Trigun
Angels Among Us

Gunsmoke is a quite peaceful little planet, well up until the business with that bastard Knives. He really did mess this place up. Sending out his cronies after Vash, and then placing the blame on Big Red for all of those obliterated cities. Now that I think about it, I have never really liked this place. Too hot and dry for my tastes. I've been here a while now, at least a hundred years, though I lost count ages ago. To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure of how old I am, in this body anyway. Well I guess that this body that I'm in is as old as he is, but unfortunately I forgot that, so now we're back to square one. Oh well. No big deal.

My job was relatively easy until we got here on Gunsmoke. All I had to do was watch him when he was playing, making sure that he didn't hurt himself too badly. But now, this has kinda gotten to be a little ridiculous. The things I do for this guy nowadays definitely aren't in the job description. I won't disobey orders, though. The Boss would be pretty pissed if I did that, and I don't want Him to be pissed at me. He's not a man that you want mad at you. Well anyway, back to my job. I watch this guy every day to make sure that he doesn't get himself killed while he does all of these crazy things that he does. I mean a few gunfights, sure, that's not so bad. One or two drunken nights. HA! Child's play for me. But when he's being shot at by a sniper with a barrel a few hundred yards long, that's a whole 'nother ball game. To my knowledge, the guy had never missed a shot in his life, and here he was coming after Vash. Now that's a pretty sticky situation to be put into.

Not that I'm taking all of the credit for it. No, I'm definitely not doing that. He's a very resourceful little bastard when he wants to be. The guy is strong, agile, and has to be the greatest shot that I have ever seen. Ever. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he could literally shoot fleas off of a dog's back at one hundred yards with that revolver of his if he wanted to. Speaking of being a deadshot, that's the thing that pisses me off the most about the guy. He will not shoot anybody. I know that I'm supposed to think that's great and all, being what I am, but it would make my job so much easier if he would just end these situations before they got so out of hand.

Now that I think about it, you don't even know who I am do you? I guess that I should explain that before I get any farther into my story. You've probably seen me quite a few times actually. I'm none other than Vash's Guardian Angel. Now you see, don't you? I can't stop him from getting hurt, but I can do a pretty good job of keeping him from dying, as you've seen so far. All the boss told me to do was keep him from dying because he has some sort important purpose to fulfill in his life, which I think he's done by now. He kinda saved a planet just recently, so I think that my job may almost be up. You see, I'm not any old Guardian Angel. I'm a member of a higher class of Guardian Angels. I get sent out on special cases, like Vash. I go and watch out for the most important people around. You know, the kind of people who have an essential purpose to fulfill in their lifetimes.

You may know of some of my previous work. I guarded an American president once. That guy Ronald Reagan was one of mine. If I hadn't been there when he got shot, he would have been dead and that damned Cold War may never have been ended. I take the form of various animals to guard my targets. When I was guarding ole Ronnie, I was a sparrow. I nested outside of every house that he ever lived in and I followed him everywhere. See, the lower classes of Guardian Angels are just there as specters, just invisible ghosts. They aren't even on this plane of existence. I have to take a physical form to exist on the mortal plane. I mean, would you ever expect a bird to be guarding your life? I'll answer you're question for you: no, you wouldn't.

Why must I exist in this plane of being, you ask? Well that's simple. I can't use my powers as well when I'm just some invisible ghost. It's kind of hard to save someone's life when I don't even exist in the same dimension as they. A normal Guardian Angel just helps to influence you to make healthy and good decisions and keeps you safe from the occasional demonic being, but that's where their protection stops. Like I said, this stuff that I do is a full time gig. I don't really mind my job all that much, but it does have its low points. It gets exciting when my targets are in life or death situations, but in the meantime, it is very boring. Who wants to sit and watch a toddler all day, every day? I sure as Hell don't. But hey, that's what you get when you make a bad bet during a drunken poker game.

Speaking of, I guess I should tell you how I got roped into watching over Vash the Stampede. Well I had just gotten back from a rather stressful job watching some kind of futuristic knight or something. To tell you the truth, I really don't remember much about that guy, except that he waved around this sword made of a laser beam that was about four feet long. Really odd stuff. I don't even think that Vash and that guy are in the same Galaxy. I think his name was Juke Cloudrunner or something like that. Oh well, it doesn't really matter now, anyway. All of that is done and he's probably dead by now. Damn, I need to get back on track Sometimes I think that this heat is really starting to get to me. When I'm talking, my mind wanders a lot.

See?

Like right now, I'm just rambling on and on about random things. Okay, have to stay on task here, I'm trying to tell a story. Now, back to how I got the job again. Like I said, I had just come off of a long and strenuous job and I was relaxing at the local pub in Heaven, having a few drinks. I bet you didn't know that the Boss allowed us Angels to drink did you. From what I've heard, He thinks it's the only thing that keeps us sane, which makes sense to me. He doesn't want any insane Angels running about creating another Hell or anything. You should have seen him when Lucifer went insane. You could have fried an egg on his head he was so mad.

Well, like I was saying, I was just minding my own business, having a drink when some of my buddies came up to me and wanted to start a poker game, which sounded like a good idea to me. I hadn't had fun in ages. Well an hour and a few drinks later, I was as drunk as an Irishman on Saint Patty's day. I was out of money, and I thought I had a good hand, but now that I look back on it, it was just a pair of sevens. Alcohol does wonders for your judgement. As I said, I was out of money and I didn't want to be out of the game yet, so I bet Vandreal, a friend of mine and fellow Guardian Angel, that I would take his next job for him. I didn't think anyone with the name Vash would be anything to watch, besides, he never got important jobs anymore. Ever since he fucked up that guy John Kennedy, he was put on the shit list. The guy wasn't supposed to die for another thirty years, but Vandreal was, um... how should I say this... distracted? To tell you the truth, he was a dog at the time and the female dog in that particular alley was in heat. Very messy stuff.

Dammit, I need to get some mental help when I get off this job. The heat on this planet has fried my brain. Okay, now back to the drunken poker game. As I said, I bet Vandreal that I would take his next job if I lost. He agreed and I threw down my pair of sevens, knowing that I had won. The bastard swept me with four aces. I wonder if he's ever dabbled in the Magicks? I need to check on that when I get back. If I find out that he cheated, he will have one unhappy Angel on his hands. Well, that's how I got this Godforsaken job, which I think is coming to a close. I just need to wait for the signal from Gabriel to tell me that it's time to leave.

I guess that you'd like to know how Vash and his friends are, wouldn't you? Ole Big Red is doin' pretty well. He's settled down with that insurance girl, Meryl and they already have a kid, whom Vash loves to play with. I really don't know how it's going to work out, though. He seams to be immortal, if you ask me. Most humans die after seventy or so years, but Vash has probably lived twice that and he doesn't look a day over thirty. Oh well, I guess they'll have to cross that bridge when they come to it. The guy doesn't ever practice shooting anymore, but I'm sure he'll never lose that godly ability of his. Can you believe that he still wears that red duster every day? I don't know how he survives out there with that thing. My fur is hot enough, but a red duster? My God, he has got to be burning up. Meryl is still her same, rather bossy self, though she loves Vash deeply. She's still working for the insurance company. I'm glad, too. She helped clear Vash of all of those charges of destroying the cities. The blame was placed where it was supposed to be, on random bounty hunters and Millions Knives.

Anyway, Vash and Meryl named their kid Nicolas, after that preacher. I really liked that guy. It's too bad that he had to die. When I get back to Heaven, I may look that guy up and have a nice chat with him. The other insurance girl, Milly, is still madly in love with him and mourns his death every day, in private of course. She wears that silly, carefree facade all of the time around others, but when she's alone, she's actually quite serious. Knives went crazy again, and after a long fight with Vash, he ran away, off to whatever sick and twisted activities he does in private.

Right after he defeated Knives the first time, Vash picked me up and brought me home with him. I've been living with him ever since. I'm happy that Vash and his family have adopted me while I'm still here. It's better than following him through the endless deserts on foot, trying to remain unseen so as not to arouse too much suspicion. This also makes my job much easier since I'm living with him.

Wait.

Is that Gabriel's trumpet? Yes, it is! I can finally go home now and enjoy a nice, long and relaxing break. Sadly, I have to leave Vash. I have really grown to like that goofy donut-eating bastard over the years. I am relieved to leave this damned planet though. I know that Vash and his family will miss me. They love this cat that I have taken the form of. Yep. That's what I am. That cat that you always saw following Vash around is me. I bet you wondered what the Hell that thing was doing with him all of the time. Well I guess it's time for me to die, for that is the only way that I can get home. I begin the all-too familiar process of shutting down my body. Time to go and have a good drink. I have to make sure I stay away from the poker games though.

End Angels Among Us


Author's Note: Just a quick little fic idea I've had bumping around up in my head for a while now. Inspiration struck so I wrote it. Not my best work, but I don't think it's too bad. Please review with whatever you want; praise, flames, constructive criticism. I really could care less, as long as I hear some kind of a response. Oh and a cookie goes to whoever can spot the reference to one of the best Science Fiction series' ever, though it's really obvious.