I OWN NOTHING BUT THE STORYLINE AND CHARACTERS YOU DON'T KNOW FROM THE MANGA/ANIME!

Chapter Nine

Murder Machine

I met a lone man in the desert, a traveling priest Nicholas D. Wolfwood. He smiled and told me that I'm a troubled man. Faced with his all-seeing smile, I could say nothing in my defense. Did I meet this man because I was destined to? Or was it a small jest of God? The man's name is Nicholas D. Wolfwood…a traveling priest I met in the desert.

"Why are they still following us?"

Alexia gave a sigh and glanced at the woman beside her. "I apologize. Milly and Meryl are trying to stalk you and Vash. We just followed to watch and see if it was entertaining."

Kyri sighed herself. "None of this makes sense."

"It doesn't," Alexander agreed from his own seat behind the one the Insurance Girls sat in. "But just take it while it goes."

Milly and Meryl hadn't had enough money to join them on the bus and Milly had cried about it. Alexander had moved forward and bought them a pair of tickets to join them and Milly was thanking the young man with a smile as Meryl sat beside her. They were going to pay him back the first chance they got but Alexander had told them no to worry about it. If Meryl hadn't been Milly's friend though, she would have been out of luck.

Kyri glanced at the man behind her, as he had to go to the bathroom, before glancing out the window beside her.

"I'm kind of thirsty," Milly began, looking at Vash. "Can I have some of your water?"

"Sure," The blond man nodded, handing her his bottle.

"Vash," The man turned at Kyri's voice and she lifted a hand, pointing outside the window. He followed her gaze and caught the view of something reflecting under the sun. It didn't take long for him to realize it was a man.

"Is that guy all right?" Alexia asked as the bus came to a stop.

"Who knows?" Alexander crossed his arms.

"We'll find out," Kyri told her as Vash took a drink from his bottle.

It was about five minutes later that the new man joined them, taking the empty seat that was beside Vash.

"Are you all right?" Milly asked him.

"Here, drink this water," Meryl began, grabbing Vash's water bottle and handing it toward the new man.

"Oh, thank you," He replied, grabbing the bottle and taking a huge drink. "Ah, I'm alive again! I'm much obliged!"

"You're welcome." Milly smiled.

Vash wore a frown. "But that's was mi…" He was cut off by Meryl whacking him in the back of the head. Kyri gave a frown as Alexander laughed and Alexia rolled her eyes.

"What were you doing here?" Meryl asked.

"Oh, my bike decided to break down on me about 100 iles down the road from here."

"You actually walked 100 iles?" Meryl sounded shocked.

"That's right," The man smiled as he took another drink. "It was pretty horrible."

"And walking with that big cross you were carrying," Alexia began, leaning forward on the seat behind the man. "I'm surprised you carried it with you that far. It looked heavy."

He gave another laugh. "I couldn't leave it behind. I do have my pride as a tradesman."

"Tradesman? Really?" Alexander raised a brow.

"A man of the cloth." The new man smiled.

"Are you serious?" Meryl asked as Milly gave a laugh.

"Do you like to make pretty dresses?" She asked.

"Really?" Alexia stared at the other woman as the man gave a frown. "He's a Priest Milly, not a designer."

The man nodded. "A soldier of love, saving the lambs who have strayed." He then pulled a smile. "You guys were the one who spotted me, aren't you? You saved my life."

"Actually," Alexander began. "You can thank Kyri and…him." They all watched as Vash was on the floor, trying to catch the drop of water from the bottle the Priest had been drinking from.

The new man stared at him for a moment, gave Kyri and glance, and then gave a smile. "Hey! I'm alive because of what you did! How can I ever thank you, uh…Mr. uh…"

Kyri glanced at Vash as he stood up with a hard look on his face as he stared at the new man. "I am known as Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gambigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser the 3rd. Don't hesitate to call."

"What are you talking about, Mr. Vash the Stampede?" Milly laughed.

"I HATE IT WHEN YOU CALL ME BY MY FULL NAME!" Vash cried, turning from the other man.

"The Vash?!" The new man asked. "You mean to say he's THE Vash the Stampede?" He stood up and grabbed Vash's head, turning him to look at him. "Is it really him? He's absolutely nothing at all like I envisioned. How is that possible?"

"Milly," The group turned to look at Kyri. She was continuing to stare out the window, watching as the bus continued to move through. "It would be smart to keep your mouth silent if you plan on moving after us more. The next time you announce who you travel with I'll be sure to cut your tongue out."

Milly opened her mouth to reply but thought better and glanced away, a frown on her face.

Alexia gave a soft smile. "Not in a very good mood today, are you?"

Kyri turned her head and glanced at the new man that sat in front of her. He looked like he was in his twenties with short, black hair and brown eyes. Dressed in a dark suit, there's was nothing really special about him. "Who are you?"

"I'm Wolfwood. At your service!" He held his hand out and Vash grabbed it, giving a handshake. "Life sure can be funny sometimes." He grinned as he took a seat beside Vash again. "Imagine running into the legendary outlaw and his companion in a place like this!"

"Don't broadcast it to the whole world, okay?" Vash sighed.

"If I shot you dead and collected the $$60,000,000,000 I'd have a really fun journey, wouldn't I?"

"I'm afraid that you wouldn't kill him, Priest-man," Alexander grinned from his own seat. "That and if you attacked him, his friend would chop your head off."

Wolfwood gave a laugh. "Do you have any more water?"

"You drank it all." Vash replied.

"Yeah, sorry about that!" Wolfwood flicked him in the forehead before they began to laugh together.

"I believe they're going to get along just fine," Alexia commented as she and Kyri watched as they laughed together more and more. She couldn't help it and gave a laugh as they got louder and louder.

It was about half an hour later that the bus came to a stop to eat and gather their legs.

"Here," Vash turned to find Kyri moved up behind him, holding her own water bottle to him.

"Thanks," He replied with a smile. Taking a drink, he gave a smile before handing it back to the woman. "You okay?"

"Yes, just tired." She replied.

Vash stared at her with a soft smile. She hadn't been sleeping much at all these last few nights; not since the event they had on the train with Neon. He wished that there was something that he could do for her but he didn't know what.

"You should sleep some tonight then," He told her. "We still have a long way to go, you know."

"I suppose I will." Kyri nodded. "I'll use you as a pillow tonight."

Vash gave a smile. "Got it."

Alexia watched them for a moment before giving as smile as she turned away. She liked sitting beside Kyri but she would switch places with Vash in the future so he could sit with the other woman. She knew right from the beginning that the bond the duo shared was strong but just how far did that go? Just what had Vash been so afraid of when she had fought Neon?

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8." The driver's voice grabbed her as she turned down the other side of the bus. He sat there across from Wolfwood. "Recount it all you want. It's not enough. Like I told you, the fare is $$100."

"If I give you anymore, I'll die of starvation," Wolfwood's voice grabbed her. He and the driver of the bus were sitting there and talking. "Come on, Driver, please. Give me a break."

"Uh…"

"Hey," Alexia took a stir of the moment and moved forward. "Don't worry about it. I'll pay for his ticket."

"What?" The driver looked at her as Wolfwood raised his brows.

"Here," She pulled her wallet out of her back pocket and pulled out $$100. "Take your money back; you'll need food later in the next city, right?"

The bus-driver took the money and left, leaving the Priest to stand. "I thank you for the help, but you didn't have to," He told her.

"Eh, take it while you still can. I'm not normally nice," She grinned and then held out a hand. "Alexia Rush."

"Nicholas D. Wolfwood," The man grinned, taking her hand. "and the next time I see you, I'll pay you back with lunch, understand?"

"It's a deal," She nodded with a smile of her own. She watched as he leaned against the bus and pulled out a cigarette. "So, what church are you at?"

"It's one up north. It kind of doubles as an orphanage." Wolfwood answered her. "We scrape together a living, taking in all the kids with no living family. I guess it was about time I left the church anyway. I decided it was a hopeless effort and wanted to make money for them."

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Alexia smiled. "I've never heard that a Priest could make money before."

"Well, not just that," He replied. "But…" He paused in his words to watch as two girls told their mother than they were hungry.

Alexia watched in silence as the Priest gave the kids one of his meal-block and gave a large smile. "Too sweet, Priest." She told him.

He gave a soft smile. "You say that, but something tells me that you would have done the same thing, wouldn't you?"

"Maybe; and then again maybe not. I'll leave that to your imagination."

Wolfwood opened his mouth to reply but someone else cut him off, his voice in a panic.

"Someone come quickly. Erik has gone crazy!"

"I guess it was bound to happen," Wolfwood sighed. "The sun is getting worse."

"Shall we then?" She asked, moving around the bus again. She paused as she took a look at the man on the ground as everyone stood over him.

"Oh, he's just fallen down," Wolfwood commented as they brought over a stretcher. "He doesn't really look that bad."

"Really? He looks like he was attacked to me." Alexander replied.

That's when Wolfwood took a better look at the man's shoulder. He gave a frown. "Who's responsible for this?"

"No one is here except for passengers." Meryl was the one to answer him this time.

Alexia watched as Milly pulled out her gun and went around the crowd, asking for answers, before leaving the gun to point at Vash.

"Why are you pointing that thing at me?" Vash growled.

"Well, it was you, wasn't it?" Milly asked. She then glanced over his shoulder at the silent woman. "Or maybe you. After what we saw on the Train, you-"

"It was no mortal that did this," Vash instantly cut her off with a firm face.

"Huh?"

"Come again?"

"Are you, uh, feeling okay there, Vash?" Alexander asked. "Maybe the heat has finally gone to your head."

"Uh…not likely, Alex," Alexia's voice made them all turn in time to see a large robot pop up out of the sand behind them.

"What the hell?" Wolfwood cried out. "That thing is huge!"

It shot out towards them and Vash gave it a shot but it didn't work; the thing kept coming. Milly took the moment and jumped forward, knocking the robot clear over the sand dunes with her Stun-Gun.

"Hey, not bad, girl!" Wolfwood grinned and she gave a giggle.

"Uh…if you don't have more of those, then let's get the hell out of here!" Alexander cried as more robots popped up and hurried towards them.

"Why doesn't anything nice ever follow you?" Meryl asked as she ran into the bus.

"I know!" Vash cried. "It's such a drag!"

~I'm surprised they still operate,~ Kyri commented to herself, watching from the back window as the robots got left behind in the sand. ~Their expiration date should have passed long ago.~ At the moans behind her, she turned to see that Wolfwood had begun to deal with the wounded man. Or tried too. "Move," She told him. "I'll take care of it."

"You know how to heal people?" Alexander sounded surprised.

She shot him a small smile. "Think about who I travel with."

He glanced at Vash with a smile. "Point taken."

"Helen?" a woman stood up towards the front. "Has anyone seen my daughter?"

"Oh no," Alexia pulled a face. "She must have gotten left be-" Her voice came to a stop at the sight of the bodies flying out the window. "Uh…The Priest and Vash I could understand, but my brother too?"

All three men had jumped out of the moving bus to go back for the child.

"Uh…should we go back for them?" Milly asked.

"They'll be fine," Kyri's eyes were still on the wounded man. "Don't worry."

"I know that Vash and Alex will be fine," Alexia replied. "But I'm not to sure about Nicholas."

Kyri gave a smirk. "As Priests say, 'Have faith', right?"

Alexia thought for a moment before a grin broke out on her face. "Yeah, I guess so, huh?"

"For some reason, I thought I could roll and land on my feet, not my face." Alexander sighed, wiping the sand from his face. He glanced to his left to find both Vash and Wolfwood there beside him, on their knees. "Bullshit!" He growled. "I can understand Vash landing perfectly but you, Preacher-boy, I refuse to believe it!"

"What are the two of you doing?" Vash asked, looking between the two of them.

"Don't ask ridiculous questions," Wolfwood replied.

"I'm saving the brat," Alexander answered. "What else?" He then glanced at Wolfwood. "I don't know how you plan on doing it without a gun, though."

Wolfwood pulled a face and searched for something before glancing after the bus and slammed his hands on either side of his head. "OH SHIT!"

Alexander and Vash shared a grin before the Bounty Hunter grabbed his magnum and tossed it to the Preacher. "Just be glad that I carry more than one weapon, got it?"

"You would have gone anyway, huh?" Vash asked him.

Wolfwood wore a grin as he grabbed the gun. "Of course I would."

~I'm getting a weird vibe from this guy,~ Alexander told himself as the three of them moved on. ~I wonder why.~

They came back upon the machines and found them all scattered around the sand. It looked like they were searching for something.

"But those are nothing for the likes of Vash the Stampede, right?" Wolfwood asked. Alexander caught his laugh from breaking out at the ill look on Vash's face. "What's wrong with you?"

"My stomach hurts."

"Oh, come on, tough guy! Get over it! You're not that fragile, are you?"

"We were attacked by the Bad Lads three days ago," Vash replied.

"You can't hold that over his head," Alexander replied. "I believe it was Kyri who fought Brilliant Dynamites Neon."

Wolfwood's mouth dropped open. "She fought Neon?"

"Yep. Kicked his ass, too." He glanced at Vash. "Maybe she rigged those donuts you ate last night for being lazy and making her fight."

Vash pulled a face at him as Wolfwood gave a laugh. "We gotta go," Wolfwood replied, pulling a serious face.

Vash pulled a frown. "You only pretend to listen to people, don't you?!"

"A child's life is on the line."

"Patience, Priest," Alexander commented. "We gotta make a plan first. These things aren't like bandits or whatever."

"Just look," Vash agreed. "They use that thing there to detect objects which radiate heat." He pulled a face when Wolfwood jumped over the rocks and began to slide down. "Hey, listen to me!"

"I don't have time to sit around and chitchat!"

"You know, the two of us can just let the Priest distract the robots, grab the kid, and get back to the bus as fast as we can." Alexander suggested. He then watched as Wolfwood fired the magnum but nothing happened. "Oh shit. Did I forget to load it?"

Vash looked at him. "You keep it unloaded?"

"I don't sleep with it under my pillow full of bullets, moron!" He glanced back as Wolfwood cried for help and ran from the pack of robots that were now chasing him. "Shall we?"

Vash and Alexander were quickly able to save the Priest and Alexander gave him some bullets before taking off and attacking more. For a Priest, the man wasn't too bad with a gun.

"She's still alive!" Wolfwood cried out when the little girl came into their view. "And she looks okay! Praise the Lord!"

Alexander wasn't too sure what happened next. He was busy firing off at the machines and had to turn his head at the screams of Vash and Wolfwood. He pulled a disbelieving look at the duo disappearing into a thing of quicksand.

"What an embarrassing way to go." The little girl, Helen, commented as she sat up.

Alexander gave a laugh as he placed a hand on her head. "Yeah, well, I think Blondie's got a curse on him. Bad luck seems to follow him everywhere." He gave a laugh as he heard, barely mind you, a scream from down below. "EVERYWHERE."

"Are you going to go help them?" Helen asked.

"Nah," Alexander tossed his gun over his shoulder and let it hang. "The two of them can handle themselves. They'll be back soon. Wanna wait for them before heading back to the bus?"

The girl gave a smile. "Yeah!"

Like Alexander said, they didn't have to wait soon. The bus had come back for them and Milly used her gun to bust open a hole in what turned out to be an Alien ship that had landed there all those years ago. That explained where the Machines were coming from. Vash told them that they didn't have to worry about the machines anymore.

That night, everyone on the bus had settled down. Milly and Alexander were sleeping off in the back as Meryl was out in a seat on her own. Kyri had excused herself to the bathroom for a moment, leaving Alexia by the window as Wolfwood and Vash sat together.

"You can get out of the worst situations imaginable…just like they say, Vash the Stampede."

The blond man opened his eyes and gazed out the window. "I'd much rather lead an uneventful life if it were up to me."

"You couldn't if you tried." Wolfwood told him, standing from his seat. "Both of you couldn't." Vash raised a brow and watched as he moved across the way. "Can I sit here?"

Alexia lifted her head from the book she was reading before giving a small smile. "Sure," She glanced over at Vash. "I don't think Kyri will mind." She turned back to her book but gave a small jump when the priest dropped his head on her shoulder.

"Don't move. This is actually really comfy."

Alexia opened her mouth to reply but gave a smile and kept silent. The poor man looked exhausted. She'd let him have victory just this once.

Vash gave a small smile himself and closed his eyes as the door behind them opened. He opened them again when something was dropped in his lap and glanced down at the bag of donuts. A smile spread across his face.

"Where do you keep pulling these out of?"

Kyri closed her eyes with a small smile. "I travel with George Doitzel Kaiser the 3rd, remember? I always have them handy."

Vash gave a soft laugh before glancing out the window. He was silent for a moment longer before coming to a question. "How long do you plan on doing this?" She opened her eyes and glanced at him. "If you were to leave, no one would know that you're the one associated with the Humanoid Typhoon. The Bladed Siren disappeared years ago so nothing holds you here."

"We've known eachother for years, Vash, and yet you still don't understand…" She closed her eyes again and turned her head away from him. "We've been through this since the beginning, Vash. If I were to leave now, I'd regret never seeing it through to the end. That, and…"

Vash glanced at her as her voice stood. "And what?"

"Nothing," She shook her head. "Just thoughts. You shouldn't worry about them." She glanced at him again. "But just so you know, as I have told you before, multiple times, that I don't regret coming with you. I'm just like my sister; she doesn't regret her choices, either."

Vash's face turned hard for a moment before a smile spread. "No, I suppose not." He opened the box and took out a donut. Giving a soft sigh, he tore it in half and held a piece out to her. "You're going to get some rest tonight, right?"

"You say that as you feed me," She chuckled, grabbing her piece of the donut. Taking a bite of it, she glanced at the man beside her. "But then again, it's hard to sleep after all, isn't it?"

Vash stared at her for a moment before reaching down and giving her hand a squeeze.

They reached May City about mid-morning and the group gathered together outside of the bus as they waited for their bags to be unloaded.

"Thanks a lot for all the support, Vash," Wolfwood began. "It was a fun and interesting trip," He glanced at Alexander. "You weren't too bad, either. Next time I'll have to spend more time with you."

"Sorry, dude," Alexander shook his head. "Ladies only."

"All right, then how about you?" The Priest looked at Alexia. "Despite how skinny you are, you're actually really comfortable to sleep on. Let's do it again sometime."

Alexia gave a laugh as she saw her brother's anger rising; he was very protective of his sister. "Buy me my lunch first, all right?"

He gave a laugh himself. "All right."

"I guess you're leaving now?" Vash commented.

"I've gotta get back to work, you know." Wolfwood nodded.

"Hey, Preacher!" the Bus-driver and two others were picking up that cross Wolfwood had brought with him and tossed it down. Alexia watched as Wolfwood caught it with one hand and cradled it on his shoulder like it was nothing.

"Hey, thanks a lot."

"Damn, that thing's heavy."

"That, my friend, is because it's so full of mercy." The Priest smiled. He turned back to them. "See you later!" He waved and began to move, still calling over his shoulder. "Try to stay out of trouble, Vash. Everyone around you will be a whole hell of a lot healthier for it and with any luck, we'll meet again soon. May you all go with God, my friends."

Things were silent as they watched him walk away.

"He was a strange an unusual man," Meryl commented.

"Yeah." Milly nodded.

"Eh, who cares?" Alexander shrugged. "Let's go get something to eat."

"Yeah!" Milly sounded energetic now, making Alexia laugh as she turned away from Wolfwood's back.

Vash continued to watch him, though. "Wolfwood, huh?"

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