Even though his rear-view mirror was broken beyond belief, Vash noticed there was still one last jeep on his tail. Bullets fired from a submachine gun pounded into the rear of his car – punching holes into the fuel tank.
'Oh maan!'
He sped up, applying the same stunts he performed to fool all the other cars earlier, but for some reason, it kept chase.
'So, you have some skill at the wheel..' said Vash calmly, glancing behind...
It wasn't like the others. The jeep behind him was grey in colour, with only two passengers. And they weren't wearing checkered shirts...
A volley of bullets sent him ducking, eyes darting in reflex. The shots were much closer this time. He had hardly begun to speed up when a strong beeping noise came from the front. Vash stared at the screen. He was loosing fuel severely – he could hear the petrol trickling from his jeep.
Vash hit the brakes with a stunt. Gripping the wheel tightly, he brought the jeep sliding on its front wheels – spinning to face the pursuer whilst still keeping the car driving in the same direction.
He drew out his silver revolver, short of no mistake.
Bullets soared between the two cars, plummeting hard on windscreens, dashboards, and seats – but the man with the gun, covered from head to toe in black, was already in motion. The driver had launched his car into Vash's, ramming the two engines of the cars together – jolting Vash and Knives forwards on impact. Vash's wrist slammed hard on the jeep's windscreen, snapping his hand forwards in pain – his gun falling atop the engine of the car... sliding towards the other.
It had happened when the gunner was in midair. He had tossed away his gun – empty of bullets – and unsheathed a long blade, now held high above Vash. Everything happened in slow motion...
Vash pulled himself out from his chair and scrambled over the windscreen.. just as the blade came down behind Vash, plunging deep between his legs. Vash rolled over the windscreen in time to avoid a serrated knife that swiped at his feet. He dived for his gun, body skidding over to the second engine, a hand retrieving the revolver in a smooth motion. It looked as if he had practiced the routine for years, but it came naturally to Vash. Arms poised high, he aimed the gun at the figure standing in his car, and signalled him.
'Checkmate.' Vash's eyes stared at his defeated enemy.
The bounty hunter dressed in black paused with the dagger in his gloved hand. His clothes had only begun to camouflage as the moon slowly rose to the sky... His dagger was poised over the passenger chair... The chair that sat...
...'Knives!' thought Vash, alarmed.
He realised then that his attackers weren't after him – they were after Knives!
The bounty hunter was right above his brother. Gleaming in the moonlight, the sharp dagger was held ready to plunge down on Knives' head. Nevertheless Vash was watching, so the man did not dare to move. For a few seconds, no one moved...
... until Vash noticed the man nod in reply.
Instantly, a jagged wire fell below Vash's chin and coiled around his neck, placing Vash in a stranglehold. He choked, loosing aim on his target, and dropping his gun for a second time. The man behind him grunted, pulling tighter – the wire rubbing against his victim's throat. Vash gasped for air, his hands gripping desperately onto the wire – cutting his fingers from the sharp edges. All this time, he had forgotten the driver, and now he was going to watch his brother die.
Although his vision blurred throughout the struggle against the driver, Vash was still able to witness clearly the dark assassin sending the blade down upon Knives. Still able to find the strength to stand, elbow his strangler, and project his hidden secondary gun to fire at the enemy. His arm retracted, revealing the metallic trigger and muzzle that was built beneath, and in a split microsecond he had the gun aimed at the man's knife.
In Vash's eyes, he knew it was too late. Even if he were capable of hitting the knife and breaking the blade off the handle, he would probably not be able to stop the remaining shard of metal from entering Knives' head. Not even if he killed the man.
There was only one way to find out.
He took the chance anyway.
The gun fired and the bullets crashed into the knife smashing it easily, but it was still not enough to keep it from coming down. Vash began to cry out in desperation, but he did not have to. A small, dark object crashed into the assassin's arm throwing his dagger off course – and sending the man over the edge. It was the claws and the teeth that gave it away.
The cat had saved Knives' life.
Behind him, the driver came at him, but Vash had already spun around – his left arm gun pointed towards the man. He watched his attacker back off. The man's palms held high, suggesting his surrender. Then, nervously, but rather hastily, the driver leapt off from his car to join his partner, tumbling over the ground.
At last, Vash breathed out a great sigh of relief. He stood in between the two cars, his feet placed firmly on the engine of the one that rammed his. The two jeeps were still moving, the grey vehicle pushing his jeep. Pausing only to retract his built-in gun, he kneeled over to reclaim his dropped revolver.. but he noticed the small metal device that appeared through its reflection in the moonlight...
Vash lunged over the battered windscreen of his car and stopped by the dashboard. He grabbed Knives by both shoulders and swung him onto his shoulder in haste. Ahead of him now, right where the jeeps were heading was a deep and wide canyon. At this hour and in this position, it looked more like a bottomless pit. He was heading straight off a cliff and into a canyon that was now less than 50 metres away.
He leapt onto the back seat of the car, supporting Knives' weight, and prepared himself for the jump. A soft 'meow' came from behind, and he realised he had forgotten about the cat. The bomb he had spotted was ticking away furiously.
'Waaah!!' screamed Vash, beginning to panic. He bent down, reaching for the cat that sat in the front seat of the car. With Knives weighing like a tonne, he could not stretch the extra distance to take hold of the cat... it was avoiding him.
'C'mon cat..! I know you don't like me but not at this time!'
Vash looked around frantically. He needed a stick. Anything.
'Oh please little kitty! I'm not going to bite!' The ticking increased in pace. Any moment now, it was going to blow and take the three of them down for an explosive ride down the canyon.
' Ok, ok little kitty! I'll feed you a fish fortune when we get back! Now please, I beg of you!'
To his dismay, as if the cat understood everything, it pounced onto his arm and hurried up onto his empty shoulder. Finally without delay, Vash leapt out of the car with Knives and Co., landing hard onto the ground to watch the two jeeps launch over the edge at full speed – exploding in a great ball of fire and showering the canyon with flaming ruins.