Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun, or any of its characters, and I do not own any characters that any of my characters may resemble in name, description, or behavior.

Chapter 1: Alex

As the second sun broke the skyline, a lone figure appeared on the horizon near a town. Another figure stood in that town. This one had blonde spiky hair, and was clad in a red jacket, sunglasses with round, yellow lenses, dark brown boots with a lot of buckles, black gloves, and a brown left sleeve that looked similar to his boots. He stood in front of a building with a sign on it that said 'December Orphanage' in black block letters. He watched this new figure ride towards town.

When the figure in the desert approached near enough, he saw that it was a man, wearing a brown overcoat, with a blue and yellow jumpsuit underneath, a brown cowboy hat with a light blue ribbon, and a large duffel bag of some sort strapped to his back. The man was riding a blue motorcycle of some sort, the likes of which the observer had never seen.

The observer shouted, "Meryl, there's somebody riding towards us, on a motorcycle, I'm going to go check it out."

A voice coming from inside the orphanage, presumably Meryl, shouted, "Fine, Vash, and do whatever you want. Just be back by breakfast."

Vash shouted back, "Thanks, Meryl," and jumped into his car. It looked ordinary enough, a green and brown, boxy exterior, with a collapsible roof, two rows of seats, and two doors. The car was unusual because it could go for thousands of iles without being refilled, and it could reach top speeds of up to 50 iles per hour (iph).

He drove down to where the motorcyclist was, turned around, and drove next to him, saying "Nice bike, where'd you get it?"

The cyclist responded, "Made it myself. Thanks for the compliment." He paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Is that city December?"

Vash responded, "Yeah, it is. There isn't anything much there. Why'd you want to go there?"

The response was, "I'm looking for somebody."

Vash then inquired, "Who?"

The cyclist said, "A guy who goes by the name of Vash the Stampede."

Vash said, "You don't look like a bounty hunter. I can't think of anybody else who would want to find that guy."

The cyclist said, "My name's Alex. The bounty has been void for over two years. Why would anybody still be after you for that?"

Vash then responded, "Well, Alex, I'm the guy you're looking for. You'd be surprised how slow some news travels."

Alex, after a slight pause, said, "Then could you give me a ride in? I'm running out of gas, and I'd rather not drag this all the way to town."

Vash said, in response, "Sure, I'm sure my friends would love to meet you."

Several minutes later, Vash and Alex were unpacking the motorcycle from the back of the car, as a short girl with dark hair, wearing a white shirt, blue tights, white boots, and a white cape, walked out of the orphanage, with a plate of pancakes and a glass of water in her hands. "Who's he?" she asked.

Vash immediately followed, and once he found her, cowering under the kitchen table, asked "He's the guy I told you about earlier."

"Oh, he looks kind of strange."

Vash, trying to calm Meryl down, said "I didn't notice anything strange about him."

"There's something wrong with his eyes, and I've never seen hair that color before."

Alex was leaning against the house, holding his hat in his hand, with the duffel bag on the ground next to him. This was the first time that Vash saw what made Meryl was talking about. The man had pale skin, and blue-white, shoulder-length hair, tied in a ponytail. Also, his eyes were odd compared to the rest of his face, almost almond-shaped as opposed to the usual human shape. He realized that he hadn't noticed it before; because Alex had his hair tucked under his trench-coat's collar during the drive, and had his hat low over his face.

Introductions went smoothly, as Millie was, as always, immediately friendly, and the kids followed suit, trusting anybody that Vash or Millie would trust.

A few weeks passed, and Millie started to become agitated. Alex didn't understand what was going on, so he asked Vash, "What's going on with Millie? She doesn't seem to be acting like she normally does."

Vash responded, "Next week is the 2nd anniversary of the day that Nicholas D. Wolfwood, the founder of this orphanage, died. He was my best friend, but he and Millie seemed to have a deeper connection. She always seems depressed at around this time of year, but after our annual trip to the grave, she seems to get better."

The next day, the road trip started, Vash drove, Meryl sitting shotgun, with Meryl and Alex in the back seat, with Alex's motorcycle, as well as another, less sophisticated one, strapped to the back.

On the way, Alex whispered to Vash, "Where are we going? Wasn't Wolfwood buried back in December?"

Vash whispered back, "We weren't close enough to December to bury him there when he was killed. He was buried in the remains of Sky City, and that's where we're going."

Alex's only response was, "Ah…."

I've redone this chapter, since I changed some ideas for the background of Alex, as well as the opening scene.