Trigun
A Sky So Blue
And We're Back!
Another twenty iles and a number of more hours, Vash arrives at his destination. He still isn't there exactly, but he can see the town of New Denver. The scenery has changed quite a bit since the vast emptiness of the desert. Though no life is in sight as before, the ground is no longer an even sandy turf. It rises in a huge cliff valley around Vash. The bedrock here is high, meaning no worms could attack the town. The cliffs are actually very narrow and extremely high. Vash kicks himself for not walking along the top, but he keeps his slow pace up. By now, the sky has become a dark blue with the stars shining brightly. Not much can be seen from inside the valley, but the hole in the red moon is very visible, making a haunting red tint to everything unfortunate enough to be in the valley.
Vash continues to talk to himself, even after all this time, "Yeah. Note to self: Ride a Thomas. This is taking so long. I can't feel my feet anymore. Man. I'll probably have to sleep outside tonight. It's either that or find a good looking woman to sleep with." He breaks out in a loud laugh at the slim chances of that happening. Things don't really change for the next few minutes; Vash just continues to hold conversations with himself, until, out of pure luck, he looks up. Nothing seems unusual at first, but he looks closer at the sky and notices some of the stars being blocked above the cliff edge. Vash simply smiles and continues walking.
Suddenly, a young boy's voice shouts from behind Vash, "Stop right there! Put your hands up!" Vash complies with this and does what he's told. The boy then orders, "Now, turn around really slowly. No fast movements and don't talk!" Once again, Vash does what he's told until he's looking at the boy straight in the eyes. He has taken off his sunglasses long before now because of the darkness.
Vash smiles widely and says, "I thought I recognized that voice. How ya doing Kaite?" He continues to hold his hands up as he speaks to boy.
Kaite, the child from the Brilliant Dynamites Neon incident, stands before Vash, a few paces away with a small revolver in his hands. He begins to shake at Vash's calmness, but doesn't recognize him at all. The boy says, "I said be quiet! Now, say your name. That's it!"
Vash smiles as he hears more silent footsteps on the cliffs around him. After a long moment he says, "I'm disappointed. You don't remember your old pal, Vash the Stampede?" He then begins to make a pouting face by biting his top lip and crying some. In the meantime, the children who had surrounded Vash now run for their lives back to the crevices they came from.
Kaite blinks widely and mutters, "Geez, he's still nothing but a wimp." Vash asks him what he said, but, of course, he denies he said anything. The boy finally puts the gun away and asks, "What the Hell are you doing here?"
Vash answers with, "I could ask you the same thing, but. Since you asked first, I came here looking for someone, but mainly dodging more bounty hunters. Now, little man, what are you doing here? I figured you'd get out of the crime business."
The boy blinks for a moment, remembering who he's talking to, and says, "Well, I guess I can trust you. You gotta promise not to tell anyone, alright?" Vash makes a serious face and salutes as he says he promises. After recovering from the shock of Vash's stupidity, Kaite says, "Fine. Well, I am outta crime. I work with the sand steaming company. They assigned me to Mei City and I was passing through here, but my car broke down. My driver's been trying to get another car while I've had nothing to do." Vash listens, but he leans against the cliff wall out of slight boredom. The boy continues, sounding slightly annoyed, "Well, I got bored.." He mutters, "Kinda like you are now." Kaite picks his voice back up as he says, "So I came out here and got jumped by this group of kids. I didn't have any money, so they didn't have any use for me. Turns out, they're all orphans from all around. Some came here from as far as the Augusta Ruins. I decided to help them out since they were in such a pinch until my driver gets us going again."
Vash, who's now standing straight up, pauses for a long moment then makes a pouty face and begins to cry. He says in a high-pitched voice, "Don't stories like that tear you up on the inside? Man, it's so sad."
Kaite blinks widely in shock. For a long time, all he can do is stand there. He mutters, "For the love of. He hasn't changed at all," before saying, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it. All we can do is hope for the best."
The Humanoid Typhoon responds with, "Maybe, maybe not, but for now, lets get you back to your inn."
Vash and Kaite both head into town, neither minding a good nights rest. They pass through the town without another word. New Denver is actually a well-developed area. Due to the hard bedrock that is so close to the surface, the plants of the region have to work less to keep sand away. With the extra power, the people of this town have many more commodities compared to most. New Denver was so advanced that many people considered naming it a city with the other seven, five now. The only thing that held it back was the high crime rate. While many people worked stressfully to become rich within the settlement, there are always those that want a fast "rags to riches" life. Unfortunately, New Denver was almost completely comprised of men and women like that. Though, no bandit group owned the town, anarchy ruled the place. It's the worse possible place for a car to break down in; just goes to show the bravery of Kaite. There had been an orphanage here, but a gang had destroyed it a number of months prior, forcing the children to live in the desert cliffs. It seemed like the town was going to rip itself apart before anything or anyone could stop it.
The duo reaches the inn safely after having to take some detours around infamous parts of town. The inn itself is a perfect example of the town's state of affairs. Its bricks are all damaged, worn, and dilapidated. The shutters are all at different angles and different degrees of damage; the door doesn't even exist anymore. After checking in, the two go to Kaite's room, which is in just as bad condition. The bed is a mattress on the floor and the only other piece of furniture is a rickety old chair, both of which have insects crawling on them. Vash blinks at the room as Kaite goes and lies down on the bed. The boy says, "Well, you'd better go get a room and get some sleep before news gets into town about you. Good night and shut the door on your way out."
Vash blinks at Kaite's sudden urge to be alone, but does as he asks. He closes the door as he walks out and down to the main lobby. After purchasing a room for one night, he heads back up stairs and down a hallway. The Humanoid Typhoon stops at his door, but catches a young woman sticking her head out of the door with the corner of his eyes. He smiles and goes into his dismal room for a good night's sleep.
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It is morning; a morning so beautiful that it easily beats the day before. Vash slowly raises from his mattress with his hair an utter disaster. He had changed last night before he went to bed, thanks to the pack he was able to get away with. He stretches, on his feet now, and yawns heavily. His morning attire consists of an off white shirt and a pair of loose pants. As he gets up, Vash realizes that he never met Kaite's driver. He looks around and decides to go to the window and open it. He does this and sticks his head out into the gorgeous day. It seems like there is a little peace today; children are playing in some parts, but, in others, there are gunfights. From his room in the hotel, Vash can see most of the expansive city. He sees the various plants outlining the city in light bulb shapes. As he does, he thinks of ways he can help the orphans today, but, as he does, something happens. Vash notices a light far from the city, barely able to make it out, but watches as the small speck grows closer to the city. It's just now that Vash realizes what it is. He screams at the top of his lungs, "No! Knives!" Just as his voice resounds through the city, the light hits and grows to immense proportions. It engulfs nearly the entire city except the farthest from it, the inn and surrounding buildings. All life inside the blast area is extinguished and the ground shakes with bitter recoil. Buildings vanish in the destruction wrought by Knives while the few survivors outside run away terrified. Hell had just been released on the town, delivered on the wings of an angel.
Vash is now completely distraught. He holds his head in his hands, still in the window, and screams as tears flow freely down his arms. In his mind, everything seems to fade away to blackness except for one shape; a shape growing clearer; a shape of Knives. Resonating in Vash's head, Knives's voice says, "Well, brother? Going to join me yet? They'll all die either way, but it's up to you as to how fast. Join me and we can rid the world of them. Didn't you see how they treat each other? It's the only way. These beings are nothing but a cancerous disease to which we are the cure. Pick up your sibling and join me." Vash shouts a defiant no as the voice fades away. At the same time, the light dissipates, revealing the true nature of the disaster. Unlike previous incidents, nothing is spared. Everything that was touched by the light disintegrated into the air, leaving nothing behind except for a giant crater and a blood stained sky. This was the first time Knives had used the angel arm on live people and it wrought total inhalation on them.
Nothing was right; things were going horribly wrong. Vash falls to the floor, still crying, and says between sobs, "Why? Why's everything going this way? It wasn't supposed to be like this, was it? Well, Wolfwood? Rem? Where'd I go wrong? Should I have really killed him and atoned for my sin? No. Rem, you taught me never to take a life and Wolfwood. You taught me never to regret the decisions we make since we can't take them back." His weeping eases and he only cries as he says, "This is all I can do. I've got to find him and stop him. No matter how. Give me strength Rem, Wolfwood."
Just as he finishes, two people barge into the room, the young woman that looked at Vash from her room the night before and Kaite. Both stare at Vash as he still kneels on the ground, crying. A silence hangs over the room and the entire town. A feeling of utter defeat immerges in every person as the sky seemingly bleeds red tears for the dead; it's color the same crimson that runs through the veins of men. The silence is finally broken by the sound of a baby crying; a sound that echoes through the remnants of the town and chills the bone. Kaite is the first one to speak in the room; he says, "Was-was that you?"
Vash takes a long time to respond; enough time to make Kaite's and the woman's minds wonder. He finally says, "No. It wasn't me, but it'll be blamed on me. Just like they always do." The Humanoid Typhoon finally looks up and notices the girl and asks, "Who are you?"
The young lady, in her early twenties, stands next to and a little in front of Kaite. She is relatively tall for a woman, but doesn't come close to the height of Vash's good friend, Milly. Her hair is waist long and is a shimmering golden color. Most people would probably think it's dyed, but, with a closer inspection, anyone could tell it was natural. The hair falls completely straight down her back and a little at her bangs, but not covering her eyes. The woman's eyes are probably the most intriguing part about her. They are a dark blue that borders on being violet; yet, just around the pupil is a light green that is very noticeable. Along with this, her facial features are very gentle. The slopes of her nose and cheekbones match each other perfectly, molded by her fair and almost flawless skin. She wears a modest dress that tries to hide her body's curves, but fails horribly. If it weren't for Vash's distressed mood, he would have already been all over her. The woman says with a gentle but confidently loud voice, "My name's Brianne Lilly. You must be the Legendary Gunman, Vash the Stampede. What a sight to see you crying over death, over anything for that matter."
Vash doesn't say anything; his eyes are downcast again from both of their faces. He doesn't know what to say; every time he opens his mouth to say something, more tears come. Finally, Kaite steps in front of the woman identified as Brianne and says to her, "That's not true! He might be a wimp and a fool, but I've never seen him kill anyone and I don't think anyone else has. We have to trust that he didn't do it cause he's the probably the only way we'll get out of this God forsaken town."
The Humanoid Typhoon stands at last, the look of grief replaced with pure seriousness. A slight breeze comes through the window, pushing his hair around his face, giving him an almost evil look. He says, "Kaite's right. If I know bandits well enough, they'll be through in less than an hour. We've got to get out of here as soon as possible." Kaite goes to say something along the lines of "That's great" or "Like I said", but Vash continues, "There's something we have to do, though, before we go."
Brianne and Kaite shout in unison, "What?!"
Vash follows up with, "We can't let the orphans here die. We're going to have to help them somehow. Now, if either of you have any ideas on what to do with them, it'd be great if you spoke up."
Everyone is quiet for a long time. They all are in deep thought, wondering what to do with the children. Eventually, Kaite walks over to the window to keep thinking, but sees something. He asks over his shoulder, "Brianne, there's an orphanage at Mei, isn't there?"
She answers softly with, "Yeah, a large one in fact. Why?"
Kaite smirks widely as he points out the window and says, "You think that'll work?" Vash and Brianne go to the window, both taking a side of the boy. They all look out into the dismal carnage that's been brought upon the town, but then follow Kaite's gaze to a large green object. The two adults don't understand what it is through the sand being blown through the wind. After a moment or two, the wind dies away and reveals a large green flatbed truck that has been rammed into one of the few surviving buildings. There's a long pause as the possibilities of using the truck fly through each of the trio's heads. Suddenly each of them erupts into a loud uproar, all getting their ideas out at once. Of course, none of them have any clue as to what's being said until Vash yells, "Alright! Hold on!" After Kaite and Brianne hush up, Vash continues, "Here's what we'll do. Kaite, you go round up the orphans and bring them to the truck. Brianne, you go with him and I'll stay and fix the truck."
The two listening blink for a second, then Brianne asks, "Why don't I check the truck out?" Kaite agrees with her and they both wait for Vash's response.
Vash, confused slightly, asks, "What do you know about trucks?"
At this, Kaite, kicks Vash in the shin hard, sending the Humanoid Typhoon hopping around as the boy says, "She's my driver you idiot!" Vash shouts back as to how he was supposed to know. Kaite shrugs and adds, "Not only is she my driver, but she's my body guard. Brianne can take care of herself while she works on the truck." Of course, in her womanly pride, Brianne stands straighter with her head up some at mention of her skill.
Vash regains himself, still rubbing his kicked shin and says, "Alright, Kaite, you get the kids. Brianne, you get the truck ready. I've got something I have to do myself." Both of the listeners ask what he has to do, but Vash only answers with, "You'll find out," before running out on his own, leaving the other two to their jobs.
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"I can't believe that spiky head idiot ran off without us. Great, now I have to round up some twenty kids and convince them to follow me. Why's Brianne get the easy job? I could have fixed that dang truck myself."
Kaite walks, more closely to stomps, his way through the valley he had reunited with Vash in. His white T-shirt is now an off white to yellow color due to the wind and sand. With his jeans and shoes in the same condition, he isn't exactly in the best condition, but he's moving at a good speed. After almost a half of an ile of walking, a group of children appear through the sand not far in front of Kaite. They're a ragtag collection of orphans, ranging from thin to chubby, strong to weak, male to female. They stretch across the entire width of the thin valley, all looking grimmer than ever. Kaite calls to them, "Hey guys! I've got great news!"
One of the stronger looking boys, probably in his mid teens, steps foreword from the center and asks, "What? There're empty buildings left over from the blast? We saw you go into to town with him. We saw the explosion! It's just like Augusta. The town's gone thanks to you and that monster, Vash the Stampede.
Stopping in his tracks, Kaite stares widely. He never expected them to react like this. Thoughts fly through his head as to what to say, but all he gets out is, "No, you've got it wrong."
The same teenage boy says in a louder tone, "Got what wrong? We saw him. We saw the Humanoid Typhoon and we saw you go with him. You're as much to blame!" The rest of the children remain silent, staring coldly at the accused.
Kaite shouts, "You're wrong! Vash wants to help you all and so do I! We've got a truck that can fit us all and we're planning to go to Mei City. It can fit you all too! It's one of those slow flatbeds. I've always steered you right before, why would I change now? You've got to trust me!"
A low murmur rises from the crowd of children as they try to decide what to do. Minutes go by and the orphans form a circle as they continue to debate. Meanwhile, Kaite grows more and more anxious. He realizes that the bandits will be right on their heels if the gang doesn't hurry up. He speaks up, with, "We've got to hurry you all! Time is wasting! And the bandits could be here any minute!"
With this comment of bandits, the discussion becomes louder and more heated. Minutes pass as more and more of the children decide to go with Kaite until it becomes a unanimous decision. The apparent spokesperson, the teenage boy, steps towards Kaite as the other orphans reform their line. The boy says in all seriousness, "We'll trust you, but if Vash the Stampede does end up killing us, we'll haunt you to you're death."
Now pressured by time and people, Kaite quickly agrees to it and begins to lead the crowd into town. He and the other children jog at a light pace at his goading. The group quickly regains time as they begin to get closer and closer to the town and their freedom.
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Meanwhile, Brianne begins to inspect the truck. Still using a bit of her natural grace, she circles the vehicle and the building it's rammed into a few times. She smirks at the condition and says to herself, "Well, the frame looks better than I thought it would. I might have to straighten the front right tire, but I'll save that for last. Guess I should start underneath." She slowly and carefully lowers herself to the ground on her back and tries to get under the truck, but hears her dress rip. In anger, the woman rises and tears the garment from her body, revealing her dressed in much more contemporary clothing. This includes tight black leather pants, a white tank top that would fit better if it were a size bigger, and a small tattoo of a rose on her right shoulder. With the dress removed, Brianne easily slides under the truck and begins to inspect it.
Unfortunately, the underside of the truck isn't as appealing as the frame. A good portion of the metal had been chipped or cracked while, what few wires there were, are completely cut through. Brianne sighs heavily, knowing the job would take a good hour for even her. She begins to talk to herself as she works, "Well, this is great. I'm leading a kid around and taking orders from the Legendary Gunman. Can things get any worse? Hmmm. Yeah, probably if whatever destroyed the city comes back. What was that? Only Vash could have done something that disastrous. He's got to be holding something back from us. I think it'd be better for Kaite if we get away from that menace as soon as possible. And if there's really another explanation for it? The farther the better from Vash. Seems like trouble only follows that fool. Maybe we can ditch him in the desert." While she's said these various comments, she finishes with the undercarriage of the truck.
With pauses in her talking to herself and lack of proper tools, Brianne has already exhausted and hour of time. She climbs out from under the truck, a few stains on her tank top, but none taking anything away from her appealing looks. She smiles slightly at her own ingenious as to be able to fix such a torn up vehicle. After taking a few minutes break and finding a drink of water, she opens the hood of the truck and gets to work. Over all the engine and adjacent machinery looked fine. Merely a few simple corrections and the truck would be finished. Brianne works diligently from here on; she knows one wrong move and they'd all be stuck walking with bandits. Just as she finishes with the last minor flaw, it hits her and she says out loud, "Bandits? Shit! They're probably already here. Where are Kaite and Vash?"
"Your wish is my command." Kaite stands a few feet away from the truck with the ragged orphans behind him. He adds a command to the children, "Alright, guys, get in the back and get ready." With that, the group moves to the truck with a loud commotion and gathers in the back of the flat bed. The orphans almost completely fill the back up except for a few feet of space, Vash's pack, and a long metallic pole with some leather grip on it. They, of course, question Kaite and Brianne about it, but Brianne tells them to not worry about it.
Things seem to be going well for the odd crowd, everything except the fact that Vash was still gone. This doesn't both Brianne though; she tells Kaite to get in the passenger's seat while she gets in the driver's side and begins to hot wire it. After a few minutes, she tries to start the engine, but it makes a loud murmur and cuts off again. She tries the engine five more times, then gets out and goes under the hood to see what's wrong. In a minute, her voice screeches through the still blood red stained sky, "Shit! Of all things! Why's it have to be out of gas?!" Kaite gets out and goes to her side as she says, "There's nothing we can do, unless there just happens to be some gas around here." This leads to a fifteen-minute search of the area, even the orphans look, but no fuel is found. They all lean against or lie in the truck. It seems hopeless to think anything can be done and, for a long time, they're right.
The twenty or so sit there, hopes crushed, for over an hour. They constantly complain, cry, or argue; they all know the bandits will come through anytime, in fact, they are surprised at their absence. Most of the survivors expect to die by the criminals anyways, so Brianne and Kaite aren't going to be surprised if they die by their hands. The largest conversations that take place are which bandit clans would attack the remnants of the town, which of the people near the flatbed would be the first to die, and who would be the last. The last one isn't hard. Everyone figures that the heartless fools will keep Brianne alive, for a while. Overall, morale is at an all time low for all the people's lives. It's at this low that the miracle happens. The "alliance" of children and adult are sitting around the truck when they hear gunshots. With this, the littlest of the orphans begin to cry, knowing their impending doom. The others try to toughen up and prepare to fight to the death. Meanwhile, off in the distance, a dust cloud grows closer and closer. They of course figure it's the bandits, but as it gets closer they start to notice a little blonde, until Kaite shouts out, "It's Vash!" All the children and even Brianne stand to get a better look.
Sure enough, it's Vash running straight towards them, probably setting a land speed record. He has two canisters in his hands and, as he approaches, it turns out that the dust is from gunshots around him. Behind him, the onlookers are barely able to make out two black jeeps, each with four men and four automatic weapons. Vash continues at them until he's about ten yards away. From here, he chucks the sealed canisters at the flatbed, hitting Kaite in the chest with both at the same, sending him back at least two feet and on his back. Vash then turns around to face the jeeps as they roar towards him, bullets still whizzing by.
While Vash stands up to the bandits, Brianne helps Kaite up. She checks him over to make sure he's okay, but finds nothing wrong except a slight bruise. She says, "Well, I guess you're pretty tough."
Kaite respond with, "Of course I'm tough! Now, what the hell is in these things? They weigh a ton!" He motions to the canisters he has trouble lifting with both hands, let alone one.
Brianne takes a closer look and opens one to smell what's inside. When she does, her eyes light up and she says, "It's gas!"
With an evil smirk, Kaite says, "Oh, I didn't know you liked flagellant men. You and Vash would be good for each other." He laughs loudly before being smacked in the face. He says poutingly, "Ow. Alright, alright. You want to get it in the truck already?"
Brianne goes to say a rude comment, but is stopped short by a thunderous crash. They both look back at Vash to see the leading jeep rammed into a near by building, the men sprawled out on the ground, not seriously injured. Vash stands there with his gun in hand as the other jeep roars towards him. He shouts, "Can't we all just get along? You know, love and peace kind of stuff?"
With the orphans all in the back of the flat bed cheering, the two others ignore Vash's stupidity and drag the canisters to the gas cap. It takes them a little bit of arguing and a little bit of work, but they fill the gas tank. With that done, they jump into the truck's cab and start the engine.
Vash, still playing a suicidal game of chicken with the oncoming jeep, hears the truck start and yells over his shoulder, "Wait for me! I brought the gas; it's the least you could do." After saying that, he reverts his attention back to the vehicle barreling at him. He prepares to shoot when he hears the truck start to roar off. Vash turns and gawks at their ungratefulness. He jumps out of the way of the jeep just in time, landing face down in the dirt. The Humanoid Typhoon looks up just as the truck becomes a spec in the distance. At this, he hits the sand with his fist just as the men get out of their jeep and surround him.
One of the men says, "That's it! I'm gonna kill the little shit. He sifted our gas!"
Another says, "Wait. Maybe he's got some cash on him. Blood stained double dollars aren't worth anything."
The four men begin to lower themselves to Vash's level, but never make it like they want to. In a flash, the man directly in front of Vash gets the butt of his own gun shoved into his face. The man behind Vash gets a swift kick to his groin, leaving only one on each side. These two begins to react by pointing their guns at him, but Vash is simply too fast. He jumps up and yells, "Kiss and make up!" as he pulls them into each other, smacking their heads into one another. All the men fall to the ground at the same time, either unconscious or in too much pain to move. After a moment of looking around, Vash jumps up into the air and lets out a "Whoooohooooo!" He then realizes he needs to get rid of their guns and ammo. With an evil smile, he gets a perfect idea.
A few minutes later, Vash walks away from the knocked out men and makes his way to their parked black jeep. Their guns lie next to them along with countless bullet casings. All their ammo actually lies in two places. Either as bullet casings on the ground or as bullet holes in a near by vacant building. The odd, and probably humorous, side to it is the shape in which the bullet holes are made. They read in the wall, "Love and Peace!" with a small picture of Vash with spiked hair below it. The wind kicks up slightly as Vash hops into the jeep, starts it, and drives off into the setting sun.
Credits
Lee Richardson-Chief, Executive, and Only Writer (Sex Symbol of the New Generation) John Bryant-Executive Editor (Little Man, Big Package) Garrett Williams- Editor (Guy Who Just Says It's Good) Anthony Pomozzii- Editor (Guy Who Got Turned On By Brianne) Pioneer and All the Other Owners- Original Trigun Makers (You People Rule)
And We're Back!
Another twenty iles and a number of more hours, Vash arrives at his destination. He still isn't there exactly, but he can see the town of New Denver. The scenery has changed quite a bit since the vast emptiness of the desert. Though no life is in sight as before, the ground is no longer an even sandy turf. It rises in a huge cliff valley around Vash. The bedrock here is high, meaning no worms could attack the town. The cliffs are actually very narrow and extremely high. Vash kicks himself for not walking along the top, but he keeps his slow pace up. By now, the sky has become a dark blue with the stars shining brightly. Not much can be seen from inside the valley, but the hole in the red moon is very visible, making a haunting red tint to everything unfortunate enough to be in the valley.
Vash continues to talk to himself, even after all this time, "Yeah. Note to self: Ride a Thomas. This is taking so long. I can't feel my feet anymore. Man. I'll probably have to sleep outside tonight. It's either that or find a good looking woman to sleep with." He breaks out in a loud laugh at the slim chances of that happening. Things don't really change for the next few minutes; Vash just continues to hold conversations with himself, until, out of pure luck, he looks up. Nothing seems unusual at first, but he looks closer at the sky and notices some of the stars being blocked above the cliff edge. Vash simply smiles and continues walking.
Suddenly, a young boy's voice shouts from behind Vash, "Stop right there! Put your hands up!" Vash complies with this and does what he's told. The boy then orders, "Now, turn around really slowly. No fast movements and don't talk!" Once again, Vash does what he's told until he's looking at the boy straight in the eyes. He has taken off his sunglasses long before now because of the darkness.
Vash smiles widely and says, "I thought I recognized that voice. How ya doing Kaite?" He continues to hold his hands up as he speaks to boy.
Kaite, the child from the Brilliant Dynamites Neon incident, stands before Vash, a few paces away with a small revolver in his hands. He begins to shake at Vash's calmness, but doesn't recognize him at all. The boy says, "I said be quiet! Now, say your name. That's it!"
Vash smiles as he hears more silent footsteps on the cliffs around him. After a long moment he says, "I'm disappointed. You don't remember your old pal, Vash the Stampede?" He then begins to make a pouting face by biting his top lip and crying some. In the meantime, the children who had surrounded Vash now run for their lives back to the crevices they came from.
Kaite blinks widely and mutters, "Geez, he's still nothing but a wimp." Vash asks him what he said, but, of course, he denies he said anything. The boy finally puts the gun away and asks, "What the Hell are you doing here?"
Vash answers with, "I could ask you the same thing, but. Since you asked first, I came here looking for someone, but mainly dodging more bounty hunters. Now, little man, what are you doing here? I figured you'd get out of the crime business."
The boy blinks for a moment, remembering who he's talking to, and says, "Well, I guess I can trust you. You gotta promise not to tell anyone, alright?" Vash makes a serious face and salutes as he says he promises. After recovering from the shock of Vash's stupidity, Kaite says, "Fine. Well, I am outta crime. I work with the sand steaming company. They assigned me to Mei City and I was passing through here, but my car broke down. My driver's been trying to get another car while I've had nothing to do." Vash listens, but he leans against the cliff wall out of slight boredom. The boy continues, sounding slightly annoyed, "Well, I got bored.." He mutters, "Kinda like you are now." Kaite picks his voice back up as he says, "So I came out here and got jumped by this group of kids. I didn't have any money, so they didn't have any use for me. Turns out, they're all orphans from all around. Some came here from as far as the Augusta Ruins. I decided to help them out since they were in such a pinch until my driver gets us going again."
Vash, who's now standing straight up, pauses for a long moment then makes a pouty face and begins to cry. He says in a high-pitched voice, "Don't stories like that tear you up on the inside? Man, it's so sad."
Kaite blinks widely in shock. For a long time, all he can do is stand there. He mutters, "For the love of. He hasn't changed at all," before saying, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it. All we can do is hope for the best."
The Humanoid Typhoon responds with, "Maybe, maybe not, but for now, lets get you back to your inn."
Vash and Kaite both head into town, neither minding a good nights rest. They pass through the town without another word. New Denver is actually a well-developed area. Due to the hard bedrock that is so close to the surface, the plants of the region have to work less to keep sand away. With the extra power, the people of this town have many more commodities compared to most. New Denver was so advanced that many people considered naming it a city with the other seven, five now. The only thing that held it back was the high crime rate. While many people worked stressfully to become rich within the settlement, there are always those that want a fast "rags to riches" life. Unfortunately, New Denver was almost completely comprised of men and women like that. Though, no bandit group owned the town, anarchy ruled the place. It's the worse possible place for a car to break down in; just goes to show the bravery of Kaite. There had been an orphanage here, but a gang had destroyed it a number of months prior, forcing the children to live in the desert cliffs. It seemed like the town was going to rip itself apart before anything or anyone could stop it.
The duo reaches the inn safely after having to take some detours around infamous parts of town. The inn itself is a perfect example of the town's state of affairs. Its bricks are all damaged, worn, and dilapidated. The shutters are all at different angles and different degrees of damage; the door doesn't even exist anymore. After checking in, the two go to Kaite's room, which is in just as bad condition. The bed is a mattress on the floor and the only other piece of furniture is a rickety old chair, both of which have insects crawling on them. Vash blinks at the room as Kaite goes and lies down on the bed. The boy says, "Well, you'd better go get a room and get some sleep before news gets into town about you. Good night and shut the door on your way out."
Vash blinks at Kaite's sudden urge to be alone, but does as he asks. He closes the door as he walks out and down to the main lobby. After purchasing a room for one night, he heads back up stairs and down a hallway. The Humanoid Typhoon stops at his door, but catches a young woman sticking her head out of the door with the corner of his eyes. He smiles and goes into his dismal room for a good night's sleep.
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It is morning; a morning so beautiful that it easily beats the day before. Vash slowly raises from his mattress with his hair an utter disaster. He had changed last night before he went to bed, thanks to the pack he was able to get away with. He stretches, on his feet now, and yawns heavily. His morning attire consists of an off white shirt and a pair of loose pants. As he gets up, Vash realizes that he never met Kaite's driver. He looks around and decides to go to the window and open it. He does this and sticks his head out into the gorgeous day. It seems like there is a little peace today; children are playing in some parts, but, in others, there are gunfights. From his room in the hotel, Vash can see most of the expansive city. He sees the various plants outlining the city in light bulb shapes. As he does, he thinks of ways he can help the orphans today, but, as he does, something happens. Vash notices a light far from the city, barely able to make it out, but watches as the small speck grows closer to the city. It's just now that Vash realizes what it is. He screams at the top of his lungs, "No! Knives!" Just as his voice resounds through the city, the light hits and grows to immense proportions. It engulfs nearly the entire city except the farthest from it, the inn and surrounding buildings. All life inside the blast area is extinguished and the ground shakes with bitter recoil. Buildings vanish in the destruction wrought by Knives while the few survivors outside run away terrified. Hell had just been released on the town, delivered on the wings of an angel.
Vash is now completely distraught. He holds his head in his hands, still in the window, and screams as tears flow freely down his arms. In his mind, everything seems to fade away to blackness except for one shape; a shape growing clearer; a shape of Knives. Resonating in Vash's head, Knives's voice says, "Well, brother? Going to join me yet? They'll all die either way, but it's up to you as to how fast. Join me and we can rid the world of them. Didn't you see how they treat each other? It's the only way. These beings are nothing but a cancerous disease to which we are the cure. Pick up your sibling and join me." Vash shouts a defiant no as the voice fades away. At the same time, the light dissipates, revealing the true nature of the disaster. Unlike previous incidents, nothing is spared. Everything that was touched by the light disintegrated into the air, leaving nothing behind except for a giant crater and a blood stained sky. This was the first time Knives had used the angel arm on live people and it wrought total inhalation on them.
Nothing was right; things were going horribly wrong. Vash falls to the floor, still crying, and says between sobs, "Why? Why's everything going this way? It wasn't supposed to be like this, was it? Well, Wolfwood? Rem? Where'd I go wrong? Should I have really killed him and atoned for my sin? No. Rem, you taught me never to take a life and Wolfwood. You taught me never to regret the decisions we make since we can't take them back." His weeping eases and he only cries as he says, "This is all I can do. I've got to find him and stop him. No matter how. Give me strength Rem, Wolfwood."
Just as he finishes, two people barge into the room, the young woman that looked at Vash from her room the night before and Kaite. Both stare at Vash as he still kneels on the ground, crying. A silence hangs over the room and the entire town. A feeling of utter defeat immerges in every person as the sky seemingly bleeds red tears for the dead; it's color the same crimson that runs through the veins of men. The silence is finally broken by the sound of a baby crying; a sound that echoes through the remnants of the town and chills the bone. Kaite is the first one to speak in the room; he says, "Was-was that you?"
Vash takes a long time to respond; enough time to make Kaite's and the woman's minds wonder. He finally says, "No. It wasn't me, but it'll be blamed on me. Just like they always do." The Humanoid Typhoon finally looks up and notices the girl and asks, "Who are you?"
The young lady, in her early twenties, stands next to and a little in front of Kaite. She is relatively tall for a woman, but doesn't come close to the height of Vash's good friend, Milly. Her hair is waist long and is a shimmering golden color. Most people would probably think it's dyed, but, with a closer inspection, anyone could tell it was natural. The hair falls completely straight down her back and a little at her bangs, but not covering her eyes. The woman's eyes are probably the most intriguing part about her. They are a dark blue that borders on being violet; yet, just around the pupil is a light green that is very noticeable. Along with this, her facial features are very gentle. The slopes of her nose and cheekbones match each other perfectly, molded by her fair and almost flawless skin. She wears a modest dress that tries to hide her body's curves, but fails horribly. If it weren't for Vash's distressed mood, he would have already been all over her. The woman says with a gentle but confidently loud voice, "My name's Brianne Lilly. You must be the Legendary Gunman, Vash the Stampede. What a sight to see you crying over death, over anything for that matter."
Vash doesn't say anything; his eyes are downcast again from both of their faces. He doesn't know what to say; every time he opens his mouth to say something, more tears come. Finally, Kaite steps in front of the woman identified as Brianne and says to her, "That's not true! He might be a wimp and a fool, but I've never seen him kill anyone and I don't think anyone else has. We have to trust that he didn't do it cause he's the probably the only way we'll get out of this God forsaken town."
The Humanoid Typhoon stands at last, the look of grief replaced with pure seriousness. A slight breeze comes through the window, pushing his hair around his face, giving him an almost evil look. He says, "Kaite's right. If I know bandits well enough, they'll be through in less than an hour. We've got to get out of here as soon as possible." Kaite goes to say something along the lines of "That's great" or "Like I said", but Vash continues, "There's something we have to do, though, before we go."
Brianne and Kaite shout in unison, "What?!"
Vash follows up with, "We can't let the orphans here die. We're going to have to help them somehow. Now, if either of you have any ideas on what to do with them, it'd be great if you spoke up."
Everyone is quiet for a long time. They all are in deep thought, wondering what to do with the children. Eventually, Kaite walks over to the window to keep thinking, but sees something. He asks over his shoulder, "Brianne, there's an orphanage at Mei, isn't there?"
She answers softly with, "Yeah, a large one in fact. Why?"
Kaite smirks widely as he points out the window and says, "You think that'll work?" Vash and Brianne go to the window, both taking a side of the boy. They all look out into the dismal carnage that's been brought upon the town, but then follow Kaite's gaze to a large green object. The two adults don't understand what it is through the sand being blown through the wind. After a moment or two, the wind dies away and reveals a large green flatbed truck that has been rammed into one of the few surviving buildings. There's a long pause as the possibilities of using the truck fly through each of the trio's heads. Suddenly each of them erupts into a loud uproar, all getting their ideas out at once. Of course, none of them have any clue as to what's being said until Vash yells, "Alright! Hold on!" After Kaite and Brianne hush up, Vash continues, "Here's what we'll do. Kaite, you go round up the orphans and bring them to the truck. Brianne, you go with him and I'll stay and fix the truck."
The two listening blink for a second, then Brianne asks, "Why don't I check the truck out?" Kaite agrees with her and they both wait for Vash's response.
Vash, confused slightly, asks, "What do you know about trucks?"
At this, Kaite, kicks Vash in the shin hard, sending the Humanoid Typhoon hopping around as the boy says, "She's my driver you idiot!" Vash shouts back as to how he was supposed to know. Kaite shrugs and adds, "Not only is she my driver, but she's my body guard. Brianne can take care of herself while she works on the truck." Of course, in her womanly pride, Brianne stands straighter with her head up some at mention of her skill.
Vash regains himself, still rubbing his kicked shin and says, "Alright, Kaite, you get the kids. Brianne, you get the truck ready. I've got something I have to do myself." Both of the listeners ask what he has to do, but Vash only answers with, "You'll find out," before running out on his own, leaving the other two to their jobs.
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"I can't believe that spiky head idiot ran off without us. Great, now I have to round up some twenty kids and convince them to follow me. Why's Brianne get the easy job? I could have fixed that dang truck myself."
Kaite walks, more closely to stomps, his way through the valley he had reunited with Vash in. His white T-shirt is now an off white to yellow color due to the wind and sand. With his jeans and shoes in the same condition, he isn't exactly in the best condition, but he's moving at a good speed. After almost a half of an ile of walking, a group of children appear through the sand not far in front of Kaite. They're a ragtag collection of orphans, ranging from thin to chubby, strong to weak, male to female. They stretch across the entire width of the thin valley, all looking grimmer than ever. Kaite calls to them, "Hey guys! I've got great news!"
One of the stronger looking boys, probably in his mid teens, steps foreword from the center and asks, "What? There're empty buildings left over from the blast? We saw you go into to town with him. We saw the explosion! It's just like Augusta. The town's gone thanks to you and that monster, Vash the Stampede.
Stopping in his tracks, Kaite stares widely. He never expected them to react like this. Thoughts fly through his head as to what to say, but all he gets out is, "No, you've got it wrong."
The same teenage boy says in a louder tone, "Got what wrong? We saw him. We saw the Humanoid Typhoon and we saw you go with him. You're as much to blame!" The rest of the children remain silent, staring coldly at the accused.
Kaite shouts, "You're wrong! Vash wants to help you all and so do I! We've got a truck that can fit us all and we're planning to go to Mei City. It can fit you all too! It's one of those slow flatbeds. I've always steered you right before, why would I change now? You've got to trust me!"
A low murmur rises from the crowd of children as they try to decide what to do. Minutes go by and the orphans form a circle as they continue to debate. Meanwhile, Kaite grows more and more anxious. He realizes that the bandits will be right on their heels if the gang doesn't hurry up. He speaks up, with, "We've got to hurry you all! Time is wasting! And the bandits could be here any minute!"
With this comment of bandits, the discussion becomes louder and more heated. Minutes pass as more and more of the children decide to go with Kaite until it becomes a unanimous decision. The apparent spokesperson, the teenage boy, steps towards Kaite as the other orphans reform their line. The boy says in all seriousness, "We'll trust you, but if Vash the Stampede does end up killing us, we'll haunt you to you're death."
Now pressured by time and people, Kaite quickly agrees to it and begins to lead the crowd into town. He and the other children jog at a light pace at his goading. The group quickly regains time as they begin to get closer and closer to the town and their freedom.
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Meanwhile, Brianne begins to inspect the truck. Still using a bit of her natural grace, she circles the vehicle and the building it's rammed into a few times. She smirks at the condition and says to herself, "Well, the frame looks better than I thought it would. I might have to straighten the front right tire, but I'll save that for last. Guess I should start underneath." She slowly and carefully lowers herself to the ground on her back and tries to get under the truck, but hears her dress rip. In anger, the woman rises and tears the garment from her body, revealing her dressed in much more contemporary clothing. This includes tight black leather pants, a white tank top that would fit better if it were a size bigger, and a small tattoo of a rose on her right shoulder. With the dress removed, Brianne easily slides under the truck and begins to inspect it.
Unfortunately, the underside of the truck isn't as appealing as the frame. A good portion of the metal had been chipped or cracked while, what few wires there were, are completely cut through. Brianne sighs heavily, knowing the job would take a good hour for even her. She begins to talk to herself as she works, "Well, this is great. I'm leading a kid around and taking orders from the Legendary Gunman. Can things get any worse? Hmmm. Yeah, probably if whatever destroyed the city comes back. What was that? Only Vash could have done something that disastrous. He's got to be holding something back from us. I think it'd be better for Kaite if we get away from that menace as soon as possible. And if there's really another explanation for it? The farther the better from Vash. Seems like trouble only follows that fool. Maybe we can ditch him in the desert." While she's said these various comments, she finishes with the undercarriage of the truck.
With pauses in her talking to herself and lack of proper tools, Brianne has already exhausted and hour of time. She climbs out from under the truck, a few stains on her tank top, but none taking anything away from her appealing looks. She smiles slightly at her own ingenious as to be able to fix such a torn up vehicle. After taking a few minutes break and finding a drink of water, she opens the hood of the truck and gets to work. Over all the engine and adjacent machinery looked fine. Merely a few simple corrections and the truck would be finished. Brianne works diligently from here on; she knows one wrong move and they'd all be stuck walking with bandits. Just as she finishes with the last minor flaw, it hits her and she says out loud, "Bandits? Shit! They're probably already here. Where are Kaite and Vash?"
"Your wish is my command." Kaite stands a few feet away from the truck with the ragged orphans behind him. He adds a command to the children, "Alright, guys, get in the back and get ready." With that, the group moves to the truck with a loud commotion and gathers in the back of the flat bed. The orphans almost completely fill the back up except for a few feet of space, Vash's pack, and a long metallic pole with some leather grip on it. They, of course, question Kaite and Brianne about it, but Brianne tells them to not worry about it.
Things seem to be going well for the odd crowd, everything except the fact that Vash was still gone. This doesn't both Brianne though; she tells Kaite to get in the passenger's seat while she gets in the driver's side and begins to hot wire it. After a few minutes, she tries to start the engine, but it makes a loud murmur and cuts off again. She tries the engine five more times, then gets out and goes under the hood to see what's wrong. In a minute, her voice screeches through the still blood red stained sky, "Shit! Of all things! Why's it have to be out of gas?!" Kaite gets out and goes to her side as she says, "There's nothing we can do, unless there just happens to be some gas around here." This leads to a fifteen-minute search of the area, even the orphans look, but no fuel is found. They all lean against or lie in the truck. It seems hopeless to think anything can be done and, for a long time, they're right.
The twenty or so sit there, hopes crushed, for over an hour. They constantly complain, cry, or argue; they all know the bandits will come through anytime, in fact, they are surprised at their absence. Most of the survivors expect to die by the criminals anyways, so Brianne and Kaite aren't going to be surprised if they die by their hands. The largest conversations that take place are which bandit clans would attack the remnants of the town, which of the people near the flatbed would be the first to die, and who would be the last. The last one isn't hard. Everyone figures that the heartless fools will keep Brianne alive, for a while. Overall, morale is at an all time low for all the people's lives. It's at this low that the miracle happens. The "alliance" of children and adult are sitting around the truck when they hear gunshots. With this, the littlest of the orphans begin to cry, knowing their impending doom. The others try to toughen up and prepare to fight to the death. Meanwhile, off in the distance, a dust cloud grows closer and closer. They of course figure it's the bandits, but as it gets closer they start to notice a little blonde, until Kaite shouts out, "It's Vash!" All the children and even Brianne stand to get a better look.
Sure enough, it's Vash running straight towards them, probably setting a land speed record. He has two canisters in his hands and, as he approaches, it turns out that the dust is from gunshots around him. Behind him, the onlookers are barely able to make out two black jeeps, each with four men and four automatic weapons. Vash continues at them until he's about ten yards away. From here, he chucks the sealed canisters at the flatbed, hitting Kaite in the chest with both at the same, sending him back at least two feet and on his back. Vash then turns around to face the jeeps as they roar towards him, bullets still whizzing by.
While Vash stands up to the bandits, Brianne helps Kaite up. She checks him over to make sure he's okay, but finds nothing wrong except a slight bruise. She says, "Well, I guess you're pretty tough."
Kaite respond with, "Of course I'm tough! Now, what the hell is in these things? They weigh a ton!" He motions to the canisters he has trouble lifting with both hands, let alone one.
Brianne takes a closer look and opens one to smell what's inside. When she does, her eyes light up and she says, "It's gas!"
With an evil smirk, Kaite says, "Oh, I didn't know you liked flagellant men. You and Vash would be good for each other." He laughs loudly before being smacked in the face. He says poutingly, "Ow. Alright, alright. You want to get it in the truck already?"
Brianne goes to say a rude comment, but is stopped short by a thunderous crash. They both look back at Vash to see the leading jeep rammed into a near by building, the men sprawled out on the ground, not seriously injured. Vash stands there with his gun in hand as the other jeep roars towards him. He shouts, "Can't we all just get along? You know, love and peace kind of stuff?"
With the orphans all in the back of the flat bed cheering, the two others ignore Vash's stupidity and drag the canisters to the gas cap. It takes them a little bit of arguing and a little bit of work, but they fill the gas tank. With that done, they jump into the truck's cab and start the engine.
Vash, still playing a suicidal game of chicken with the oncoming jeep, hears the truck start and yells over his shoulder, "Wait for me! I brought the gas; it's the least you could do." After saying that, he reverts his attention back to the vehicle barreling at him. He prepares to shoot when he hears the truck start to roar off. Vash turns and gawks at their ungratefulness. He jumps out of the way of the jeep just in time, landing face down in the dirt. The Humanoid Typhoon looks up just as the truck becomes a spec in the distance. At this, he hits the sand with his fist just as the men get out of their jeep and surround him.
One of the men says, "That's it! I'm gonna kill the little shit. He sifted our gas!"
Another says, "Wait. Maybe he's got some cash on him. Blood stained double dollars aren't worth anything."
The four men begin to lower themselves to Vash's level, but never make it like they want to. In a flash, the man directly in front of Vash gets the butt of his own gun shoved into his face. The man behind Vash gets a swift kick to his groin, leaving only one on each side. These two begins to react by pointing their guns at him, but Vash is simply too fast. He jumps up and yells, "Kiss and make up!" as he pulls them into each other, smacking their heads into one another. All the men fall to the ground at the same time, either unconscious or in too much pain to move. After a moment of looking around, Vash jumps up into the air and lets out a "Whoooohooooo!" He then realizes he needs to get rid of their guns and ammo. With an evil smile, he gets a perfect idea.
A few minutes later, Vash walks away from the knocked out men and makes his way to their parked black jeep. Their guns lie next to them along with countless bullet casings. All their ammo actually lies in two places. Either as bullet casings on the ground or as bullet holes in a near by vacant building. The odd, and probably humorous, side to it is the shape in which the bullet holes are made. They read in the wall, "Love and Peace!" with a small picture of Vash with spiked hair below it. The wind kicks up slightly as Vash hops into the jeep, starts it, and drives off into the setting sun.
Credits
Lee Richardson-Chief, Executive, and Only Writer (Sex Symbol of the New Generation) John Bryant-Executive Editor (Little Man, Big Package) Garrett Williams- Editor (Guy Who Just Says It's Good) Anthony Pomozzii- Editor (Guy Who Got Turned On By Brianne) Pioneer and All the Other Owners- Original Trigun Makers (You People Rule)