After Norie figured out their names, Vash being the blonde one, Meryl being the woman as the man with the cigar was Roberto. The car they were in drove swiftly through the sand as they would slightly fly over dunes.
"Nicholas don't you dare die on me! You can't leave like this! Not after what we agreed on!" Norie yelled as she held his face in her hands while he was still passed out.
Vash stared at her as she was slightly slapping Nicholas' cheeks making his head shake to the slaps, Norie noticed him staring making him smile with doe eyes and said "hey"
She gave him a face and backed away slowly while bringing Nicholas to her chest, finding it awkward to have to talk to people other then the bimbo that got hit with the car.
"NICHOLAS DON'T DIE!" Norie yelled making Vash flinched.
She started crying out making everyone look at her with concern at what they did, Vash slowly patted Norie's head as she continued to sob.
"Don't worry Norie! He'll be okay!" Meryl spoke as she looked at her through the rearview mirror.
"He owes me a jeep!" Norie sobbed as she still had Nicholas against her chest causing the others to look at her blanky.
✗✞✗✞✗
They screeched at a stop as Meryl was the first to get out, Vash helped Norie carry Nicholas inside the gas station, Roberto following close behind as the girl with short hair says "excuse me?! This man's hurt-"
She stopped and looked around, her eyes landing on two dead bodies. Norie looked around as she had Nicholas' arm around her shoulder.
"It's to late for these folks" Roberto spoke up.
"They came out all the way here?"
" "They?" "
Everyone but Norie flinched when Nicholas shoved Vash away as he leaned on the amber eyed woman next to him, she gasped as she held his face in her hands and says "You're good?! Can you see me?!"
"You're so stupid! You scared me you asshole, I was about to make it 2 weeks!"
"2 weeks?" Meryl question.
"Newbie" Roberto spoke up making her look at him.
He gave her a face making hers drop and her eyes widened in awkwardness as she turned away from Norie and Nicholas, trying her best not to interfere. Not knowing that they were on a very different topic from what they were talking about.
"Aw did I make you care?" Nicholas mumbled as he wiped the blood from his face.
"Shut up! Don't make me run you over myself!" Norie yelled with an irk.
Vash walked over to a locker in the back of the room, he opened it and looked down to see a little kid crouched down and hiding. His face in shock making him frown, after taking him outside, they left as Roberto was filling up the gas tank.
Norie underneath the shade with her arms crossed against her chest as she saw Nicholas put his cross on the ground into the sand and spoke "o father in heaven..."
"forgive us our sins as we forgive our neighbors." He says as he pulled out a bottle of water that he took a sip from.
"You had water this whole time?!" Norie said with an irk.
"Not now dear" Nicholas says as he poured some water into his hand.
"May you accept our fallen brethren and welcome the departed to your...what is it?"
"Take your time it's okay" Norie mumbled as she checked her nails.
"Welcome them to your...dinner? No that's a meal"
Meryl and Vash turned to the amber eyed woman who had her chainsaw gun leaning on the wall, she looked back at them and says "he'll get there"
"Deliver them unto your... design? No, nobody's talking about fashion."
Nicholas grabbed the cross before it fell over, he placed it back and put his hands together and said "Norie please be the angel"
"leave me alone"
"Uh, give us a drive...He's not your chauffeur, you idiot." He mumbled.
"Are you even a priest?" Meryl questions as she appeared next to him.
"I'm no priest, just an undertaker" Nicholas responded as he stood up.
"Now back off you're ruining it"
"Anyway, what's this cross? It's way too huge-"
"Hey, keep your mitts off of it." He cuts her off before she can touch the cross.
"Norie tell her to back off" Nicholas says and points at Meryl making her slap his hand away.
"Darling just leave this dumbass alone, you're wasting your time really" Norie said as she approached them, her gun in her hand as she stood next to Nicholas who leaned his shoulder on her.
"Thank you-"
"I was talking to her" she cut him off making him look at her offendedly.
"Hey, you three" Vash cut them off and then motioned behind them.
They turned and saw the little kid they found inside, Norie frowned at his down expression but then saw Nicholas take his arm off her shoulder and walked towards him.
"Here, you're hungry right? It's good" he says as he extended a lollipop towards the kid before taking one himself.
"Strawberry is her favorite flavor so here" Nicholas said as he points at Norie behind him.
"I don't think we should-"
"I lost my parents, too. I grew up in an orphanage." He cut Meryl off.
Nicholas gave the kid the lollipop and says "good right?"
"Hey sweetie, do you want to go in the shade?" Norie said as she crouched down next to Nicholas.
"You're so nice to others but what about me- DON'T START!" she cut him off.
Norie stood up as she brought the kid close to her to cover him from the sun as Nicholas says "No matter how heavy a cross you carry, you still deserve to eat. You still deserve to laugh."
"Dear watch how I do work" he whispered to her while he nudged his hip to hers and walked over to Vash and Meryl as he wrote on a piece of paper.
The blonde wearing a red coat grabbed the piece of paper from Nicholas and read it, his faced dropped into one of terror as he shows Meryl making her yell at the invoice.
"$20,000?!"
"You should've asked my rates before asking me to work, dolts." Nicholas said with a smirk.
"How about you let them off the hook this time? For gods sake Nicholas the kid lost his parents" Norie says as she pulled him towards her.
"What? No!" He argued.
"Yeah she's right! You volunteered yourself before we even could!" Meryl spoke.
"Did not"
"Nicholas D WolfWood! You are GOING to let the check slide, do it now!" Norie said as she pulled him back
"I need the money, most importantly, since we're living together I have to do my part so I don't get kicked out earlier then what I'm planning!" Nicholas says.
"Did I say 2 weeks cause now it's 4!"
"No you can't do that!"
Norie gritted her teeth as she yelled in annoyance and said "don't make them pay!"
"WE NEED THE MONEY!"
"Oi, Mr and Mrs"
"What?!" They yelled angrily towards Roberto who blankly stared at them.
"aren't you hurt? You got hit by a car, but you look fine." He questions.
"Ah don't worry darling his airhead of a brain broke his fall" Norie says and she shoved Nicholas away from her since he was leaning on her.
"You make me wanna run away!" He yelled.
"Then go!"
"I don't want to!"
"But yeah, I'm tough. It's my saving grace." Nicholas smiled at them as he shoved Norie with his hand on her face gently making her slap it away.
Before she could yell at him the ground start to shake rapidly making them yell and stumble a bit. Nicholas quickly grabbed his cross and then wrapped an arm around Norie's head making her yell through it before taking it off so it's wrapped around her shoulders.
"What the hells happening?!" Norie questioned as she quickly grabbed her chainsaw gun before it was sucked into the sand.
"It's an earthquake?!"
"No this is-"
The ground lifted up as it swiftly sunk down with the gas station and saw the mouth of the underground beast, they yelled as they fell noticing that it was a sand worm.
Everything around them turned dark as they only felt their stomachs dropping at the feeling of them falling into the dark abyss of a mouth. Norie and Nicholas were unconsciously holding onto each other with the cross and her gun in between them as they screamed.
The sand engulfing everything as Norie landed and heard a groan beneath her, she lifted her head and waved the sand away from her face to see Nicholas with a face of pain.
"Sorry" she mumbled awkwardly knowing she landed on his junk.
Though they froze when they looked up and saw the gas station building falling towards them, Norie yelled as Nicholas grabbed her and their stuff. Tossing themselves away to the side.
She groaned as she held her shoulder and looked up at him since he landed on top of her, he sat up as he held the back of his head.
"Thanks-"
Norie froze when Nicholas gave her a piece of paper with the word invoice and her eyes widened at the $500 bill, knowing that it's a diss on telling him not to charge the others. She glared at him as she crumbled up the paper and shoved it into his mouth. Shoving him off her and stood up.
"Is so damp in here"Meryl says.
"Watch your step" Nicholas said after spitting out the paper and stopped next to Norie.
They looked around as Norie flinched when Meryl yelled at the glowing green bug, she dropped her face and mumbled "come on..."
"Hey look" Vash spoke and motioned towards the bug that flew up.
"They're resonating?"
"So it's true. The Worms really are interconnected. That's their detached electron network."
"The bigger the Worm, the more detached electrons it holds."
"This guy must be the pillar of the Worms in the area."
"Meaning?" Meryl questions.
"He's the boss around here" Roberto responded.
Norie noticed the little kid run after the green glowing bug making her eyes widened and called out "oi! Kid!"
Her hair left from in between Nicholas' fingers when she ran after him, causing the others to follow. Meryl caught up with her as Vash stopped behind them, Norie looked around as she reached the other side and saw multiple entryways leading to god knows where.
"Which way did he go?" Meryl says.
"I envy kids and their light feet." Nicholas spoke as he appeared next to Norie.
"Why don't you put down that cross, then?" Roberto asks.
"It's the tool of my trade. How would I make a living if I offloaded it?"
"Your husband's a character" Meryl whispered.
Norie jumped in shock and said "excuse me?!"
"I didn't mean to offend you-"
"How dare you call this man my husband! Nothing but a stranger I picked up from outside, you can all assume! Be my guest! But I will not be happy about it, now I don't want to waste time looking for this kid! Now split up and start looking!" Norie yelled.
"AND WE'RE NOT MARRIED!"
"Come on dear" Nicholas grumbled at her while he glared at them as Norie huffed and walked with him into a tunnel.
The three of them blinked as Vash says "I mean the way they argue and talked I'd assume they were too"
"WE'RE NOT!" They heard them yell.
✗✞✗✞✗
Norie crawled through the tunnel as Nicholas was behind her, their was a silence so loud that it could burst someone's eardrum. He tried looking at the soles of her boots but then his eyes would pan up to her tight jean covered ass but then he would smack himself and look away.
"So, guess we should tone down our interactions. Never thought we'd get confused as a married couple" Nicholas spoke as he stared at the ground.
"I rather die in here then to ever go through that again" Norie responded as she only looked forward.
"Oh so you don't like the sound of Norie WolfWood? We'll both have the same initials" He questions sarcastically.
"I don't like the sound of your voice in general, I'll leave you in here!" She says.
Norie froze and stopped when she heard something howl in the dark far into the tunnel, Nicholas didn't notice her stop which made him bump onto her ass making his eyes widened and immediately backed away and started pouring his holy water on himself.
"It's beautiful I confess, but it's not the right moment" Nicholas rasped out.
"Go back"
He stopped at Norie's voice as she continued to stare into the dark, Nicholas tilted his head and said "what?"
"Go...back..."
Nicholas gulped as he looked down at his hands then back at her.
✗✞✗✞✗
The sound of Norie's yells echoed as Nicholas was sent flying out of the tunnel, he groaned when he landed on the ground with a thud as she jumped out after.
"I told you to GO BACK as in BACK OUTSIDE! NOT go back and TOUCH MY ASS!" Norie yelled as she grabbed him in a choke hold.
"Be more specific next time!" Nicholas argued.
"O father! I have sinned! But I loved it..." He choked out but then he yelled when she flipped him.