And at the moment, Milly knew that she must find out where Sempai and Mr. Wolfwood had gotten to. Goodness knows the pair of them would be getting into all sorts of troubles.
But Legato smiled again and this in turn made Milly frown. People's safety shouldn't be laughed at, and this man was finding her worry funny.

'They'll be dispatched soon enough.' he said in a strange tone of voice. 'Chapel might be alive, but the human won't last long.'

'If you touch one hair on either of their heads...' Vash threatened, and Milly could see the panic in his eyes.

'You know I won't.' Legato replied evenly. 'But I cannot vouch for the 5 Demons I sent to claim them.'
There was laughter in those eyes again, but his eyes made it odd; like what a shattered mirror does to someone's reflection. While Vash seemed to be struggling with his temper, the golden eyed man continued.

'I really tire of reminding you.' he said. 'That the Master is waiting. Your resistance is really quite intolerable.' 

The pause went on for far too long. Vash had his lower lip caught between his teeth as he thought and Milly could see him battling for a decision. She wondered what options he was weighing... Then immediately wished that her Sempai was here. When it came to options, Sempai always knew what to do.
After a rather long pause, the blue haired man spoke again. 

'Do I need to give you an incentive?' Legato asked. Vash glared back. The look was so frightening that Milly felt she had to speak up.

'Mr. Vash?' she managed, a tiny smile that sought reassurance quirking her tight lips. But no reply graced the tense moment. In fact, both Legato and Vash were staring at each other, expressions melding into something new every few moments to give the impression that a secret conversation was being shared.
After an unhealthy length of time, the golden eyed Demon let a smirk tug at the languid corners of his mouth.

'I'll ask again. What could I do to pursuade you?'

When silence met him, his single visible eye began to gently slide close... Then it sprung open wide, blurred.

Milly choked on the out cry that had lodged in her throat.

'DON'T!' Vash blurted instantly, stance widened and one arm swept wide in panicked gesticulation. 

His voice was very far away.

Milly was vaguely aware of more shouts on the Winger's behalf, but it was all from behind the buzzing in her ears. The buzzing was drowning out everything. Everything but the pain. That was near a resonance all on it's own; twanging and tearing across the strings of muscles to wring tortured notes from them.
But, eventually, the buzzing ebbed... 
Then sprung instantly into a searing roar of blood when her arm, the one that had been writhing twisted behind her back, jerked and forced itself from it's own shoulder socket. The wet crack and pop was the only sound that survived the internal tidal wave.

That, and the soft laugh of Legato Bluesummers.

It hurt. Milly felt agony and panic seize her thumping heart as blood began pumping against the abused flesh of her left shoulder. The panic quickly morphed into terror as she realized after some shock lag time that her arm was jutting skywards at an impossible angle behind her; the twisted nerves making her unresponsive fingertips feel wet in the breeze.
The horror reached her kneecaps and turned them to something akin to jelly. They certainly felt solid enough, though, when Milly fell heavily to her knees on the stone ground. She ignored the pale pain and sank forward.

'-LLY!! MILLY!' Vash's voice drifted into the turmoil; alien and distant.

Her arm was still straight as an arrow, pointing skywards when, by rights, it shouldn't have been past the horizon at that angle. Milly let her sweaty forehead rest against the dusty stone beneath her, her short gasps kicking up more of the sand to stick to her cheeks and chin.
It was wrong. Her arm shouldn't be there. There was something wrong about it being there. It was wrong and it had to go back. The terror pushed her mind to match her pounding pulse; a thought for every shuddering heart beat.

Legato laughed aloud when Milly cried out as she attempted to twist her arm back into it's natural position. The movement caused her already abused tissue to flare up in torment. The agony ceased any more attempts to right the terrifying wrong of her position.

Two cool, strong hands found her waist. Milly was grateful. Any higher and the pain would've been maddening.

'Bastard!' Vash snapped from over her, his tone a muddled mix of fear, rage and stress.

'Does that give you initiative?' Legato asked lightly.

'STOP IT!! Let her go!' Vash demanded.

'I have.' was the calm reply.

'Mr. V-Vash!' Milly stammered, trying to link together syllables despite her gasps. 'M-My arm! It's- It- Sto- M- My arm!' 
No more words would come. But there was a world to understand. Of all her priorities at the current point in time, Milly knew exactly what was first.
Her arm was wrong. She was terrified and it had to be changed back.

The hands on her waist tightened.

'Help her, Vash the Stampede.' Legato said simply, mockingly. The words that followed sent an eerie chill through the hellfire of Milly's pain. 'Resist again and it will be the other arm. Continue to ignore the Master's wishes and it will be her spine.'
Silence met the Demon Bluesummers.

Then, in a soft and soothing voice, Vash whispered in Milly's ear,

'I'm going to pull it back into place, ok? Just hold still...'

Milly attempted a nod, which, due to her forehead still resting against the ground, turned into a small whimper of recognition. 
Then wailed when one hand firmly clutched her twisted shoulder and the other tightened around her elbow. Lights flashed and swirled dizzingly before the blurry eyes of Milly Thompson.
She felt sick.

And her ears were still ringing with laughter.

There's a knee on my back. Milly dimly realized, only a fraction aware of the fact while the rest was concentrating on not passing out.
When the pressure on her spine increased and, with a sharp twist, bone ground it's way back to were it should be, Milly decided she wanted to pass out.

But the hands were cool and firm and they held her there, head to the ground with her unresponsive knees tucked under her.

'Now, which shall it be? Another arm, or submittance?' Legato Bluesummers asked casually. With a grinding of teeth, Milly turned to face him, dust smeared dirtily across her forehead and cheeks.

'D-Don't li-listen Mr. Vash! Whatever he's asking, d-don't do it!' she declared shakily, panting from the pain. She finally relinquished her good hand from the throbbing shoulder then used it to grasp a handful of red coat and in turn used that to pull herself to her feet.
At her words, a small, amused little "hmph" escaped the Demon.

'Such a hasty conclusion.' he mused. 'And in your ignorance, you don't know what you're deciding on.'

'I don't care!' Milly replied loudly, wavering on her feet only to be held firm by a panicked and troubled Humanoid Typhoon. 'It's important to Mr. Vash, and that's all that matters!'

'Intriguing. Are you in such a rush to die?' Legato asked, genuinely interested.

'I- All I know is...' Milly began in a stutter, desperately trying to find words for her feelings. It seemed simple to her, but some people just didn't understand. Trying to describe the concept of "friends first" was, to Milly, like getting a fish to describe the sea.
It came to her with a start that Legato, most obviously, did not have any friends.

With anewed conviction, Milly Thompson raised her stained face to the Demon opposite and declared evenly, 'If it makes it easier for Sempai, Mr. Vash and Mr. Wolfwood, then what happens to me doesn't matter!'

Legato blinked slowly.

'Totally irrational.' he replied simply. 'Easier? Do you think that the irrelevant event of your death will end the suffering of your friends? When things aren't easy enough for them, will they sacrifice their lives for the same purpose? And what of when all the friends are dead, does it get so easy for Vash the Stampede that he no longer has a care in the world?' A smile punctuated the explanation.

Vash strengthened his hold on Milly.

'How could...' Milly whispered, 'You... Even say such things...'

'So naive.' was the amused reply. It was shortly accompanied by a click of the fingers. And, at that, shadows slunk into the corners of the roof-top scene.
It was an art, it is said, to be the "nothing face" of a scene. To be able to blend into the darkness and to disappear... Then sidle back into the picture without barely moving a limb.
Apparently it was a Demon pre-requisite.

'3...' was the only whisper from Vash as the Demons suddenly appeared, clear as day, around them.

'And Caine the Longshot watching over the proceedings.' Legato added lightly, single lazy lidded gaze monitoring his captives for a response. Vash managed in a small exhalation of tension, and Milly felt that poise tightening every joint on his body. She was clutching his mechanical arm desperately, her useless arm tucked under her chest and against her ribs while the other hand clawed at the shredded leather with sweat slicked fingers.
She could tell from his face. She could tell from his position...
They were going to run soon, and she knew she had to be ready.

Slowly, Vash the Stampede reached down and unholstered his gun. The silver glinted in the sunlight as it was raised and the barrel leveled unwavering at Legato Bluesummer's forehead.
The 3 visible Demons all tensed. The first was a tall and very pretty lady to their left; her pistol aimed immediately on the Humanoid Typhoon. The second was a man with a saxaphone, and the third was a small little old man that looked like somebody's grandfather. He simply watched.
The motion of being threatened with a gun made the Demon Legato smile smoothly.

'Do you honestly think I'd let you shoot me?' he asked, twisted mirth weaving through the dulcet tones of his voice.

'No.' Vash replied. He smiled.

Then flicked his wrist to the left and fired.

The woman with the eyepatch managed a small noise of shock as her pistol bucked under the force of the bullet, and to Milly's surprise, the weapon remained in her hand. But that meant the woman had to tighten her grip on the gun... Including the finger poised over the trigger.

The second gunshot came almost immediately after the first, and the differences in calibre muddled the sounds up.

Legato simply didn't have the time to dodge.

Milly cried out when she was tugged into motion again. She was aware of the bullet that had lodged into the ground by their feet, and of the Demons on the roof who were rushing in the direction of the blue haired Demon that was their leader and infinitely aware of the edge of the roof that was looming quite suddenly before them.

Vash the Stampede made no hesitation of pulling them both off of solid ground and into a tight bundled plummet.

 

-----*+*-----

 

Millions Knives took a breath and leant against the ship's main bridge console, letting the blinking buttons lull him into a sense of calm. The last of the commands flicked across the illuminated screen and following that, the distant rumble of mechanics as plant engines rearranged themselves.
If he closed his eyes, if he stopped listening to the mundane thrum of the ship's computer system, the Plant could fool himself into hearing the cogs of fate turn.
Could fool himself into feeling the threads of inevitability tighten, drawing the knot closer to the tangle.

It was one of the harder things to do, Knives reflected, to sit back and wait patiently for his carefully artificed net to sweep up his misled brother and bring him safely home. Because Vash had a tendency to always escape carefully artificed traps; be it bear traps, nets or nooses.
And you never knew what else would be hauled back in.

But, when all is said and done, the metaphorical clockworks had been already set in motion.

All there was to do was to await the hour.

 

-----*+*-----

 

One shaky, amazed hand raised itself to the trail of blood that had snaked it's crimson way down one smooth cheek.
Legato grinned, eyelids flickering.

'Master Legato!' Dominique managed, wavering uselessly before him as Midvalley and Leonof were. None of them felt secure with the notion of actually touching Legato Bluesummers.
Midvalley the Hornfreak, the veteran and possibly the wisest of the group shouldered his instrument and motioned with his chin to the make-shift escape route implemented by the Humanoid Typhoon.

'Your orders? Do we drag them back?' he asked simply.

A chuckle escaped the smile stretched lips of the blue haired Demon.

'No. They have no where else to go but where their friends are. It shouldn't be too difficult to catch up and surround them.' he mused, using a shaking finger to smear his blood from his grazed cheekbone all the way down to his chin.
And his tongue ventured out to slide sensually over the scarlet stain, bringing forth another eerie chuckle of pure, twisted enjoyment.

 

-----*+*-----

 

The fall wasn't all that bad, considering. The number of plummets the 60 Billion Double Dollar man had subjected himself too over his years of bounty-hunter dodging was an amazing achievement in itself... But this time, it was the attraction between gravity and the Milly/Stun-gun duo that was causing some issues.
But, as is usually the case in huddled and compact towns like this one, no end of fire-escapes and clothes lines criss crossed the descent like strands of spider's web.
That didn't mean that Salvation wasn't painful.

Despite the rather bone jarring tumble to ground level, Vash managed to land deftly on his feet. But with the entirety of Milly slung over one shoulder it wasn't too surprising that the touch down was quickly followed by a not so deft stumble backwards into a building. When his back was securely pressed against the stone, the Humanoid Typhoon regained his composure and pushed away down the alley again.

'L-Let me d-down.' Milly stuttered. 'I-It's not so b-bad.'
Not so bad, huh? Did she even see the severity of that dislocation?

'Do you think you can... Walk?' Vash managed despite his suspicions, trying to keep the effort from breaking his voice too much. Milly alone wouldn't be so hard to carry, but the Stun Gun she had perpetually strapped to the inside of her over-coat added to the over all heft. All up, even Vash the Stampede was beginning to fatigue.

'Let me down, Mr. Vash.' Milly repeated, firmer this time. Slowing, the blonde Winger very gently slid his temporary partner from his shoulder and helped her alight on her feet. When she was steady, she immediately turned around and began shuffling back in the direction they came.

'Wh-Where are you going?!' Vash stuttered, running back to her and wringing his hands uselessly in front of him. Grabbing an elbow to turn her back the way he had intended to go would be a pretty cruel thing to do in her condition. So instead he tried to make his anxiety known by fretting quite visibly beside her.
Milly pointedly ignored him and continued to stumble down the alleyway, determination etched on her smudged face.

'We're going to find a way to the roof, Mr. Vash.' she replied evenly, words, despite the hitching induced by pain, slowly spoken as if to a child.

'Legato's on the roof!' the blonde Winger blurted. He motioned frantically in the general direction of the evil Demon to be sure she understood this rather important factor.

'But so will Mr. Wolfwood and Sempai! And the sooner we all get back together, the sooner we can escape.' was the short reply.

'How do you know they'll be on the roof?!'

'That's just what Mr. Wolfwood would do.' Milly declared simply. She stopped when she had reached a house door, then carefully peered through the open door. And thereafter promptly entered. Vash followed out of stunned berwilderment.

Milly stumbled through the busy and crammed kitchen, ignoring the owlish looks she was getting from the resident cooks, and shuffled through the swinging doors to the lounge of the restaurant they had stumbled into. Without pause, she immediately turned right and headed resolutely up the stairs with her limp arm cradled possessively to her stomach and a flustered Outlaw trailing behind her.

'J-Just browsing! Don't mind us!' Vash called weakly to the plathora of angry chefs that had finally managed to come to terms with the intrusion and were in the process of doing something about it. They had spilled out of the kitchen like red-faced demons, shouting amongst themselves and standing menacingly at the bottom of the stair well with an assortment of steaming woks, rolling pins and cleavers wavering dangerously in the air.
Swallowing thickly, the Humanoid Typhoon waved at them again then turned and bustled the Big Girl up the rest of the steps with anewed alacrity. Once safely on flat ground again, he pushed the Insurance Girl down the narrow and badly decored hallway.

Milly was in the process of protesting to this treatment, but an emergency exit at the end of the passageway quickly claimed her attention.

'See Mr. Vash? If we just keep our wits about us, we'll find Sempai and Mr. Wolfwood in no time.' she announced optimistically, fumbling at the door handle with her good hand. Behind her, Vash the Stampede hung his head.

'Or we could be arrested in the process...' he muttered unhappily. A quick glance behind him brought no avenging chefs to his attention, but by the sound of it, they were amassing troop strength at the bottom of the stair well.
Best make this quick then.

'Here, let me..' he blurted, reaching past the fumbling girl and managed to implement the door handle without much fuss, swinging the exit open with a clatter. 
A fire escape met them.

Milly took a huge breath of tenacity and stode out onto the metal, turning and tilting her head backwards so she could see up.

'We're only one landing away from the roof!' she exclaimed, wiping her sweaty brow with the back of her wrist and managing a big and bright grin. 

Vash, who had been half listening to her and half keeping an eye on the hallway, quickly slammed the door shut on the advancing culinary forces and leant on it in panic. 
Then near groaned out loud as the Big Girl had already began a rather slow, but obstinate, attempt at climbing the escape ladder with one arm. Her face was dripping with sweat, her brow was furrowed in determination and the tip of her tongue had escaped her tight lipped smile in concentration.
She managed a small noise of surprise as she slipped, but then swallowed the sound when she had caught herself in time.

Feeling more than a little haggard, the Humanoid Typhoon quickly abandoned his post to jump to her aid; albiet it without as much spark as he had at the start of this escapade. With a resigned sigh, the Winger had to admit that he simply didn't have the foresight nor skill for keeping the Big Girl on safe and solid ground like Meryl did.
It was exhausting just keeping her from hurting herself... Let alone others.

The Outlaw took a deep breath and caught the girl's wildly swinging legs in his arms, futily trying to ignore the unintentional kick to the stomach. When both limbs had stopped thrashing, Vash then pushed her as far up as was possible.

'A little higher Mr. Vash!' Milly puffed, shifting so that her knees were upon his shoulders.
Grunting in reply and trying not to bow under the weight of Girl and Gun, Vash bit his lip and attempted to stretch higher.
His reward was a boot in the face when Milly scrambled from her knees to a tottering and bow legged stand.

'MMMPHH MGGHP!!' was the frustrated muffle from down below.

'Pardon?' Milly asked, blinking her sky blue eyes innocently and craning to peer down at her perch. She blinked again when she saw nothing but her own shoe, then returned to the landing above. 

With a bit of effort, the Big Insurance Girl managed to pull herself up to the roof and roll onto flat ground.
Panting, bruised and battered, Vash the Stampede followed... Then promptly collapsed.

'Ghhnn...' he managed.

'We can't stop now!' Milly declared suddenly in a fluster, reaching down and tugging at his coat with her good hand. The urgency in her tone cause the Humanoid Typhoon to swallow his fatigue and pay attention. 'They're just over there!!' she blurted, eyes wide.

Vash sat up immediately and scanned the area in which Milly was pointing to. He could just make out figures, could definately see the white form of the Cross Punisher and was having some trouble shifting his focus from the giant Sand Worm that was wavering in the air like a breeze caught streamer. 
He hauled himself to his feet and both Angel and Guard began running the the direction of the odd congregation at the same time.

There was a clank as the Stun Gun dropped from it's strap and into the good hand of Milly Thompson, and Vash followed instinctively with the unfolding of his gun arm.  The Colt dominated the other limb.

What used to be little blots in the distance quickly became figures. And soon it was obvious who was who, and where they were.

Wolfwood stood before an unknown man, looking tense and rather ambivalent while Meryl was in the hands on the same grey clad stranger. A child was perched upon the Sand Worm.

As the scene quickly grew closer, and faces could be seen, Milly came to an abrupt halt, her boots skidding on the concrete surface below them and her frame ducking low. The Stun Gun was raised and propped up on one crooked knee to be steadied.
Vash barely had time to stop and quickly decided against his interruption, so he continued his flight forward, managing, just before he reached the rift between buildings, to catch Wolfwood's eye.

Relief split the squall of indecision on the smoking man's face. With an air of gratitude about him, the dark haired Winger returned his stormy gaze to the mystery man in grey.

''Fraid I can't do that. I've already killed her once. I don't think I could stand the snivelling if it happened again.' Wolfwood declared.

'Then you'll come to us, Nicholas.' the strange man holding Meryl queried hastily. The priest smiled, snapped the buckles on his Punisher and aimed the released weapon at the Sand Worm.
Vash ducked lower in his sprint and raised his Colt.

'No.' Wolfwood replied simply.

And fired in the same split second as the Stun Gun jettisoned it's load and the Colt discharged.

 

-----*+*-----

 

-----AUTHOR'S NOTES-----

Lynda: AHAHA! That leaves you at the same place as LAST chapter!! GAHAHAHAHAH!!! >:D

Kuroneko: **is frazzled with stress** M.Y.A.

Lynda: Yeah, aggrivating, I know. Oh, and the start of the chappie was Milly POV... But I had it laid on so heavily on that is had quickly turned into 1st person POV. So I had to go back and tone it all down. Now it doesn't have the same effect. Ah well. ^_^

Moi, I haven't lost my urge to write, but Christmas has come. And Christmas means giving! ^_^ And I'm organising myself to give lots!! Must give lots!! >:D I like giving lots!! ^___^
<translation> Lynda has been very busy shopping, raising money for shopping and trying to be secretive about said fund raising and shopping. </translation>

Kuroneko: =^>_<^=

Lynda: Eheheh... Aah! Ms. Alyson M got what was going on!! **taps nose** You're quick, you're sharp, you're on it!! **laughs loudly** AND!! I've JUST figured out where I'm going to put the FAMOUS and MUCH ANTICIPATED Wolfwood STRIP scene!!! GAAHHAHAAHH!!
Hokay, I better get some sleep. >_<

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! I sincerely hope everyone has a wonderful day. Have fun, don't stress and feel loved! I'm thinking of you all!!
Much luvs,

Lynda