A/N: I seriously can't believe that people actually read the first chapter. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Your reviews and likes and follows mean so much to me! It's one of the biggest reasons that I write! I hope I don't scare you away with this next chapter!

As always, reviews and constructive criticism always appreciated. Enjoy, and have a wonderful day!

OoOoOoO

As was common on the desert planet, the wind was still and the heat rose languidly, creating an ever-present heat line that constantly waved in all directions, marking the distance. The twin suns glared down on the two travelers without mercy, and there didn't seem to be anything but sand and heat in every direction.

The travelers were a pair of young women, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, who had been sent from the Bernardelli Insurance Company to follow the infamous outlaw, Vash the Stampede, and evaluate the claims regarding each of the catastrophes he seemed to be involved in.

Meryl was a shorter woman, with a lean frame and supposedly delicate features. She had short, dark hair and intelligent dark eyes, and was in her mid-twenties. Despite her frail appearance, she was very clever, hot-headed, and an expert aim. Known as 'Derringer Meryl,' she was always equipped with dozens of throwaway derringers hidden under her long white coat.

Milly was much taller, practically doubling her senior co worker's height. She was tall and firmly framed, with long brunette hair and wide blue eyes. She never lacked compassion, and her sweet and innocent personality often caused others to relax around her. She, too, carried a weapon, but never used real bullets. She was known as 'Stun-gun Milly," and managed to hide a heavy concussion gun under her earthy robes.

The pair rode across the desert slowly, bouncing on the sloppy gait of the thomases that bode them on their backs. The terrible heat would have bothered a lot of people, but after four months of constant traveling and trouble, the two insurance girls didn't mind the quiet ride at all.

"Isn't it great, Meryl?" Milly suddenly spoke up, a sweet smile on her face. "The satellite report said that Vash was spotted in February. And we'll be there in no time! I bet you're excited to see him again!"

Meryl immediately blushed, turning away from her junior co worker, and hiding her bashfulness behind a scowl. "What are you talking about, Milly? Of course I'm not excited to see him! Every time we find him, something bad happens! We really should try to get the company to send us off on some other lead."

"Now, I know you don't mean that!" Milly interjected, holding up a finger as if she was scolding her friend. "You'd be miserable if you weren't on this lead! You would miss Vash!"

"I would not!" Meryl snapped back defensively. "If I don't see him for a thousand years, it'll still be too soon!"

"Then why do you keep following him?" Milly smiled again.

"Because...because that's the job! I'm only doing my job!"

"But Meryl, I saw how concerned you looked when Vash was attacked by that weird Gale guy with the big gun. You were worried about him."

"It's perfectly normal to be worried over the safety of another human being, even if it was just some random stranger," Meryl shot back, tightening her grip on the reins of her thomas. "That's all it was."

They lapsed into silence for quite some time; Meryl glared off into the distance, and Milly watched her quietly, as was her habit.

But as they climbed over the top of a sand hill, Meryl spotted something that made her gasp. Milly caught sight of it as well, and they both halted, staring down into the sandy clearing ahead of them.

Laying in the sand several paces away, was some monstrous form flopped over on its side. It was some sort of four-legged creature with a burly form, and golden fur. It resembled some sort of giant cat with short fur, and a large clump of shaggy brown fur enclosing its neck.

"Meryl...what is that?" Milly asked, her voice shaking in fear.

"I...I don't know, Milly," she replied hesitantly, unable to take her eyes off of the creature. It was weird and unknown, and was definitely not something they had encountered on this planet before. But...it was also...almost...handsome. Beautiful, even. Seeing it lying there motionless in the sand almost made her sad.

But before either of them could do or say anything else, a wind suddenly picked up in the clearing, kicking up the sand and forming some sort of cycling cloud around the body of the beast. They watched in shock as the form of sand swelled, expanding across the clearing, before gradually settling down, the sand falling limply. And the beast was gone.

"What...what happened?" Milly squeaked.

"Oh, geeze!" Meryl exclaimed, pounding her fist against her saddle in frustration. "We're still miles away from Vash the Stampede, and things are already starting to get weird again!"

OoOoOoO

The townspeople of February were very wary, and very suspicious. The doors of all of the buildings, even the shops, were closed and locked. Some locals peered at the passing trio of strangers through cracks in their shuttered windows. The quiet was very contrast to the chaos of earlier in the town.

Martha could feel everyone's stares, and it was beginning to make the hairs in the back of her neck stand. There was something judgemental and unnerving about those looks. The Doctor was too consumed in his tracking to pay any attention, and Vash just strut through cheerily as if this was perfectly normal behaviour for a town.

"The people here are a bit...quiet," Martha observed nervously, trying to strike up a conversation to drown out the awkward silence.

"That's what happens when something new comes into town," Vash explained nonchalantly. "Happens in every town or city. First it was your weird box thing, then it was the...cow thing. Not to mention, I'm here," he shrugged.

"Why don't the townspeople like you?" She inquired, feeling as if it would be taboo to talk in anything higher than a murmur.

"Chaos kinda...follows me around. Things just happen when I'm around. I don't mean it, honestly! I'd much rather lead the quiet, uneventful life, if it were up to me. So what's your deal? What's with the box thing?"

"Oh, it's sort of our…" she looked to the Doctor for help, but he was completely oblivious to the conversation. "It's kind of like our transport."

"A magical box that fades to and from existence...where can I buy myself one?" He gave her a good-humoured grin.

"We...made it," she answered clumsily, not sure how much she should tell the near-stranger.

"I see…" it was obvious that he didn't quite buy that explanation, but he didn't question its possibility any further. "Couldn't you have made it a bit bigger? Seems kinda small for the two of you."

"We manage," Martha replied, giving a nervous smile.

"Vash," the Doctor suddenly cut in, still not taking his eyes off of the sonic screwdriver. "What's up here? Multiple trails start entwining in this part of the town."

"Well...look up," he answered simply.

They all looked up, and Martha couldn't help but gasp in awe. Ahead of them, a flattened tower of metal, like a piece of some great wall, stuck up from the sandy ground, miles above their heads. It curved over the city like the shard of a broken globe, casting a shadow on many of the buildings.

But it wasn't the metal that impressed Martha - it was the enormous structure that looked exactly like a giant light-bulb, that stuck out of the metal, looming over the town.

"What is that?" Martha asked, closing her mouth after realizing that she had been gaping.

"You don't know?" Vash asked, astonished by the question. "It's the reason that life is possible on this planet. Where the hell have you two been living!?"

"Just answer the question," the Doctor ordered, keeping his impressed gaze on the structure.

"It's a Plant. Like a power plant," he explained. "Invented by humans and transported over to this planet in the migration ships."

"So what would a cow want with a power plant?" Martha inquired dubiously.

"Was it really a cow?" The Doctor asked with a knowing look. "I've figured it out. It's metamorphic energy. That cow was a shape-shifter."

"A...a what?" Vash asked, baffled.

"I'm guessing from your confusion, that shape-shifters aren't common here," Martha said pointedly.

"I don't even know what a shape-shifter is!"

"A metamorph is a category of species that can change their physical appearance, normally at will. There are tons of metamorphic species out there."

"And you're not talking about humans or animals...are you? Sounds like you're talking about aliens," Vash continued, growing slightly more serious. Martha was taken aback by his lack of surprise.

"I was hoping for a little bit more shock from you, Porcupine," the Doctor implied, grinning slyly.

"What do they want with the Plant?" He asked, ignoring the opportunity for comedy. He was disturbed with the prospect that out-worldly creatures were meddling with the power supply.

"Let's find out!" The Doctor replied.

But before they could make it much further, the wooden door to one of the nearby stone houses unexpectedly slammed opened, nearly cracking against the wall. A tall and lanky middle-aged man dashed out of his house, running onto the path in front of the trio and raising his revolver. Martha and the Doctor recoiled in shock, raising their hands up, and the Doctor gave a disarming, if nervous grin. But Vash simply held his ground and stared at the sudden attacker, looking a bit puzzled.

"Stay back!" The man shouted, his voice shaking with fear. "And keep your hands up! I said raise them!"

Around them, the townspeople began poking their heads out of the windows, and the cracks in their doors, trying to see what all of the commotion was about.

"What's the matter here?" Vash asked calmly, lifting his hands above his head. Martha was impressed by his complete unconcern - either he really was stupid, or he had enough experience to remain composed. She, herself, was terrified, having never felt particularly fond of guns.

"Just put it down. We're just passing through," the Doctor said forcefully, glaring not at the man, but at the weapon.

"You can just shut up!" The man squeaked, although he was trying his hardest to sound threatening. He kept his nervous glare on the red-coated outlaw in the group, not daring to look away, even for a split second. They say that's when he striked…

"That's no way to treat my new friend," Vash replied coolly. "But he is right, you know. You should put it down."

"N-No! You're V-Vash the Stampede, aren't you!? You're a...a fiend! A walking disaster! We...We have to get rid of you!"

In response, Vash took a casual step forward, making the quivering, blanched man take a step back, lowering his weapon slightly. When the outlaw took another step towards him, he then decided that he had to hold his ground, and lifted his revolver again.

"Stay back! Stay where you are!" He shouted in a shivering voice, finally cocking the gun. "Or I'll shoot!"

"Wasn't that the goal, anyways?" Vash asked, making a puzzled face. "So I guess it doesn't matter if I walk or not. Besides," he continued with a smirk. "If you really wanted to shoot me, you would have done it already."

This is a major bluff...Martha thought to herself worriedly. But she and the Doctor remained silent, afraid of shattering the delicate situation.

The man stuttered pitifully, trying to search for the words to say, but couldn't find any. He remained where he stood, but seemed to shrink a little more with each step the outlaw took towards him.

Finally, after several moments of nothing but the man's whimpering, Vash was standing only a nose-length away from him. The man looked up at him with wide eyes, his face void of color. He was sweating badly, and every joint in his body was shaking violently.

Martha couldn't quite figure out what made people afraid of a weird guy like Vash...but of course, that's what she had wondered about the Doctor, before she got to know him more. She was beginning to question the safety of being around the outlaw.

Vash then gave the man a big smile and reached forward, clicking a switch on the man's gun and forcing the barrel to open. The six bullets in the revolver popped up from their chambers, and Vash snatched them in his hand as they hopped into the air.

"Thanks, brother!" He then said in a cheery voice, giving the petrified man a happy look. "I really needed some of these. Just so I can protect you guys. Do you have any more?"

The man stared at him, frozen, for several long moments, before finally breaking from his trance and giving a rasping scream of horror. He dropped the revolver into the sand, then dug his hands into his pockets, pulling out a small bag of ammo and practically throwing it at Vash.

He then took to his heels and ran in a state of terror, leaping back into his house and slamming the door so hard, the wood around the handle snapped.

Vash stared at the door for a quiet moment, before turning to the Doctor and Martha, completely dropping his calm facade. He gave a melodramatic sigh of relief and placing a dramatic hand on his chest.

"That was close."

"I can see why the townspeople don't like you very much," the Doctor muttered, unimpressed. "You choose to terrorize them."

"It's not my fault that they're afraid," Vash countered, growing serious again. Instead of standing in the street to talk, he got moving again and started walking towards the plant, turning his back on the other two.

"So you use their fear to your advantage," the Doctor observed emphatically, keeping his unhappy gaze on the outlaw, rather than the road. He and Martha hesitantly began following him down the path.

"This world balances on bluffs," he explained coolly. "I didn't take advantage of his fear - I did what I had to do to get out of the situation peacefully. No one got hurt." He then pulled his large, silver handgun back out and opened the barrel, sliding the bullets into the chambers.

Martha was struck by a disturbing realization at that moment. When he didn't have the gun, he looked like Vash. But when he held the weapon, he looked like a stranger.

But of course...having known the man for a total of two hours now...she couldn't truly know which was which.

"Right," the Doctor cut in, appearing slightly more cheery. "Since you're tagging along, we need to settle the rules of the group. Rule one: Don't wander off."

"I would never wander away from such a beautiful lady!" Vash flashed them a bright grin over his shoulder. Martha turned away and couldn't figure out for the life of her why she was blushing. Despite his boisterous behaviour around her...he could be a bit charming. The Doctor raised his eyebrows at her, trying not to smirk.

"Rule two: No bringing pears! I hate pears!"

"What's a pear?"

"Rule three: no weapons."

That seemed to strike the air, only shocking because of its sudden seriousness. A time of silence followed, in which Vash slowly snapped the barrel of his gun shut, and slid the weapon back into its holster. When he answered, he was calm, edging on nonchalant.

"I never shoot to kill."

"I don't want to see that gun out at all," the Doctor said sternly.

Vash only gave an amused chuckle in response, irking the Timelord. Martha shifted uncomfortably as they lapsed into silence once again.

They stayed that way for a long time, feeling the twin suns beating on their backs and faces. Martha could already feel a good sweat building up, and a thirst cracking in her throat. Not for the first time, she wondered how regular people could live comfortably in an environment like this, day after day.

They had just crossed into the shadow of the colossal metal sheet when a loud, rumbling crackle erupted from ahead. Martha cupped her hands over her ears and cringed, as the Doctor snapped his attention every which way, startled.

A plume of dark smoke billowed from the giant metal shard, and the ground beneath them shook violently, before settling down after only a moment.

It had been an explosion.

Around them, they could hear a collection of gasps from the people hiding in their homes. Some woman cried out, and a kid started crying. Men chattered to themselves urgently, and the sound that captured Martha's attention the most, was the sound of guns cocking.

"The plant!" Vash shouted, aghast and pale-faced. He took off, pelting down the path, red coat tails flapping like a cape.

"C'mon!" The Doctor called out, taking Martha's hand and racing off after the perturbed outlaw.