I OWN NOTHING BUT THE STORYLINE AND CHARACTERS YOU DON'T KNOW FROM THE MANGA/ANIME!

Chapter Nineteen

Hang Fire

Strong will stir the heart. But a will too strong can cut off the heart's visibility. The sorrow of a man bereaved of a family turns into hate…which eventually transforms into the intent to kill. The man's finger reaches for the trigger. Sins change people. Sin begets sin. But I…I still want to believe! I want to believe in the heart. The heart that feels the sin.

"If you're dead, you don't have to say anything, but if you're alive, speak to me!"

"I already told you, they're not dead. They're just being morons." Alexander sighed, staring down at Vash and Wolfwood. Their bike ran out of gas about a day ago and they had begun to try and walk to the next city. It was only about three days away on foot, but Alexander should have considered who he was traveling with. It was a bit awkward, riding with three men on one motorcycle and a side car but they had to make do with what they had.

Both Vash and Wolfwood were laying out in the sand, acting like they were dead. It was because of Wolfwood's cross that Alexander had placed up for shade that they had even been spotted and this guy here stopped to help.

"I can give you guys a lift to the next town," The trucker told them.

"Oh, bless you."

Alexander rolled his eyes as he stood. He gave both of them a firm kick. "That means get up and move. Now!"

It was about ten minutes later, after the trucker gave them some water, that the other two men returned to their normal selves again.

"I'm alive again!" Wolfwood cried happily.

Alexander was still pissed at Vash, but it did bring a smile to his face as he watched the duo before him argue and fight over everything. It really hadn't been the same without the infamous Humanoid Typhoon always around; for more reasons than one.

"Why is it I run into so much trouble when you're around?"

Vash gave a wild laugh. "You're not a very methodical person, are you?"

"He's a priest," Alexander shoved him, taking the bottle to get a drink himself. "What did you expect?"

"You're to blame too, Alexander. Normally when you buy an old, used bike, you're supposed to repair it before riding it."

"Hey, I did repair it," Alexander growled. "This moron here was supposed to replace the punctured gas can and he didn't. It's his damn fault."

Wolfwood ripped the bottle back. "Are you dissing my shiny Alexia 2?!"

"I'm dissing you," Vash grabbed the bottle. "Not the bike!"

"And what the hell are you naming your bikes after my sister for?!" Alexander growled.

Wolfwood ignored Alexander's question, his face growing red. "What was that, Needle-noggin?!"

"Who you calllin' a Needle-noggin?!"

"It's pretty darn obvious!" Alexander stopped from joining in again and just watched as the two struggled over the bottle before they dropped it, spilling what water was left all over the back of the truck. That just made everything worse and as their arguing continued, the trucker finally got enough of it as well.

"Shut up back there or I'll throw you off!"

"Yes sir! Sorry sir!" Both called up to him.

"At least one of you is normal." The trucker sighed. "So, where are you headed?"

"Kansas!"

"New Oregon!"

"New Miami!"

All three men looked at each other and Alexander rolled his eyes as Wolfwood and Vash broke out into another fight.

~This is gonna turn out to be a horrible idea…again!~

He had to deal with these guys for two more days as the trucker took them to New Oregon. He was extremely pleased when they finally reached a little town and were able to get some food and drinks. They were currently planning on where to go next as their large order of food was served to them.

"What exactly are we waiting for here?" Alexander asked. "Word of Kyri and Alexia are nowhere in this city."

Alexander ignored Vash as he made a comment about the typhoon that the man on the announcer was talking about and just sat there, staring at the food before him. He wanted to find his sister, fast, but nothing seemed to be bringing him closer to that. He thought that finding Vash would change that but so far it had been nothing.

"By the way, who's picking up the tab for all this food?" Wolfwood asked.

"You, of course," Vash answered with a smile as he shoved it in his mouth.

"Me? Why me? I gave in to your whining and came all the way to New Oregon!"

"I didn't ask you to do that." Vash growled back.

Wolfwood gave in. "Now listen up. This town looks peaceful, but things are likely to get bloody around here at any time."

"Doesn't it always turn that way when we're traveling with him?" Alexander commented, taking a sip from his tea.

Wolfwood nodded and continued. "The Polo and Fris families are quarreling over the rights to the satellite."

"Still?" Alexander looked surprised. "Truly? Are they that greedy?"

"Consider who we're talking about," Wolfwood replied.

The bounty hunter nodded. "True."

"Also, a girl who was distantly related to the Fris was murdered recently, just making it all worse. It's a cold-blood feud." The priest gave a sigh and sat back in his chair. "Now that you got me thinking about it, I don't want you pulling another 'Little Jersey' here. Let's take off while its still calm here." He glanced up at a strange noise to find Vash looking at him like he was about to cry. "Knock it off!"

"But doesn't that story get you upset?"

"Not really," Alexander admitted.

"Oh, why do things like that have to happen?" Vash asked aloud.

"It's not like it's anything new," The Priest answered him. "This kind of thing happens all the time. Even the most peaceful folk will take up arms if family is killed. The bottom line is we should go before we get involved in this."

"He's already gone."

Wolfwood opened his eyes again to see that Vash was gone, leaving just him and Alexander at the table. "And you just let him go?!"

"I already found him once," The other man yawned. "What he does now is his own problem. Let him go play. He's been in hiding for two years. Let him get back into his old body."

Wolfwood sighed. "Do you really think he changed?"

"Of course not," Alexander shook his head as he handed his card to the waiter to pay for the meal. "You can't change a monster like that." He gave a frown. "Like either of them."

Wolfwood sighed. "Rotten Needle-noggin."

"Get used to it," Alexander finished his plate. "It just gets worse from here."

"Yeah," The priest nodded in agreement. "I guess it does, doesn't it?"

Alexander and Wolfwood moved around the town, half looking for Vash and half buying supplies for the next part of their journey. They conversed about where they were going to go to next, but nothing was official until the Humanoid Typhoon joined them again. Alexander gave in to Wolfwood as the priest begged for a bowl of noodles and had just bought the other man his food when a large crash from the south of the city caught their attention. A Sand Steamer had crashed into the large news building and gunshots and shouts reached the people below, announcing how dumb the announcer was and that they were under attack.

"I swear, bad luck follows Vash like flies on a steaming pile of crap," Alexander took a drink of water from his bottle.

"Citizens of New Oregon," A new voice reached them from the radio. "Listen carefully. We, the Fris, have finally seized the satellite facility. The injustice and hardships we suffered at the hands of the greedy Polo family have led to our crusade! We have but one demand! Bring us the head of the Polo Family! We have a guest he should meet." Some man began to scream for help. "If our demands are not met within three days I will not be able to guarantee this safety." The radio shut off.

"So that's how it is," Wolfwood frowned. "Should we go help?"

"It's not our problem," Alexander shrugged. "And if I'm not getting paid it won't be my problem."

"What about Stampede?" The Priest asked.

Alexander gave a quite curse, forgetting that Vash liked to jump into the middle of situations like this. "Both of us know what he's like. He'll be fine; he'll most likely win, too."

And they were right. About thirty minutes later a voice began to pass around the radios, singing some creepy ass song that Alexander never wanted to hear again.

"Total slaughter…total slaughter…I won't leave a single man alive. La la la loo la, genocide…lee lee loo lee loo, an ocean of blood. Let's begin the killing time!"

"Well, that's not creepy at all," Alexander commented.

"You don't think, what happened, messed with his brain, do ya?" Wolfwood asked him.

"Even if it did, does it matter now?" The other man sighed. ~I always knew he was weird, but damn. Then again…that doesn't sound like anything that Vash would create. Had he heard it somewhere before?~

Now that they, indeed, knew that Vash was taking care of things, both men calmed down and just waited. It really didn't take too long. They heard everything over the speakers, especially the account of some man recalling how he was going to kill the guy up there for killing his daughter. It must have been the event that Wolfwood had been talking about earlier in the restaurant between the two families.

Wolfwood lit a cigarette. ~We're nothing like God. Not only are out powers limited but we sometimes have to play the devil. How will you respond, Vash the Stampede?~

"Once I'm finished here, you can hand me over to the sheriff, or the cavalry for all I care!" More cries for help and mercy; more begging. "How dare you beg for your life! She must have begged for hers! When I saw what you did to little Aileen…no human being could do such a thing! I had half a mind too take the Bladed Siren up on her offer to kill you! But I wanted you to myself!"

"The Bladed Siren?!" Alexander and Wolfwood exchanged a serious look. Was what the man said true?

Vash jumped into it, trying to stop the man from killing the other. He even begged the man not to shoot and in the end he won. Alexander crossed his arms, getting tired of this. All he wanted now was to ask the man about the Bladed Siren and then get the hell out of here.

They weren't reunited with Vash until sundown and, unfortunately, he brought a set of women with him that Alexander was NOT too happy to see. Milly and Meryl had apparently been sent on their mission again to try and stop Vash from doing stupid shit and destroying the cities; yeah, like that would ever happen. Milly was happy to see Alexander but was sad to hear about Alexia and swore to help find her and Kyri. Her kindness made Alexander smile and take her up on her offer.

"Go easy on the good guy stuff, okay?" Wolfwood told Vash as Alexander laughed at his beaten and bruised face. "You gotta start taking care of yourself. Luck and persistence won't work forever."

"Ain't that the truth?" Alexander stood. "So, did you get answers from that guy?"

"Of course I did," Wolfwood nodded. "He said that the Bladed Siren was a woman, traveling with another; a red head. Said she was wearing a large, red coat."

"It has to be them," Alexander nodded. "To think she kept his jacket…"

"This is one reunion I don't want to miss," the Priest nodded. "The man said he had heard rumors of the two women being on the Sand Steamer. They may be in the city right now."

"Then let's go look for them!" Alexander growled. "It's been a year since they disappeared. Any chance of them being down there is good enough for me to go look!"

Wolfwood gave a grin. "Same for me."

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