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

Only a few more chapters, guys! Finally! I can't wait! This has to have been the hardest fanfiction to write so far! I still love it, though!

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Sin

Repeated tragedy. Repeated pain. The wishes of man are so strong, and yet so frail and weak. To live. To stay alive. Who would have known that survival was this hard? This painful? I must choose. I must make the choice. In the moment intertwining life and death…can I choose to remain a human?

"So, I see the two of you have made up."

Vash glanced up from the donuts in his hands and over at the man that sat beside him now. Wolfwood sat there, his glasses on his face as he smoked. Not far away, they could see the top of Alexander's head as he argued with his sister over what supplies to buy for their trek to the next city. Kyri was standing beside them with a solemn look on her face, just letting them go at each other.

"It's not…completely like it was, but that'll come with time," Vash answered. "If we can ever make it back into what it was, that is. Before I can hope for that, though, I need to take care of…of Knives at the others first. Only then can I try to fully repair what I did."

Wolfwood glanced at him before turning his eyes back up to the sky. "If there's anyone that can do that, needle-noggin, then it's you. You did it once before and I have no doubt that you can do it again after all this is over with. Just understand that it's going to take time; a lot more than twenty years this time around, I'm sure."

Vash nodded. "Kyri told me…told me about the Eye of Michael."

Wolfwood gave a silent sigh. "I knew that she would eventually. Besides, if you were to find out during a fight then I'd never have your trust again."

"So, you are…were… a member of the Gung-Ho Guns. She said that you were forced to join AFTER she left."

"That's right."

"Is that why we found you? Were you just following her?"

"Something like that," Wolfwood answered. "I was told to just keep an eye on the two of you. It was sheer luck that I even found the two of you, really. I didn't think that I ever really would. Her…she didn't fit the description of what I was told to look for and so I stuck around and found out some really interesting things. She's really something else. You're a lucky guy, needle-noggin." He heard a sniffle and glanced down to find out that Vash was now bent over and holding his head. His shoulders shook. "You're not crying on me, are you, man?" Wolfwood teased.

Vash gave a chuckle, wiping his eyes. "I just…I missed her donuts so much!"

Wolfwood smiled at the other man.

~After all this is over, I'm sure that the two of you will finally be able to live happily. I'll…I'll do everything that I can to make it so.~

"I see that Vash is in a great mood today," Alexander commented wit ha glance at the duo sitting down. "I take it that's your doing."

Kyri turned her head away. "I do not know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't," Alexander frowned at her. "Just try not to go total bitch on all of us again, will ya? I don't think I can take another round of self-pity Stampede, okay?"

"Knock it off, would you?" Alexia growled. "you could have just stayed with Milly and Meryl, you know."

Alexander glanced off to the side. In all truth, he wanted to stay with Milly but he knew what the others were walking into; sort of. He knew that they were going to need all the help that they could get; that and there was no way that he was going to let his sister run straight into the frontline without him.

"I'm gonna go get something to drink," He told them.

"You go too," Kyri told the other woman. "I can handle the rest of this on my own."

"Are you sure?" Alexia's reply was silence and she sighed. "Alright, just don't take too long."

Kyri closed her eyes as the duo left her. Everyone was trying to hide it but she could see just how nervous they all were; even Vash was. Was she…was she the only one that didn't feel afraid of the upcoming events? Was it because she was used to doing things like this or was it because they were all members of her group? You would think that having to face the people she used to work with, used to train, would make her nervous and choke, but it didn't. Instead she was oddly calm, as if bored of waiting for this all to end.

"God, this face of yours brings back so many memories."

Kyri opened her eyes again to find a young woman in her face, a large, goofy grin on her face. With bright green eyes and short, blonde hair, the light, rockabilly dress was white with black stripes and boots. There was a golden cross around her neck and white gloves on her hand as a matching hat hid her face from the sun.

"Long time no see, Boss." The woman smiled.

Kyri didn't even flinch. "Sylvia."

"Good job in training the squirt like you did," She motioned at Alexia with her head. "She took down Elendira all on her own. That's no easy feat. You must be proud."

"She's not my student," Kyri answered her. "You, Eryn, Legato, and Mai were my only and my last. If she picks up a few tricks from me here and there then it's no consolation to me."

"So cold," the other woman laughed. "But still so like you. You don't like admitting when you found someone that interests you. I never really understood why, but then again the only one who really could understand you is Legato, isn't it? The both of you share the same, fucked-up brain waves, after all. I'm surprised that he's not at your beck and call anymore. You would think that the first moment of you re-emerging he would be the one following you, not the other way around."

Sylvia never had a problem expressing her feelings. She didn't know when to stop running her mouth, either. Eryn was just the same, though, proving that the friendship between the two women was more sisterly than anyone else in the Gung-Ho Guns.

Kyri gave a frown at the woman. "Did you just come here to make fun of me?"

"Not at all," Sylvia waved a hand. "After catching wind of your two little pets showing up in Notila, Midvalley and I decided to come and meet you halfway. It's better to get this over with before it drags out much longer, don't you think?"

"I thought you liked dragging things out."

"She does, believe me," At the deep voice, Vash turned from the conversation and found a man in a suit standing there nearby, finishing the alcohol in his hand. "It's a rather nasty habit, in my opinion." He set the glass down and gave a grin. "So, we finally meet."

Vash raised a brow, having stood up to move closer to Kyri. "You wanted to meet me?"

"But of course! It's no small feat to take our Boss away from us for twenty years," He commented. "Not to mention that you destroyed July and Augusta and drilled a hole in the fifth moon." Vash frowned. The man wasn't even trying to keep his voice down; it was grabbing the attention of the whole town. "Allow me to introduce ourselves. We are the eleventh and twelfth Gung-Ho Guns, Midvalley the Hornfreak and Sylvia the Glacier. While my wife reunites with our Boss, will you join me for a number, Vash the Stampede?"

At the name, the townspeople immediately began to freak out, screaming and running for the hills, clearing the area out in merely moments.

"You'd think they'd be used to this by now," Alexander sighed, standing his ground with crossed arms beside Alexia and Wolfwood. "Seriously, he's not even scary looking."

"Coming from the man that wanted to have nothing to do with him only four years ago, right?" his sister teased.

"Hey, at least I wouldn't have run screaming from him."

"Liar."

"Piss off, Alexia!"

"I prefer it better this way," Sylvia smiled, taking a step towards Kyri. "No dead bodies to get in our way like last time."

Kyri gave a sigh. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"We really don't have a choice," Midvalley sighed himself. "Not if you want these, after all." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out two pieces of a medallion. "Legato said you couldn't have these until you killed us; not that you'll have a problem with it after all the others that you've killed."

"I don't need those," Kyri told him. "Tell me where I can find Legato and I can be on my way."

"It's not that simple," Sylvia told her. "You really think that we could just let you walk away and not die afterwards? Your body may be able to withstand outrageous injuries but human bodies can't."

Kyri closed her eyes before taking a few steps back, giving the two women space between them. "Vash, leave them to me."

Vash glanced at her. "Are you really going to fight them? Alone?"

"they are a product of my teachings. This is…something that I have to do on my own."

"Are you serious?" Alexia cried out. "You're going to fight them both? I know you're strong, Kyri, but let me remind you that Elendira almost killed you! You can't take them both on!"

"Trust me." Was her only reply.

Wolfwood gave a sigh. "Let her do what she wants. If things get too bad, then we'll jump in."

Vash wore a frown but gave a short nod. "Be careful, Kyri."

"If it's a death wish that she has, let her do so," Sylvia commented, reaching behind her. She grasped a whip hanging from the back of her belt and let it uncurl to her feet. "You'll find that I'm different from Mai, I'm afraid. While that fool of a woman dreamed of surpassing you, she let her feelings fog everything important and you killed her so easily. I refuse to be taken down so easily."

Midvalley gave the taller woman another look as he tapped on the side of the saxophone that was hanging around his neck. "Are you sure you wish to take us on alone?"

"Show me how well your teamwork has progressed over the years, Midvalley," Kyri gave him a smile, a hand on her Gunblade. "Allow me to assess your heart."

Midvalley stared at her for a moment before glancing at Sylvia. Worry traveled all through him but at the grin on her face, he couldn't stop himself. Taking a breath, he began to play, beginning the battle.

"Not bad, for a musician."

Midvalley turned and found Kyri standing behind him, arms crossed and her mouth thin. He glanced back at the dead body at his feet and let the saxophone drop, hanging around his neck. "What's so good about this?"

"What are you talking about?" Kyri frowned at him. "Were you not an assassin before all this? What makes this so different?"

"The difference is that these are children!" Midvalley's voice was harsh. He was disgusted; disgusted with himself. "I don't kill children!"

"Then what do you call this?" She motioned with her head at the dead bodies at his feet. "It looks like dead children to me."

"This is not what I do!" Midvalley growled. "This is sick and disgusting and…and I just…this isn't what I wanted to do…"

"Why is it always the children?" Kyri gave a disgusted noise as she moved forward. "It seems that children are a weakness to all of you. We'll have to fix that."

Midvalley shook his head. "I won't. Not anymore. I won't do it. I'll do anything but kill a child; never again!"

Kyri stared at him. "I chose you because I like you; I can break you of your habits soon enough."

He shook his head again. "I'd rather die than kill another child."

Those ice blue eyes could freeze a soul. "Are you sure about that? Are you ready to prove it?" She reached behind her, grasping the Gunblade handle. Instantly, Midvalley's hands rose to his saxophone again, nothing but determination on his face. Kyri stared at him. There was no fear in his eyes, no regret. It made him smile.

"I like you, Midvalley. Your character intrigues me. So does Sylvia." Midvalley's form froze. "Don't worry, your…physically relations don't interest me; as long as Sylvia doesn't get hurt." She dropped her hand and moved forward. He didn't flinch as she placed it on his head next. "Since it means that much to you, I won't assign children to you anymore. In turn, just take care of Sylvia for me; and yourself."

Midvalley stared at her in shock for a moment; there was a smile on her face that…assured him that she spoke the truth. He felt he could trust her; knew he could trust her.

"Deal."

She couldn't do it. She felt her attacks getting more and more wild. Her hands were shaking as she tried to keep up with Kyri's movements. Sylvia knew that she was going to die; and she was afraid.

Keeping to their word, she didn't attack Vash or the twins or Wolfwood and focused her attacks on Kyri. The woman was faster than she remembered. Between her attacks and Midvalley, the entire town was destroyed. Chunks of ice from Sylvia's attacks were sliced as buildings were blown up and demolished. She tried to keep Kyri at bay, to lure her into a range of Midvalley's attacks but the older woman was always a step ahead of her. She always had been.

Sylvia knew that she was going to die, she had accepted that. She wanted to pray that she and Midvalley could live out their dreams together but any hope of that was lost now. Hopefully Kyri would take pity on her and kill her quickly. Maybe she'd even bury their bodies together…

At the crash behind her, Sylvia turned but wasn't fast enough. Kyri came flying at her from the destroyed rubble of what was once a house, using the blunt side of her Gunblade to whack the whip from her hand; Sylvia felt something crack as pain shot through her hand and gave a growl as she reached for the gun hidden on her thigh, only to receive a fist to the face.

"Sylvia!" Midvalley dropped all intentions of attack as his wife was smashed into the ground, Kyri landing not far from her. He hurried to the other woman, taking in the crooked fingers on her left hand. "Damn you, Kyri!" He went to play a few notes again, but Kyri's last attack on him had destroyed his instrument. With a growl he reached for his wife's gun but something stopped him.

Kyri had sheathed her Gunblade. She had crossed her arms and was just staring at them, a small smile on her face. It…caught him off guard. "What are you doing? Why not kill us now? Why are you playing with us?"

"Your character…it continues to intrigue me, even to this day. Of all the Gung-Ho Guns…you final four are the ones that I wanted to fight the least. In a way…sick and twisted as it is…I look upon you as my children." She closed her eyes. "But while I am the monster, there's still a chance for you to stop."

"What the hell are you on about?" Sylvia glared at her, cradling her hand carefully. "Just hurry up and get it over with! Stop playing with us!"

"Midvalley," Kyri called to him. "You just want freedom again, do you not? Come with me and I can do just that."

The man froze again, not sure he had heard the words right. Was…was she being serious? Or was this just some ploy to get his guard down? As he took another look at her face, he found that she was being serious. There was always and air around Kyri when she was being playful and it wasn't there.

He decided to take a chance and trust her.

"How so?"

"Midvalley," Sylvia glanced at the man beside her before glancing back at Kyri herself. Was this really…

"You want to just live with Sylvia and play your music. I am the one that brought you into this life. Give me a chance to give back the life that I stole from you. Allow me the chance to save someone instead of killing them."

"So that was her plan," Alexia gave a soft smile. "No wonder she wanted to fight them alone."

"How can we trust them not to turn on us in the end?" Alexander asked with a frown.

"Both Midvalley and Sylvia know that Kyri could kill them without blinking an eye," Wolfwood answered. "This is their one and only chance at being free, like they've always wanted. Do you really think they'll blow it?"

"Good point."

"It seems that your teachings weren't completely lost after all, Vash," Alexia smiled at the man beside her.

Vash stayed silent, unable to hide the smile on his face or the proud feeling in his heart.

"You'll…you'll just let us go?" Midvalley tried to hide the hopefulness in his voice but he couldn't. "We can just…leave."

"Yes, but I ask that you stay with me; at least for now. I don't want to spare the two of you to just have Knives of Kyra find you and use you against me. Staying close to where I can protect you, for now, is the best choice. I hope you'll understand."

"You'll…you'll just let us go?" Sylvia was shocked. Never before had she thought…was she dreaming? "We can just leave after all this is over, no drawbacks and no…"

"I won't kill you." She told her. "And I would like for you to stay but if you wish to run now, then I pray that you stay safe and away from prying eyes."

"Then, please," Sylvia looked up at her teacher. She crawled forward on her knees a bit before Midvalley grabbed her and held her back. "You have to save Eryn, too. She…you were so important to her. You leaving like you did…it really crushed her. Please, save my friend. Please save her!"

Kyri stared at the other woman for a moment before glancing away. "Eryn's only savior can be herself. If she wishes to change then it will be her struggle to do so, not through me." She turned and began to walk away. "But I'll do all that I can."

Sylvia stared after her teacher for a moment, ignoring the tears in her eyes as she fought back a smile. "She's still the same and yet…yet there's something new."

"We can thank Stampede for that, I'm sure," Midvalley took a step up beside his wife, helping her up herself, watching as the Rush Twins and Vash joined Kyri again, smiles on their faces; all their faces.

"So, what are the two of you going to do now?" They both turned to see Wolfwood standing there, smoking another cigarette. "You going to stay here like she wants or go off on your own again?"

Midvalley had to admit that he liked Wolfwood. The man had been one of the few that he actually enjoyed talking to while involved with the Gung-Ho Guns.

"I…I want to follow Kyri," Sylvia admitted. "Legato and Eryn are the last remaining members and the only obstacle standing between them and Knives and Kyra. If…if Eryn and Legato die…I at least want to give them a grave."

Midvalley stared at her in silence before giving a sigh. "Then I guess we have no choice," He went to pick up his saxophone but then gave a displeased look, remembering that Kyri had destroyed his weapon.

"I don't think giving you another weapon just yet around Kyri is a good idea there, friend," Wolfwood chuckled. "At least wait until this is over."

"I suppose you're right."

Sylvia chuckled at him. "Don't worry, dear; we'll get you a new one when this is all over."

Midvalley gave a chuckle as the three of them followed after the others. This really was going to be a new beginning for them, wasn't it? He found himself praying that Eryn and Legato could find the same.

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