Disclaimer: This is me not owning Trigun :( This is me putting in another chapter :)

Oh my goodness, we had to get our computer fixed so I couldn't put up any more chapters until now. Oh my goodness. Well, here is number 6. Um, it's the last chapter.

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Chapter 6.

We were walking for a few minutes and Vash stopped abruptly. I looked at his face. He was concentrating on something. "Someone's following us," he whispered.

I searched back and forth and all around, but I saw nothing. Vash walked over to the side of a building and aimed his left arm around the corner. I heard a high shriek and we ran to see who it was. Corrin sat on the ground shaking all over.

"Where are the other two?" Meryl demanded.

"I—I was the only one who escaped. Please, Mr. Vash, don't kill me. I want to help you find Jack Cracker, since I know exactly where he is."

Vash let his arm hang at his side and said, "Let's get going then. We're losing daylight!"

Corrin had a big mouth. He talked so much on the way that I thought Meryl would grab one of Vash's guns and threaten him with it. Later I found out that she had her own weapons. Millie kept laughing at the jokes he told. I didn't understand most of them, so I walked behind them quietly.

"Over there is where Jack lives, but Dr. Ernest is being held in the building straight across from his house. I don't know how to get in there, someone always had to let me in from the inside…hey, we can just do that this time, can't we?"

"Hehe, what a brilliant idea, Corrin." Millie enthused. She was all smiles.

"What do I do?" I asked. I didn't like the idea of standing around alone outside.

Four adults stopped everything and slowly turned their heads my direction. They blinked and looked at each other. I wondered what they were thinking just then. Everyone focused their eyes on Vash next.

"Well, Denise, I forgot you were here. You'll have to go home or some place safe because this is the really dangerous part of our mission." He explained.

I lowered my eyebrows at him. "I've come this far, don't expect me to leave now. I'm old enough to be here, and I wanna' help!"

"Look, Denise," Meryl bent down to my eye level. "Of course you're big enough and old enough and everything, but we don't want you to get hurt. If you do, it'll be more work on our part for the insurance. You can trust us to get your dad back safely. Vash won't let anything happen to him, right Vash?" Vash nodded his head.

"Besides, little girl, if your dad sees you, or if you happen to get captured by a guard, or something, he might actually give in. Then he'd be a goner for sure."

I hung my head. "You're right, I can't endanger him."

"And if you get hurt, who will supply my food?" Vash asked, sticking out his lower lip. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

They went on and I pretended to go home. After they were in, I easily snuck up to a window to see. It was boarded up from the outside so no light could get in. I really could help my dad! I grabbed the board to pull it off and out of the way, but it was stuck tight. It had been nailed and screwed in place.

I spit on my hands, rubbed them together, and gave a hard yank. It didn't even budge! "I don't give up that easily." I looked around for any sort of tool I could use. We really were losing daylight, and I wanted more than anything for my dad to know what time of day it was.

I saw some big rocks but I decided against it. If I used them to scrape away the board, someone would hear me; I couldn't chance that. It was quiet out and someone was sure to hear any noise whatsoever.

"There has to be something," I walked around for a while, making sure I knew how to get back. Somewhere along the way I found some glass and some long nails. Who would leave nails just lying around for someone to step on?

I started scratching at the board and I got pretty far in ten minutes. I worked on another side for a few minutes and was able to take apart a tiny bit. I finally made a hole big enough for me to see inside and I looked in. I saw nothing to the right so I turned my gaze to the left. There was nobody in the room! I must have undone the wrong board to the wrong window. I hoped I didn't have to go all around the place just to find the correct room.

Three more boards later I had to take a break. I was just wasting my time. I sat down next to the wall to rest a moment. It hadn't occurred to me until now that they might have already rescued him. Oh, no! If they have him out, they won't know I'm still here; I really haven't helped at all. I should have listened to them. I dusted off my hands and found one of them wet. Now I was bleeding on top of everything else. I wiped my hand on my pants and it stung when I did.

A bright light shone right in my face just then. I closed my eyes tightly and held my hand to my eyes. Someone stepped in front of the light. I opened my eyes, but I had to squint.

"Well, well, look what we have here," a voice spoke. A man walked up to me from past the light and lifted me to my feet. He had small glasses, crazed eyes, an awkward smile, and smelly breath! It was Jack on crack, maybe.

"You lost, kid? No, I don't think so." He answered his own question. "I think you're here on the count of you knowing something, or maybe you're trying to help someone."

Would he buy my lies? I am a terrible liar. "I was playing with my friends and one of them came this way, so I followed him—"

He brought me closer to his face. "No one dares come here. They know I don't handle strangers politely." He shoved me up against the side of the building and let me drop to the ground. It hurt and tears threatened to spill from my eyes.

He turned around to look at some people behind him and then back at me again.

"Ah, this gives me an excellent idea! You, my dear, can be the test subject. You'll be an important part to my mission: you will be responsible for starting everything! What do you say, darling?" He licked his lips.

I gulped and my throat went dry. "W-what mission?" My eye began twitching.

"Perfect, then you will help me!" He turned back around and addressed someone else by snapping his fingers. "Bring her,"

He was talking about the disease! I would not be a part of that! "No,"

"Ha, you have no choice now!" A man with a deep voice and a long beard came toward me.

"No, no! Somebody help me!" I tried to run away, but he caught me before I could get too far. I struggled and squirmed, but I was no match for this guy. Worse than all this, I had let down Vash, and my dad. What if they actually did catch Vash; everyone else too? I thought.

The man took me inside the building and through a couple of hallways and finally into a dark room. He turned on the lights and I saw a chair near the wall. "Down we go, into the chair with you." He closed shackles around both my arms and legs. It kept me from moving anywhere.

Jack walked in the room and pulled on some surgical latex gloves. "Ready, my dear? You are the perfect test subject to see if this will work." He went to a drawer under a cabinet and pulled out three long syringes. Don't you usually only need one?

I gulped long and hard. I hate needles! I also hate crazy freaks who stick you with them. I tried to pull my hands free from the shackles, but they were closed tightly around my wrists.

"Now, now, no wiggling, my dear, or you'll make it worse." He gave one of the needles to the other guy.

"I'm not your dear!" I screamed.

"At this point, darling, it doesn't matter if you were my mother. Nothing is going to stop me from being the richest person in the universe!" His right eye twitched. He nodded to the bearded man. "Make my day; execute the first stage."

"Don't listen to him, please, don't!" I begged.

I moved my left arm around, but he held it down firmly and injected the needle. I cringed; it hurt so badly! Jack handed him another one. "Now we follow through with stage two!" He laughed to himself, "Hehe, I'm so clever!"

Another painful injection later I was starting to feel unusually queasy; nauseous, maybe. They waited a while and watched me. Jack began to take notes even. "Now, tell me: do you have feeling in your left arm still? You shouldn't, but if you do, we have to wait another minute or so."

He waited for my answer, but I couldn't exactly think straight. What was the question, again? Do I have an arm? They want your arm! My head screamed at me. I gritted my teeth. Don't let them take it, it belongs to you!

"It's mine, not yours!" I barked.

They looked at each other. "Do you feel sick, like you're about to throw up? Tell me now, my dear, this is very important."

What was he saying to me? I couldn't feel my left arm, but I felt like I would throw up any second. What was there to throw up? I hadn't eaten in a long time. When was the last time I ate?

"I don't know," it sounded like the right thing to say.

"Do you think it is working? She certainly looks sick." The man with a beard said.

"I do not!" I screamed. I don't know why though. Maybe because I had to go to the bathroom and I was stuck in a chair.

Jack came over to where the man with a beard stood and slapped my arm, I think. I didn't feel a thing. "Help me, and continue with stage three…oh, another good one!"

"Wow, you should write these down, boss."

"Shut up, and get on with it!"

My right arm began shaking and it made the rest of me shake also. The guy had a grip on my arm but wasn't sticking me yet. "What are you waiting for? I don't have all night!" Jack shrieked.

"I can't poke her unless she's still! I didn't know she would shake so violently like this."

"Give me that!" He took it from the guy.

I remembered my dad and helping Vash and everyone trying to find him just then. "Where is Vash? I think he's hungry."

They stopped dead still. "What did you say?"

"Ow, my stomach hurts," I complained.

"What about Vash the Stampede?"

At that point, it certainly felt like a stampede was on the way. I couldn't take it anymore, so I leaned over my right arm and threw up on the floor. The two men looked grossed out.

BAM! The door broke apart and in came a man with a bunch of weapons; something that resembled a cross. It didn't make any sense to me what was going on. A bunch of other guys came in the room and I was set free from the chair I was in. I lay down on the cold cement floor and clutched my stomach with my right arm. My left arm wasn't doing anything, so I didn't force it.

There was a lot of loud noise—screaming and yelling. Jack and the other man were taken out of the room and only two or three others stayed. I didn't recognize anyone. I was supposed to be helping people look for my dad. Where did they go?

"Are you okay, girl? You look horrible! What did they do to you?" The man with the cross asked.

I looked up at him. What did he want? "I feel really sick; my stomach hurts. Where is he?" I couldn't make up my mind as to what I wanted to say.

"Denise, Denise, look at me! What happened?" My dad sat next to the man. I don't know how he got in.

"I was looking for you, Dad." That's what I remember doing anyway.

"You found me, Denise. Did they hurt you, dear?"

Dear? I'm not your dear! I had said that before, so maybe I should say it again. I was in a lot of pain though, so it didn't come out as strong. "I'm not your dear. Where's Vash? He's…oh-h-h, my stomach hurts!"

I kept my eyes fixated on my dad. He went around the room like he was looking for something. Someone distracted me. "Hi there, I'm Nicolas P. Wolfwood; I'm a friend of Vash the Stampede. I'm going to hold this to your forehead." It was wet and cold. It made me thirsty, but I couldn't reach it.

"Denise, can you do me a favor, please?" Dad asked. "Try very hard not to move or shake no matter how much it hurts."

I was moving? I don't think so. "I can't move," I explained to him.

My dad had a needle. I hate needles! "Ow, don't hurt me!" I yelled at him. People were watching me; I could see them. "Go away." I ordered. They backed off.

"There, it's all over, sweetie. You will feel better in a minute. I'll be right back; can you stay with her?" My dad looked tired.

"Sure thing, doc." Nicolas P. Wolfwood agreed.

"Good night, Nicolas P. Wolfwood," I closed my eyes. I was so tired.

"You can just call me Wolfwood…"

I sat up in a bed. Where was I? I had a weird dream that…or was it a dream? I glanced at my left arm. I gasped: there was a big red and purple spot right on my forearm. It was true then…Dad, where was Dad? I got up quickly and changed my clothes. I still didn't know where I was.

"What do you think you are doing? You can't leave. Get back in bed!" My sister Maya stood in my way.

"Where are we? Are Mom and Dad here too?" I would see them if I had to shove her out of my way.

"You really need to lie down again! We're in our house, silly, and they are in the kitchen. I should tell them you are up, so stay put."

I did as I was told. I looked around more closely; I was in the guest bedroom. Usually no one is allowed in the room, but I didn't know why I am here and not my room.

"Denise, you're awake, you're awake! You have been asleep for a day and a half: no one really knew for sure if you were alive or not!" My mom shrieked wildly. She and Dad piled into my room and clung to me tightly.

"What happened? Dad, how did you escape? The last thing I remember is that lunatic, Jack Cracker, the bearded man, Wolfwood, and Vash and—"

"Calm down, Denise," my dad began, "believe it or not, Vash helped rescue us! He found a buddy of his, Mr. Wolfwood, I believe, and then came and got me out. We almost left the city when Vash heard you scream. We went to find you and Mr. Wolfwood aided me in saving you."

As he talked and told what had happened, I began to recall the details on my part, so he just filled in the whole story. Mom added something to all we were saying: "Since we caught that filthy skunk, we got a reward and now we can afford insurance!" She smiled widely and hugged me again.

Maya walked into the room. "I'm real glad you're okay, Neece. You had us all scared." We all hugged for the first time in months. I was very thankful to have our family back together!

"Does anyone know where Vash is?" I asked hopefully.

"Denise, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be around him. Everyone is after him and danger follows him where ever he goes." Dad explained. "You need to forget about him and be thankful we are all home safe and sound. Now, though, you need more sleep to heal up. Thankfully, there is no way the disease will spread."

"You got it to stop from spreading?" I smiled.

Dad shrugged. "They got the recipe, so to speak, from me, but it was for the wrong thing. I also gave him the antidote for it so he had it on hand when we found you."

"What did you tell him?" Maya asked, stunned. "Neece's case seemed pretty serious!"

"I told him how to give out the all too common flu bug. He messed up somewhere in putting it together, so it made it all the worse."
Mom slapped him up side the head. "Why in the world did you risk that on her?"

"Darling, I didn't even know she was there. They told me she went home."

I averted my gaze and stared through the wall. "I didn't exactly listen to them," I said quietly.

"Honestly, you don't listen to anyone, do you?" My mom cried. She told of my disobedience to Dad since he had been gone.

He shook his head. "Neece, don't you understand that when you don't obey whoever is in charge, you get in trouble? Our rules are there for a reason: to keep you safe." I nodded my head in agreement.

They all left the room so I could go to sleep. I hardly slept at all when a knock came at the window. Who would be at my window? My friends didn't know what happened, so it couldn't be them.

"Is anybody in there? I mean…meow, I'm a cat; purr, meow, I want some donuts—er, milk!"

"No, you have to just say 'meow' so they'll think you're a cat!" A voice corrected.

I smiled to myself; I didn't need to look for him; he found me. How did he do that? I remembered what Dad had said moments ago, but he probably set this up, so he wouldn't mind, right?

I sat up and stood on a chair to open the window and squeeze through. "Vash, is that you?" I yawned and blinked at the evening sunlight.

"Hey, how ya' doin' kid?" Wolfwood stood next to Vash who kept hopping up and down until Wolfwood put a hand on his shoulder to hold him down—it didn't work.

"Sorry, I don't have any more money to buy food." I apologized.

Vash dropped to his knees. "No!" He whined.

Wolfwood kicked at an invisible rock. "Aw, I was really looking forward to having a free meal, too! Vash, you promised me!"

"HA-HA-HA-HA! I did, did I?" Vash scratched at the back of his head.

Two more heads popped up. "Yeah, you promised us, too! What do we get outta' this?"

"Stop being so darn demanding, Millie!" Meryl demanded.

I laughed. "Hang on a minute while I get some money." I ran across the hallway to my sister's room and took more money. She really shouldn't mind since I was helping friends.

"Okay, let's go!"

"Hold on there, kiddo!" I started to climb through the window, but Meryl stopped me. "We'll have to take this one to go. It's time for us to go—"

"Aw, do we have to?" Millie whined.

"A-hem! The whole neighborhood is almost in an uproar because of what happened, so we have to play it cool for now. We'll come back to visit, okay?" She explained.

My friends would never believe me if I told them. "Well, I don't know how to thank you for saving me and my dad…could you sign your names for me so my friends will believe me when I tell them everything?" I smiled and raised my eyebrows up and down over and over again.

They looked at each other. "Why not? We have the time." Wolfwood spoke.

I pumped my fist and grabbed a pencil and some paper. They were gone in minutes. It was kind of difficult to say good bye, but they promised to visit. Before they left, I promised Vash I'd earn more money to buy him donuts. I even thought about owning my own donut shop one day…just for him!

I looked down at the paper after they had gone. Vash put down: your own peace maker, lover of justice, and of all that is right, Uncle V. the Stampede. Thanks for the donuts!

Everyone else put down their names and Wolfwood drew a picture of the cross he was carrying. I couldn't be ignored now! I will never forget you, Vash the Stampede. Maybe one day I can help you just as you helped me!

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A/N: Wow, I can't believe it took this long just to put up the final chapter. It's kinda' embarrassing, but what can I do? Hope you all enjoyed it.

Thank you, everyone who read my story the whole way through, and for the few that did review! God bless!

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