Author's notes. Yes, hello all. Back to every other week posting, I guess. Or am I even later than that? Oh well, this is the last chapter, so it really doesn't matter. Quick correction of last chapter: I accidentally said Zazie's bracelet turned white. Gomen, that's supposed to be blue, he's done with his deeds. I am going to fix that mispost, I just haven't been able to yet. Also, please read the review (the last 'chapter' on this story) it's going up the day after this goes up, so, enjoy ^_^

***

Midvalley was sitting on the steps in front of their temporary home. He was watching the sunset. In just under four hours, the first sun would be hitting the horizon. All right, so it was a little early to say he was watching the sunset, but it was better than saying he'd been watching the sunrise since before the suns were up. A hint of movement behind him signaled Wolfwood leaving the house, but Midvalley didn't so much as blink in the other man's direction. The young priest was frowning as he sat beside his friend. "How are you doing?"

"You're safe." Neither man spoke for a minute or two. Finally Midvalley took a deep breath and looked at the man beside him. "I know you were trying to avoid actually saying it, but you did forgive him, didn't you? And me, too. You're safe."

Wolfwood sat motionless, staring at the road in front of them. Finally he moved, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. He carefully tugged his coat sleeve over his wrist, hiding the blue line that was proof enough of Midvalley's words. "So, how are you doing?"

"A second chance. It was too much to hope for, for a guy like me. But I want to go out with him to meet that freak and give him a piece of my mind."

"Hornfreak, you can't. You're hurt!"

"You think I don't know that? But what good'll it do me to just sit around here? If I'm gonna die again, I want to go out in a blaze of glory, just like last time." He smiled for a moment, before his face slipped back into its solemn frown. "This time I want to be on his side, instead of against him."

"He won't want you there. He doesn't want any of us there."

"As if that's going to stop us." The two sat together a moment more before Wolfwood stood and walked away. Midvalley turned to watch the man walk away and then looked back at the sky in front of him. Grumpily he massaged his side, which had decided to start throbbing with all this talk of death.

**

"He doesn't want you to go!"

"I know that."

"Vash told you to stay here out of danger!"

"Yes, he did. So did Legato."

"And you're going anyway?"

Zazie stopped loading his guns and looked at Isabel. "I am going. Whether or not I'll be needed, I'm going to be there."

"But from what you've told me, you could just stay out of harm's way and wake up tomorrow unharmed! You could stay safe and live here with me."

Zazie shook his head gently. "I'm tempted, I am. But it wouldn't be right. Living is not enough."

Isabel was crying softly, near silent tears trailing down her face. "But what if you are hurt? What if you're killed?"

Zazie closed his gun, tucking it securely away with his extra ammo. "Don't think about things like that, there are enough people already thinking about death today. I can't promise I'll be alright, but I don't want you to worry, all right? I earned my second shot, I doubt I'll lose it again so quickly."

Unconvinced, Isabel latched tightly onto Zazie's shirt. Her tears rolled down her cheeks more freely now and Zazie was hard pressed to keep his own tears in check. The two didn't move for more than an hour.

**

Legato leaned over, resting his elbows on his legs. He curled one hand up and wedged it under his chin while the other hand made the trip from the small brown bag beside him to his mouth. It had been a long day. And it was getting longer every minute. He glanced at the suns. Not long now before the first would hit the horizon. Legato stood slowly, setting the remains of his meal down for the time being. He walked the short distance to the café Meryl was working at and stepped onto the porch.

No sooner had he stopped moving then Meryl stuck her head out the door. "Is it time?"

"I'm not sure, he didn't say when he was going, just that it would be today. Are you going with him?"

Meryl shook her head. She was trying not to cry, and that was apparently taking most of her concentration. "Yes. He's said many times that he wants to go alone. But when I asked if I could go, he didn't say no. He's scared, no matter what he says."

"Then we should probably go soon. Make sure he doesn't try to leave without telling us."

Meryl sighed and nodded. "It wouldn't be the first time. I'll go tell my boss."

Legato turned and went back to his food. A little street rat was pawing at the wrapper of the hotdog. "Hey! What do you think you're doing, that's mine!" Legato snarled. The little boy jumped, dropping the half-eaten dog Legato had set down earlier. He grumbled to himself, picking up the wasted food. The boy was still watching him, his eyes big. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry I ruined your food, sir. But, uh, you're not going to eat it now, are you?"

Legato paused, watching the two big eyes that were watching him. Finally he sighed, handing over the dust covered snack. "You can have this." He reached behind him, pulling a second hotdog from the untouched bag. "And this one, too. You need them more than I do."

The little boy shook his head quickly. "No, thank you, but that's yours. I shouldn't take all your food, it's my fault this one got dirty!"

Legato frowned and set the hotdog in the boy's hand. "Take it." He stood, walking quickly away before any more protests could reach his ears.

***

It was beginning to cool off, the first sun almost out of sight. Vash was sitting on the porch, staring as Wolfwood slowly approached the house. The priest smiled when he stepped up and through the door, but didn't say a word. He stopped for a moment to give Millie a kiss before trotting up the stairs. He returned not a minute later, his cross punisher slung over one shoulder. He stepped onto the porch again, but Vash was no longer there. "Millie! Where'd needle-noggin go?"

Millie smiled giullessly at her fiancée. "Mr. Vash left just a minute ago."

Wolfwood's eyes widened. "Why didn't you stop him?!"

"You should do his mind a favor and stay here, so he doesn't have to worry." Wolfwood scowled at Knives as the blonde said exactly what he didn't want to hear. "Think of it this way, if you're there, it's just one more person he has to protect. You should stay out of the way."

"You'd leave your own brother out there to fight with no protection?"

"I'm perfectly aware of how capable he is of protecting himself."

Wolfwood sighed and leaned against the doorjamb. "You want me to just sit here. And now I have no choice, I'll never catch him, will I?"

Knives smiled. He was actually chuckling slightly and it was genuine. "You know, if I were him, I'd want to keep the town safe. I'd go to the outskirts, probably south, since that's where the bandits have been staying anyway."

It took a moment before Wolfwood looked up in shock. Was Knives actually helping him? Millie stood up, that same smile on her face. She took a moment to secure her stun gun, then walked to her love's side. "Ready to go?"

Wolfwood nodded a thank you in Knives' direction. "Yeah. South."

***

Vash looked across the darkening sands at his opponent. Brilliant Dynamite Neon smiled at him from his position in front of the rest of the Bad Lands Gang. With a sigh, Vash stepped forward more and forced his face to smile. "So you finally tracked me down for that rematch!"

"And you ain't injured or nothin' this time, right?"

Vash laughed, forcing himself to sound cheerful. "Oh, no. I've been a pretty good boy lately. The worst I've done is stop a robbery and fight with my brother some. It's just gonna be you against me, right?"

Neon glanced behind him at the rest of the gang. "My boys have orders to stay out of this fight so long as your boys do the same."

Vash's smile vanished instantly, his eyes widening in shock. Slowly he turned around to look at the people walking up behind him. "Heh. I suppose I should have known I couldn't keep you guys out of this. But you really shouldn't be here!"

Wolfwood snorted, setting his cross into the sand. "As if we'd let you do this alone."

Vash still hadn't recovered his smile, looking at the others almost desperately. Finally his eyes rested on Midvalley and Legato behind him. "At least you two. Go home, stay away from here."

Legato shook his head, "This is my time, leaving wouldn't change that. I'd rather do a bit more good before I have to leave."

Midvalley was bent partially over, doing his best to conceal the pain his injury was still causing him. He patted his saxophone case and laughed lightly. "I already said I'm gonna go out with a bang. I was lucky to get this thing rigged up like my old one, too. I'm not leaving. And don't give me that look, I made sure there are no jams this time."

"Oi! Are we doing this or not?"

Vash sighed and nodded, finally turning back to Neon with a resigned look on his face. "And it's just you and me? You'll be sure not to involve my friends?" Neon nodded, a smile on his lips. "Well, all right then. I guess I can't get out of it." He was smiling again and quickly moved off to one side, away from the bystanders. Neon was openly smirking as he took a small ball from his pocket and threw it into the air. Both sides watched as the orb traveled into the darkening sky and then descended towards the sands again. Suddenly an explosion ripped through the night. Distracted, Vash spun towards the sound, missing as the signal hit the ground. Neon's first bullet just clipped his shoulder and Vash was forced to focus again on his own battle.

Wolfwood was cursing fluently. That gunshot had missed him by mere inches, fortunately bouncing off his cross punisher instead. But it had sent most everyone into a panic, both sides scrounging for what little cover was in the desert, mostly provided by their own vehicles. Meryl and Zazie were both exchanging fire with the opposing side while Millie was taking out several fighters at once with her stun gun. Another shot clicked against the cross-punisher and Wolfwood's cursing picked up a notch as he fired angrily across the sand.

Midvalley was rivaling the priest's vocabulary as he cursed loudly at the weight on top of him. "Get off of me, damnit!"

"You shouldn't be here in the first place." At the first sound of battle, Legato had tackled the musician, bringing them both to the ground. "Stay down, all right?" Midvalley opened his mouth, but Legato moved before the other could complain more. He looked down at his shirt, frowning at the sheer amount of blood on it. Midvalley shouldn't be here. He couldn't even stand and now he was expected to fight? Which actually brought Legato back to his own problem. He'd sold his gun, and vowed that he would never use another one. But in a fight like this, that was a serious problem.

As battles tend to, this one was getting out of control and chaotic at breakneck speed. The only thing keeping them from shooting their own people was the fact that each side was still fairly uniform and on opposite sides of the cramped battlefield. And all of this was working against Vash as he dodged away from another bullet. His concentration was divided, which was something he couldn't afford. "I thought you were going to leave them out of this!"

"I gave orders not to cause trouble and to leave us alone. Ain't my fault if someone went against me. Now pay attention, you idiot, or this'll be no fun at all!"

Zazie looked around frantically, trying to get a clear picture of where he was. He fired again, cutting down the bruiser that had been bearing down on him. A quick glance over his shoulder showed that he was at least still facing the right direction. Millie was still in sight, but he'd sprinted so far forward that he could catch sight of the others. At least, not without looking away from his enemies for too long. He focused again and raised his gun to the next opponent. Click click. Zazie's breath caught as he registered the sound of his empty clip. The other man realized it as well and smiled broadly, lowering his own gun to point directly at Zazie's head.

Suddenly the man jerked, his shot going wild as he was plowed into from the side. Zazie didn't pause to think as he quickly loaded his gun again and started firing. Behind him, Legato spun again to take down another man. Maybe there was something to this unarmed combat thing!

Without warning, a new scream rang into the night. Everyone froze, eyes going immediately to the dual. Vash knelt in the sand, sweating and breathing hard. He was holding his right shoulder and was bleeding from a couple other bad injuries as well. Neon, on the other hand, had dropped his gun. He was holding his side tightly and laying in a slowly growing pool of his own blood. There was a pause before Vash jumped to his feet, dashing the distance between the two and immediately started to care for the other's wound. He had won, somehow.

Amazed, Midvalley lowered his sax from his lips. He couldn't believe it was over, but it was. And he was still breathing, relatively uninjured. After holding his own against the Bad Lands Gang, he was still standing, even though this was supposed to be his day to die. Slowly he raked his eyes across the battleground. Not only was he still alive, but it seemed everyone was. Several were sporting some damage of their own, but everyone was still standing. Or, mostly. Wolfwood couldn't seem to stand upright and Legato was pulling himself off the ground. But they were all alive.

It was by pure chance that he saw the gunman. Zazie and Meryl were discouraging most everyone from doing anymore fighting, but they simply couldn't get to everyone. For just a moment, Midvalley wasn't sure what to do. The man was aiming at Millie and suddenly any doubt melted from his mind. He darted forward, quickly closing the few meters between him and the taller woman. There was no thought of life or death, he was only thinking one thing. Millie couldn't die. Wolfwood couldn't lose her, not after everything else. And the child deserved a chance at life as well.

Midvalley's eyes widened as he realized what he was doing. He shouldn't be risking himself like this, but he knew he would do it again in a heartbeat, if he ever got the chance. His world narrowed to a single focus as the bullet hit his flesh. Everything seemed to freeze as felt a horrible pain piercing through his stomach. The seconds seemed to last an eternity as gravity took its toll, dragging him to the ground. He heard Millie scream and someone else let off another shot, but it all seemed so unimportant. I'm dying, he realized with a shock. I've felt all this before, this is just like it was. I really am dying this time.

Millie hit the ground hard and turned to look at her rescuer. She screamed as his legs gave out and he sank to the ground. A final gunshot shattered the night as she twisted around to catch the boy and cradle his head in her lap. Out of nowhere it seemed, Wolfwood and Meryl appeared beside her. Frantic, she looked up at them, her face telling everything she couldn't say. In the distance she could see Vash standing there, his mouth agape in pure horror, Neon completely forgotten beside him.

Zazie felt his guns slip from numb fingers. It was really happening, one of his friends was gone. He really was safe, but Midvalley hadn't made it. "No. This can't be happening. It should have been me." Zazie blinked, snapped out of his daydream by the soft mumbling. Legato stood not two meters away, his face pale and shocked.

Zazie took a few steps toward the blue haired boy. "Legato? Are you all right?"

Suddenly the boy bolted forward, sprinting to his fallen friend's side. "This can't be happening!" He fell to his knees and scrambled to grab Midvalley's wrist. He pulled it up, gaping at the blue band wrapped around it. "He made it! He did something good! It should have been me!"

Millie placed a hand on Legato's arm. "His bracelet is the same as yours. Why did this happen if they're both the same?"

Legato looked at his own wrist in shock. Vaguely he remembered the orphan in town, rescuing Zazie, and everything else he'd done to earn his second shot at life. "But, Midvalley . . . It should have been me . . ."

***

It was warm. Midvalley refused to open his eyes, he didn't want to see where he was. He just wanted to lay here and relish in the warmth of the place. It wasn't hot, like on Gunsmoke, and it wasn't cold like it had been before. Was this Eden? Heaven?

There was a soft laughing coming from beside him. "Are you just going to sleep?"

"Yes."

The woman's voice laughed harder. "But you'll miss out on this wonderful scene!" Reluctantly Midvalley opened his eyes and gasped. He was standing beside himself, lying bleeding on the ground. "Doesn't it make you happy? To see all your friends so sad over losing you? They really did care."

Midvalley turned angrily towards Angel. "No it does not make me happy! Why would I be happy to see them miserable? I wanted to stay with them! I-I wanted another chance."

Angel smiled and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You really do want this, don't you? You were never planned to have this chance, you know that. And even as it was, this new life was forced on you. But you really do want it, don't you?"

Midvalley pulled slightly from her grip and turned back to his friends. "But I don't get to live with them. I'm not the 'do good' type and I didn't fulfill the requirement." He reached out, as if to touch them, but stopped midmotion.

Angel placed a hand on his arm again, forcing him to face her. "You're wrong. You did good, Midvalley. You really did. Will you do me a favor? I want you to tell him . . . tell him, I couldn't be more proud of him." Midvalley crinkled his brow, confused. Angel placed a hand on his stomach and smiled again.

In an instant, Midvalley's world became one of total pain. He could hardly focus through it and for a moment his vision completely whited out. Was this final death? It was so different from before. Before, the pain had sort of . . . faded. He could hear someone mumbling to themselves. It sounded like they were mad at life, even spitting curses at some angel. Slowly Midvalley opened his eyes – when had he closed them? – and focused on the world around him.

Several gasps came from around him and Midvalley's eyes widened as he saw his friends. He gasped as well, immediately regretting it as he remembered the two gunshot wounds in his abdomen. Legato was there, a million questions flying from his mouth at once, mostly to see if he was okay or not. A hand appeared on his shoulder and Midvalley looked up to meet Wolfwood's eyes. The look on his face held more gratitude than the priest could possibly express with words.

There was a flash of red and Midvalley had just enough time to brace himself before he was swept up in a bone-crushing hug by Vash. "You're alive! You made it! Oh thank you, thank you! I don't know who decided this, but thank you!!"

Midvalley struggled for breath and fought to focus through the pain. "You-you moron. I'm practically dead. Lemme go!" Vash released the musician, immediately all business and began tending his wounds. "Vash?" The man looked up, worried. "She says, she's proud of you."

A small smile graced the gunman's lips. A real smile. "I'll bet she's proud of all of you, too. I am."

***

Well, not exactly what I wanted, but it's as close as I'm going to get. It's done! Don't forget to look for the comedy review tomorrow ^_^ And I do apologize for my shoty work at posting on time. I hope it was worth it. And now for a shameless plug: If you liked this story, you should go read 'Life After Him'. Another angsty fic with a little more angst and a lot more yaoi (since this story had none) But yeah, shameless plug. In any case, tell me what you think about this, and thanks for reading!!  ^_^  ^_^  ^_^  ^_^