Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun, or any of the characters for that matter.

A/N: This chapter is a little bit longer than the last two. The chapters will get longer and longer as the story progresses and once I get more ideas.

Chapter 3: Missing

Light creeped across the barren desert of Gunsmoke, causing teal eyes to slightly open. Vash lifted his arm over his eyes, trying to block the sunlight. Pain shot through his shoulder, and he grabbed it tightly, cringing and grinding his teeth. When the pain subsided, he pulled his hand away, only to find it covered in blood. Vash propped himself up on his elbow and looked at his twin who was still unconscious. He seemed so innocent, but Vash knew better than to let his twin's sleeping form fool him. Vash reached over into his pocket and pulled out the canteen, shaking it by his ear. Empty. He frowned and pushed himself up, heading over to his brother.

"Our water is gone, brother. We need to get back today. Just a couple more isles…" Vash sighed as he threw his twin over his shoulder. "Besides, when we get back we can finally rest." He smiled at the thought. He had traveled a long way to find his brother. When he finally found him, he was tired as is. Then, having to undergo a stress-filled, terrifying fight and having to carry his brother the very long distance he had traveled to get there in the very first place, left Vash exhausted past his extent. He had to keep going. He needed to get his brother treated by a doctor, as well as himself.

'This path I continue to walk, and will always continue walking. It has lead me to great achievements in life. Along with great failures. What will happen next? Will he be open to me, or will he just shut me out again? I don't want to lose our connection ever again. I WONT let it happen. He is my brother. No matter what path he has chosen, I am proud to call him my kin. There is a reason behind his actions, I know that, but will anyone understand it? Will the girls understand why I kept him alive? Will they even let me in with this murderer on my back?'

Vash closed his eyes and sighed. With his free arm, he rubbed his temple, causing pain to sear through his shoulder again.

"I can't keep going like this. Can we switch? You can carry me for the rest of the way." Vash joked with his unconscious brother. "Oh boy, that would be great. And then we'd be home and we'd be well. And there would be a mass amount of donuts on the table from the girls. Ooh, just thinking about it makes my tummy growl." He chuckled and found himself drooling over the thought of those sweet, precious donuts. At this, he began walking faster, determined to get home and have some freshly baked donuts. Not even an isle away he could see the faint arise of small buildings. A wide grin grew upon Vash's face that went ear to ear.

"Home," Vash broke into a semi-run, his legs trying to balance him and his brother. Vash's gangly self tried going as fast as he could without hurting his brother or himself. "I can almost smell the donuts now!" his teal eyes gleamed and his tongue hung out. His legs tripped over each other, causing him to fall face forward, sending his brother flying a few yarz away. Vash pushed himself onto his knees and crawled over to his brother. "I'm sorry," he smiled apologetically. He rolled his brother onto his back and sat back, resting his weight on his arms behind him. "I'm sorry, brother. I guess I just got overly excited," he sighed. "All I want is to rest. To get a good drink from the saloon. To get a shower. To finally relax and live a peaceful life. I want to see the gi-" he stopped in mid-sentence as the insurance girls hit his mind. Meryl and her angry grey eyes. She was sure to be mad at him for taking so long. Milly on the other hand would be delighted that he was back. After Meryl yelled and said her peace, she was sure to be happy as well.

"Maybe we can all go to the saloon tonight and celebrate," Vash said mostly to himself. Not that his unconscious brother couldn't hear him anyways. The thought of cold beer running down his dry throat gave Vash a smile. He stepped up, picked his brother up, and headed to the town he saw in the distance.

'I'm almost there. The end of my journey is almost near. I can't wait to take my boots off and sit down. I can't wait to have something to drink. I can't wait to clean up and shave. I can't wait to be finally done with this. I can't wait to finally lead an almost normal life. Maybe we can just stay here. My brother and I, with the girls of course. I'm sure they'd like that too. We could be a…family'

The word rang through his head as he reached for the doorknob of the house he had left one year ago.

"I'm finally here!" Vash's hands trembled as he opened the door and stepped in. "I'm home!" he smiled and then stopped, eyes scanning the empty house. Worried, Vash headed up to Milly's room and knocked. Getting no response, he opened the door and frowned. Nothing was there. Not even in the closet. The room was completely empty. Worry flooded over Vash's emotions as he quickly made his way to Meryl's room. Knocking, and not getting a response, he walked in to find the same emptiness. Vash laid his twin on Meryl's bed and set next to him. He laid his head in his hands and sighed. "They can't be gone," he said to himself as he caught a glimpse of a crumpled paper in the trash. He quickly got up and grabbed the paper, uncrumpling it. His eyes watered as he looked at the picture of Meryl and himself, and he slammed his fist against the desk next to him. He turned and laid on the bed, curling up next to his brother, like he did when they were kids. After a while, he finally drifted off to sleep.

And there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Now I'm off to write even MORE for you guys!

Please R & R. I could really use it! I'm not used to writing this fanfic stuff!

Come on you know you want to!

Until next time,

AngleOfGunsmoke