Disclaimer: Don't own Trigun. Not making money off this. Stop hounding me!

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A/N: I'm back!!!!!!! Yes, yes. I know the last chapter was rather cruel to leave you with, but I just had to! Thanks to all that read and reviewed. It really made me feel great to come back and see so many reviews for my story. You guys are the best reviewers a writer could ask for!

Anyways, here's the next chapter. When I started this, I never thought that it would make it to a 10th chapter. But believe me, it's a pleasant surprise.

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Desert Sands

By: Batbabe

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Chapter 10

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It took him less than an hour to find the preacher.

All he had to do was go to the two inns that the small town had and check the guest lists. A small town like that rarely had visitors, so they were pretty easy to check.

As Vash made his way to the room that his friend occupied, he found himself growing with anger again. He had cooled somewhat since he had left the house, but now, as he stood outside the room, his anger was again igniting. Vash just couldn't understand just how Wolfwood could still be alive. But it wasn't the fact that he was alive that infuriated the outlaw, it was the fact that he had hid it from everyone. Seeing how upset Milly had been after his death, Vash just couldn't believe that her pain could have been avoided all together.

So Vash had reacted the only way he knew how, by acting. He knew that he had to find Wolfwood and bring him home to the girls. He had to be faced with his child and the woman that loved him, he couldn't run away.

The tall blonde considered knocking on the door before him, but thought that surprising his friend might give him a better reaction. With that decision made, he promptly kicked the door in.

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"Do you think Mr. Vash will be able to find Nicolas, Meryl?"

The shorter insurance girl was shaken from her thoughts by Milly's question. After Vash had stormed out, Meryl had brought in some tea and pudding for her partner and they had sat in silence. She had been preoccupied with concern over what would happen when Vash found the supposedly dead preacher.

And then there was the question of just how Wolfwood (if it was even really him) was alive in the first place. Meryl had never seen his body, Vash had taken it upon himself to bury it all on his own, so she supposed that it was possible that the wounds weren't as serious as they thought. But Vash knew the difference between a dead body and a live one. The difference was, unfortunately, one of the things that Vash had become an expert on over the years.

So if he had died, just how had he been brought back to life? Meryl had seen some pretty strange things in her travels with the blonde outlaw, but she just couldn't fathom how someone or something could revive the dead.

Neither of those theories explained the memory loss though. Well, that is if he truly didn't recognize Milly. But if he didn't lose his memories, why would he lie to Milly like that? None of this made any sense and Meryl's head was starting to hurt the more she thought about it all.

It was also possible that this wasn't Wolfwood at all, but someone else who bore an uncanny resemblance. This seemed to be the most likely option, though Meryl couldn't get past the fact that it was pretty damn ironic that a dopelganger would just happen to show up in the town that they were residing in.

Answering her partner's question, Meryl simply said "I don't know Milly. I just don't know." She shook her head and looked down at her hand twisting in her lap. There was just too much to think about.

She was about to open her mouth to say something else when a loud thump was heard from upstairs.

When Meryl turned to meet her partner's eyes, she saw on her face a reflection of her own feelings: surprise and fear.

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A/N: Yes, I realize that this chapter is short and cruel, but it's meant to be more of a teaser for the next chapter. Hopefully I'll have that up by the end of the week.

Please R/R!