Legato- Excellent work, gentlemen.
behind him towers a pile of corpses, easily twice his height-- the Road Wreck gang, exactly half their number.  the other half cowers out of sight, praying the blue-haired lunatic will honor his promise and leave them be.  fortunately for them, they’ve long since fallen beneath his notice.  instead, he turns to the small gathering of individuals making their appearance.

-156-157-

#19
The Invisible Eye

TRIGUN

-158-159-
a giant, dressed in black leather and with a little head and wide oval eyes that look vaguely like an alien.
Midvalley- Gray the Nine Lives…
a long haired woman in a pale long coat with a patch over her right eye.
Midvalley-Dominique the Cyclops…
a kid in a bandana, with eyes that aren’t quite human.
Midvalley- Zazi the Beast…
a mousy man in glasses with a bowler hat and a Hitler-esque mustache.
Midvalley- Leonov the Puppetmaster..
a hunched and masked man with no legs to speak of, only two thick, tough looking arms.
Midvalley- Hopperd the Gauntlet…
a top-knotted man in a kimono, with a fringed western vest over top.
Midvalley- Raidei the Blade…
a man in a sharp white suit, rings on his fingers and an instrument case in his hand.
Midvalley- …and Midvalley the Horn Freak, myself, have gathered at your summons, Lord Legato.

-160-
Legato- I don’t see Chapel.  Ah well, be that as it may.  Our ‘mark’ also has yet to arrive.

and now, in a completely different place, but not on a totally unrelated subject… (Legato might be sneezing sometime shortly. ~.^)
Wolfwood- A smart looking man with a human skull strapped to his shoulder?!
Vash- That isn’t the half of it.  There’s this fan of spikes on his right shoulder, like some weird torture device.  Ever seen him?
Wolfwood- If I’d seen a guy that interesting, I’d be telling you about him.
two heads pop over the seat in front of the guys, Meryl and Millie unable to contain their curiosity anymore.
Meryl- Hey, Mr. Vash.  Who are you talking about?  A friend?
Vash freezes, eyes going wide as a quick pang of shock zips across his features.
Vash- What are you talking about?
Meryl- What do you mean, what am I talking about?
Vash- Well, you were there, remember?

-161-
the bemused expression on Meryl’s face and her quizzical exchange of looks with Millie makes quite clear that no, Meryl does not.
Vash- You seriously don’t remember?
now it’s Vash’s turn to be confused.  then something connects in a disturbing fashion.
Vash- //thinking// No… waitasecond… could he hide his presence completely enough to be virtually invisible?  Or… worse… even though everyone saw him… could he just command them to forget they ever did?  Ignored like any other shadow, he slips up on a person, kills them, and then just fades away.  He could kill a guy in the middle of a crowded street at high noon with no one the wiser like that.
Wolfwood- So…
okay, enough Scary Thoughts.  time for Wolfwood to step in and lighten the mood a bit.
Wolfwood- If I see this guy, what do you want me to do?  You have a message for him or something?
Vash- No no no, hell no!

-162-
Vash- Get way way far away from him!  He’s dangerous!  Like really really super nasty unholy dangerous!
a serious warning, but Wolfwood barks out a hearty laugh.
Wolfwood- According to the rest of the world, you’re the most dangerous guy on the planet!
Vash just heaves a heavy sigh.
Meryl- Aha!
she points out the window, further wrecking the mood of seriousness Vash had tried, and failed miserably, to make.
Meryl- There it is!  Jeneora Rock.
a single huge crag of a rock juts up several hundred feet, the tallest thing for dozens of miles around.  a half-rib of a wrecked Ship cuts across it, three giant light-bulbs dangling from the metal frame.  around the base and up the sides of both spreads a town of decent size…

-163-
…a town that is, for all appearances, lifeless.
Vash- What the heck…?
Wolfwood- Now this is funky.  Aren’t places like this usually a little more lively?
the only things moving down the streets are puffs of dust, and the creak of signboards provide the only sound.  all doors and windows are shuttered tight.  both Vash and Wolfwood give the whole area a disbelieving once-over, the last step off the bus a lot more cautious than the first.
Wolfwood- Oh well.  Whatever.
::blinkblink::
Wolfwood just shrugs it off.

-164-
Wolfwood- I’ve gotta get going.  It’s been a blast, thanks a bunch.
he grabs Vash’s hand in a handshake that isn’t quite as shoulder wrenching as the first one, but is still far from gentle.
Millie- What?  You’re leaving?  Now?
she voices pretty much what’s going through the heads of the other two.
Wolfwood- Yeah.  Got a job waiting.
he pulls his wrapped cross off the bus and props it casually off one shoulder.
Wolfwood- If the right winds blow, our paths may cross again.  Until then, may the protection and blessings of the Lord be with you.
…and off he goes.
Vash, Millie and Meryl collectively blink.

-165-
Meryl- ……What a strange person.
Vash- Yeah.
but he’s only half paying attention.  Wolfwood may have chosen to ignore the unnatural emptiness of the town, but Vash isn’t.  his eyes have been roving over the third, fourth, and fifth levels of the cliff-town, and the vigilance is shortly rewarded.  on one of the upper levels, a face peeks out of a door for a second, then quickly disappears again.  the townspeople are still there, but everyone is hiding, holed up in their homes out of fear of something far nastier than the Road Wreck gang ever was.
Vash- Girls… There’s something… very strange going on here…

-166-
he perks up at something suddenly, spinning around and racing off without a single word to either of them.
Meryl- Mr. Vash?  Hey wait!  Where are you going?
he doesn’t bother to respond, too busy tracking whatever it was that caught his attention.  pounding up a metal staircase, he pauses for a second to get his bearings.

-167-
just around the corner, a young-ish girl picks precisely that moment to poke her head out a window.  Vash pounces on the presented opportunity, grabbing the window shutter with his one good hand before the girl can close it.
Vash- Whoa!  Wait!  Please!  Who did this?  Can you tell me?  Was it Legato? …A man in a white coat?
the name got no reaction, but the description did the job.  the girl lets out an ear splitting shriek and hauls the shutter closed in one fear-inspired yank.  Our Super-Fast Hero is not quite so on the ball, and his pointer finger gets smashed spectacularly in the closing shutter.  Vash yelps in pain, shaking his hand and hopping in a little oh-my-GOD-did-that-hurt! dance.  doing so turns him around so that he gets his first good look at the sand plains stretching out away from the town.

-168-
not visible from ground level, but easily so from a couple stories up, is a stain.  a red stain.  a very, very, very BIG red stain.  it’s got to cover at least a full acre.

-169-
Vash- Oh HELL yes, …he’s here.
…and that suddenly makes this town a whole freakin’ lot more dangerous than it seemed a second ago.  Vash flips his senses up to high alert, carefully searching the surroundings for any new threat that might pop out of the woodwork…

-170-
…like the long-haired lady in a trench coat who’s suddenly standing RIGHT NEXT to him!

-171-
Vash sucks in a breath and slowly turns saucer-wide eyes towards the lady.  she’s on the tall side, with wheat-blonde hair reaching half-way down her back and a pale, ankle-length trenchcoat.  one hand holds onto a black, metal-banded cowboy-hat.
ladies and gentlemen… enter Dominique.
Dominique- Tsk, tsk.  You dropped your guard.  If I’d wanted to, I could’ve killed you three times.
proving her point, three snaps around the collar of Vash’s coat pick just that moment to pop off.  Vash blinks.

-172-
Vash- An instant entrance, followed by congenial unpleasantries.  You’re no plain passer-by.  Who are you?
Dominique- Gung Ho Guns #3.  Dominique the Cyclops.
easy to see where that nickname came from.  a metal patch covers her right eye, a squared-off zig zag running across it, making it look like it could open like a mini metal maw.

-173-
Dominque- Let me explain something to you.  You see that stain down there?  It’s not blood from innocent townsfolk making it.  They were the Road Wreck Gang.  Sleazy low-lifes.  Slimebags who dealt in human lives to line their own pockets.  Wherever they went, the only thing that grew was the number of casualties.  Killing them off was a gift to the people here.  A kind of “spring cleaning.”  So?  Do you feel slightly better now?
Vash heaves a sigh.

-174-
Vash- The thing you guys never seem to get is that whole “who’s allowed to live and who deserves to die” bit isn’t your decision to make!  You looking t’get slapped?!
a vein pulses in Vash's temple, and he gives Dominique one peeved glare, but she doesn't respond.  insert short, uncomfortable silence.  then...
Vash- By the by, had I felt like it, during our conversation I could have… groped your breasts 5 times!
pop…pop poppoppop
five buttons down the front of Dominique’s shirt pop off, showing a hint of lacey black bra underneath.
….-_-;;;  well, that’s one way of breaking a silence……I guess, anyway.

-175-
Dominique slaps both arms around her exposed torso, face registering something other than mild condescension for the first time since she arrived.  Vash also turns much more serious.
Vash- All jokes aside… Why don’t you take me to where Legato is.

-176-
Vash- It would save me… save us both a lot of trouble.
Dominique says nothing for the moment, adjusting her shirt, then reaching into an inner pocket in her trench coat.  what she pulls out is a jagged-edged half of a coin.
Dominique- You’re the one who raised the bet.  You can’t expect me to fold without looking at my cards first.

-177-
Vash- Think it over, Dominique.  I don’t want to hur---
Dominique- HAH!  So confident, when you’ve only ever been in simple little fights.  Your vaunted quick-draw has saved you for the last time.  I’m going to take you to a world where you can’t win, no matter how fast you are.
time freezes for a bare instant, then…

-178-179-
motion.
in less than the time it takes to flinch, the Long Shot is out and aimed directly at where Dominique… used to be.
now, she’s directly behind him.

-180-
throwing himself forward, Vash manages to avoid getting shot in the back, but with his right hand full of gun and his left still ending in a stump above where the elbow should be, the only thing he has left to stop his falling momentum with is his head.  battle reflexes don’t fail so quickly, though.  turning the dive into a roll, Vash summersaults completely over and whips the Long Shot around.  time elapsed for all that motion; maybe a second.

-181-
there’s a click of a hammer being cocked…directly behind him.
Dominique- Checkmate.
BLAM

-182-
Wolfwood takes a look behind him, mild curiosity in his eyes.
Wolfwood- Gunshots? Hn. Well whaddaya know. There are people here.
but again, that fact doesn't pull too much of his attention.  he currently has something else to preoccupy him.
Wolfwood- Jesus H. on a bike, this staircase takes forever.  With this climb waiting every Sunday, there can't be much of a flock here.

-183-
one heck of a climb it is, too. the staircase winds it's way up the entire height of Jeneora Rock, all the way up to the pinnacle.  at the top is a fabulous church, big enough and elaborate enough to warrant the designation "cathedral".
Wolfwood- Jeneora Rock Summit Cathedral.  Guess this is the place.
seeing as it's not Sunday, the whole area is pretty well empty.  the thunk of a turning deadbolt followed by the creak of a single door opening echo hollowly through the whole building.
Wolfwood steps inside...

-184-
...and immediately grabs for his cross, smoothly flipping it over his shoulder so that the long end points straight ahead.  he's just in time to catch a leaping Meat-head look-alike right in the gut with it.

-185-
Wolfwood- I'm flattered, really.
he winds his hand in one of the straps and whips the whole giant thing around him.  another incoming Meat-head look-alike goes sprawling.
Wolfwood- Such a warm welcome, all for little ol' ME?
the last word is emphasized, timed with a mighty heave of the cross that sends three Meathead look-alikes flying.  handling the undoubtedly heavy cross like a light-weight club, Wolfwood tears into the remaining Meat-head look-alikes with a vengeance.

-186-
Dominique- Hn.
she smirks, looking at the sight in front of her with mild amusement.
Our Contortionist Hero is flat on his back, legs swung up so that his knees are almost in his shoulders and his toes resting in the dirt a good foot above his head.
he is also still completely intact, no bullets creating unnecessary holes in him.
Vash- What the heck are you, lady?! Normal people just can't do that!

-187-
Dominique- You're an unpredictable one.  I like that in a man.
Vash- You're the unpredictable one.  You got a personal teleporter in your pocket or somethin'?
to that, she says nothing.  she just waits for Vash to right himself.
Dominique- I wonder how long you'll hold up.  Oh, do feel free to shoot whenever you spot an opportunity.
Vash- //thinking// Damn it... nothing I can say to that...

-188-
Vash- //thinking// Yet, anyway.  Second time around, things are different.  The cards in her hand add up to super-mobility.  How fast doesn't matter.  Just knowing that makes all the difference in the world.  I'll get her this time.  I can spot her 'tell'.
he settles into a ready crouch, calm and poised.  Dominique's smirk just grows wider.
Dominique- Still so confident.  But you know what?  It's useless.
Vash- //thinking// Watch.  Watch her very closely.  React the second she twitches.
Dominique- I told you once already.  No matter how fast you are...

-189-
Dominique- ...you can't win.
her voice whispers in his ear, a small, chill ring touching the underside of his chin.  Vash's eyes go wide.
Vash- //thinking// She's... too fast!
Dominique lazily pulls the trigger.

-190-
Vash keels backwards, gravity pulling him down.  then reflex kicks in, two scuffing steps getting his feet back underneath him.  blood drips from a nasty gash on his chin, but he is otherwise okay.
Dominique- Erratic man.  That's twice you've made me miss.
Vash- I do what I can, lady...
he wipes the blood off his chin, mind turning inwards
Vash- //thinking// Every sense open to the fullest and she's still too fast.  ......waitaminute... 'every sense open'...?

-191-
puzzle pieces click together inside Vash's head, a completely unexpected picture coming to light.  his pointer finger twitches on the trigger.
Vash- //thinking// no way...  She couldn't...  could she?
Dominique waits through Vash's silence patiently, condescending smile on her face.
Dominique- Have you caught your breath? I'm not going to miss a third time.

-192-
then she blinks.
Vash, for all appearances, had completely ignored her.
the Long Shot dangles loosely at his side and the ready battle stance is gone.  standing straight and relaxed, his eyes are closed and his attention is focused inward.

-193-
Dominique- Giving up?  Or is this some old, dusty martial art?
Vash says nothing, does nothing, already most of the way into a sort of trance, turning every ounce of his concentration onto one place; his pointer finger.  the one that was smashed in the closing window not more than a handful of minutes ago.

-194-
Vash pushes himself deeper and deeper into the trance, his breath starting to get ragged with the effort. 
Dominique watches in slowly growing disbelief, a bad feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.
Dominique- ...no.  He can't... it's...

-195-
Vash's eyes snap open the instant she starts to move.
Dominique- IMPOSSIBLE!
but this time, she's the one who's so slow as to be almost standing still.

-196-197-
wind flares the ragged hem of Vash's red trenchcoat in a quick snap, Dominique's vision catching only the last edges of it as it disappears behind her.  by the time she spins the rest of the way around, her own gun only partially out of it's holster, the Long Shot is already aimed in a rock steady line, pointed right at her patched eye.

-198-
time freezes for a long moment...
Vash fires.

Invisible Eye/ END

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