Wooo...been so busy. Moving sux! And I turned 18 on the 26th and you know what my absolute favorite present has been so far? Not money or anything like that. My aunt baked me a batch of cookies. Cookies! Just for me! Needless to say, I completely freaked out(because I am oh so mature). So Vash has his donuts and Milly has her pudding, but when it comes to chewy sugar cookies covered in icing...I am all up in that. You have no idea how many I've eaten. Like they're on this pretty plate and everything, and they're just there. I just have to. In fact I can see them right now and well...uh...here's the next chapter(munching sounds are heard).

ONE HOUR LATER

"Her name is Catalina."

"Cat?" Vash glanced down at his bandaged bite wound. "Hah! Well, at least this makes sense..."

Meryl grabbed him by the ear. "This is not a laughing matter!"

"AHHH!" He tried to pull away as she twisted it. "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"

Wolfwood gave an evil smirk, while a crumpled cigarette hung from the edge of his mouth. He wasn't about to forget the little score he and that broomhead had yet to settle. "So what kind of matter is it then?"

She let go of Vash and looked back at the arrogant preacher. "Must you smoke in my room?"

Nick cocked an eyebrow at her odd choice of pronouns. Wasn't it Vash's room too? He flashed the salesman smile. "What? I'm only contaminating Needle Noggin's half of the air..."

Meryl blinked. How dare he take that tone with her.

The Typhoon edged away in fear, all too familiar with what would come next...

Nick went wide-eyed as Meryl gave him a vicious poke to the chest, suddenly getting in his face.

"LISTEN, BUDDY! THAT CRAP MIGHT WORK ON HER, BUT A FORKED TONGUE AND A CHEESY SMILE AREN'T ABOUT TO SAVE YOU HERE!"

He stumbled back trying to catch his balance. Where the hell was his cross when he really needed it? Wolfwood gained a defensive stance, wary of a second attack. "DAMN! I GET THE POINT ALREADY! JUST HAND ME THE FREAKING ASHTRAY!"

"Milly, your friend wasn't really serious was she?"

"Hmm?" Her eyelids felt heavy. Nick hadn't let her get any sleep. She sipped some more coffee then glanced back up. "Of course she was."

The girl looked down. These people didn't owe her anything. Why should they risk their necks? "But you guys don't even know me..."

She could sense the guilt hanging on the girl's every word. Milly's eyes softened. "Cat...you can't blame yourself for what those men did. That's just what they want. To break your spirit and change you into something they can control." Milly put her hand on her shoulder. "You have to know you're stronger than that. Just look how far you've come! And now we're going to help." Milly smiled. "It's just what we do."

"But you're insurance agents!"

Milly grinned, sitting back. "True...but I promise we're a lot tougher than we look. And you know that blonde guy you bit?"

"Yeh..."

"Well, he's our friend too. And his name is Vash."

"Vash? As in..." Cat's eyes went wide.

She laughed waving her hand. "Oh don't worry, he's really very nice! Actually, him and Meryl are kind of well..." Milly scratched the back of her head, not sure of the right way to put it.

The girl blinked, remembering how easily Meryl had bossed him around. "They're dating, aren't they?"

Milly smiled. It was funny to hear someone actually put it that way. "Yeh, pretty much. They've just got their own way of showing it..."

An attentive Typhoon and an irritated holy man sat together on the bed, listening to the short girl explain the situation in its entirety.

"So you see, her and her sisters were all captured and forced to work at that horrible place. To become nothing but sex objects...at those men's beck and call. She barely escaped with her life. The whole town is run by bandits. No women live there, except the prostitutes who are too afraid to leave..."

Wolfwood sighed. It really did make him sick inside, any man who would do that woman...there really wasn't a word for it. They just didn't deserve to live. "So let me guess...you want us to go get her sisters and just happen to save everyone else while we're there?"

Meryl tightened her fist. "Don't you dare give me any of your 'let's not meddle' bullshit right now! She's only fifteen dammit!"

Nick looked away and Vash spoke up for him. "Come on Meryl...don't be so hard on him. He feels the same way you do. Wolfwood just knows it won't be so easy to take down a whole town..."

2 DAYS LATER...a miscellaneous stretch of open desert

Nick huffed while switching the weight of the punisher to his other hand. "Women..."

Vash smirked, wiping some sweat away. "Well, I was going to go anyway. You know that. But how exactly did Milly talk you into this?"

What a stupid question. "Dammit, how do you think?"

Vash cocked an eyebrow. "Hey...I don't know what goes on between you two."

Nick rolled his eyes from behind the sunglasses. Man, he wished. "Not like that Tongari." Wolfwood went silent for a moment remembering the look she had given him. Begging him to at least go with Vash, since both he and the Needle Noggin refused to let the girls even think of stepping foot in a woman hungry town like that. How could he even try to say no? He'd never stood a chance, faced with those beautiful pleading eyes. "Oh yeah, by the way Vash..."

Being called by a name that had nothing to do with his hairstyle? Suspicous. He glanced over and was completely clotheslined with one sweep from the cross punisher. Vash landed on his back screaming. "YOU COULD HAVE BROKEN MY NECK! WHAT THE HELL PREACHERMAN?"

Nick walked calmly on, slipping the main strap over his right shoulder. "It's none of your damn business."

How could he do something so random, then just keep walking like it was no big deal? "I THINK WHEN I'M FREAKING BLEEDING, IT MAKES IT MY BUSINESS! I COULD SHOOT YOU RIGHT NOW YOU KNOW!"

"Please. I could kill you in an instant..."

Vash glared and withdrew the long colt, still sitting in the sand. He aimed it at Nick's back. "You're talking to Vash The Stampede here...what makes you so sure you'd win? There's no ketchup this time preacher."

Wolfwood came to a stop but didn't turn. His voice was emotionless. "Fine, Vash. If you've got the balls...by all means, pull that trigger."

The three young women sat on the porch eating sandwiches, and generally just enjoying each other's company. Eventually the conversation turned to the concern that hung in the back of all their minds.

"I'm worried about them, Meryl."

"Well duh, Milly. But this is Vash and Wolfwood we're talking about...they'll come back." The short girl's words were more for her own assurance than to comfort Milly. Meryl was still supremely pissed off that the boys hadn't even let them go. Jerks...

"That's not what I'm talking about. I mean, they haven't been alone in awhile. You know how they get..." She pondered a moment trying to think of something to compare it to. "You know, kind of like brothers I guess. Best friends, but there's always that little power struggle going on right beneath the surface. I dunno, I just hope they don't get each other into unnecessary trouble..."

Meryl sighed, covering her face. "That's true. I can't believe I didn't even think about that! All that testosterone without us to even it out! Ugh. Stupid boys...I bet they're arguing over some dumb macho thing right at this moment."

Milly frowned as her imagination ran with that last thought. "Eh..."

Nick looked over his shoulder. "Well?"

It was impossible to read a guy like Wolfwood when he didn't want you to. Vash had no idea if this was a game or not. Did Nick really expect him to shoot? How did he intend to retaliate if Vash did pull the trigger? Maybe he'd just knick the priest to get him rattled. But he hated to waste a bullet...

Wolfwood was getting bored. Tongari wouldn't make a move. There was no fun it. He turned his face away again and the .45 went off like a crack of thunder. Nick blinked as his glasses fell away from his face, the left edge of the frame completely blown off. The top of his ear stung as one tiny drop of blood trickled its way down.

Vash straightened up, not sure whether to run, apologize, or shoot again. Once more, he had absolutely no idea what the priest was thinking.

Nick turned with his broken shades hanging diagonal across his face. He pulled a hidden pistol from the inside of his jacket and took aim. The look in his eyes was dead serious.

The Typhoon's courage quickly fell away as he considered what a dumb move that had been. Apparently Wolfwood was more attached to his sunglasses than anyone could have guessed. Vash held his gun up innocently while backing up. "Come on man! I thought we were just kidding around! Besides! If you killed me, Meryl would kill you! So you'd have to kill her too! But she's Milly's best friend, so if you killed her Milly would hate you!"

Wolfwood grinned. "I'll tell them it was an accident."

"As if they'd believe you!"

"Of course they would." Nick laughed. "I'm a priest you idiot."

He pulled the trigger and Vash flinched as his sunglasses slid to a crooked halt. Well that was a relief. He sighed. "We should go to town like this. Let's be trendsetters." The Typhoon struck a slight pose. "Diagonal sunglasses are officially in..."

Wolfwood took them off with a glare. "Please do not ever talk that way again..."

Vash cocked an eyebrow. "Wait! What are you insinuating?" His shoulders sank as the priest began to walk away. "Nick?"