The priest walked into the room and tapped the young man on the shoulder, he had been caring for him for the past several months. The man had been in bad shape when he found him collapsed in front of the alter. Bullet wounds in various place some were almost fatal, but thanks to the priests experiences in his younger years he was good at treating gunshot wounds. He handed the young man a note he had written,

"Nicholas, if your going to leave I think you should take this with you. No man should be wandering around Gusnsmoke without one; its a little old but it'll do you till ya get to where your going. I hope you find what ever you looking, and don't get yourself in trouble again I'm not going to be there to patch you up" He handed the young man, a pack with supplies, an old hand gun and patted him on the shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun shone through the window, Mily rolled over in bed not wanting to get up just yet. Finally giving up on sleep she sat up in bed and stretched she looked down at her swollen stomach and smiled. Rubbing her stomach she soon felt a small kick, "I guess that means you hungry huh", she stood up and slipped on her robe and slippers. She quietly made her way downstairs to make breakfast for everyone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meryl heard Milly leave her room and head down the stairs, she smiled to herself and rolled over.

{ vash }

Vash still lay in bed currently haveing one of his dream world like visits to Rem. Only this one was different. instead of just standing right next to her. She appeared as if in the far distance. He attempted to speak to her . But she made no response.

" I-I gave Knives a second chance. Ive been take care of him. Just like you asked. when you....'' he paused for a moment hoping she would say something but nothing she just stood there. '' Rem ? '' he asked. she still said nothing. vash eventually turned and began to walk away form her. but just as he was walking he heard rem's voice only say. " Live , live to live for another. '' vash turned quickly but rem was no longer there.

vash then woke up completely wrapped up in his blanket. the desert sun dimly through his blanket he sat up in bed and let the sun light wake him up fully. '' Live for another ?" he mumbled to himself

Harry waited patiently in the tavern for his meal to arrive. His gaze was blank, staring off as if in another world. Although one wouldn't think it, his focus was quite clear. His eyes took in everything inside, hidden behind the sunglasses which hung ever so slightly lower than one would normally wear them. His chin rested on hands, clasped together, covering his mouth as he spoke silently to himself, counting off and identifying the people inside the bar. Off to the side of his sight, a person of interest sat, laughing raucously with a gang of three. The man was Jesse Straum, a bulking figure in brown leather, with a gruff, scarred face to intimidate anyone who got near him. He had more than rung up his fair share of crimes on his rap sheet. Robbery, destruction, assault, conspiracy against authority... it went on for a while. In terms of damage done to civilians, he had done quite a few numbers on people, but he strayed away from killing anyone... or at least according to common knowledge of the man.

"Sir, your breakfast?"

Harry turned his head towards the waitress. She was girl who was easy on the eyes with tied back blonde hair and fairly light amount of make-up. She wore a black overall-skirt combo on top of a pinstriped polo. Harry's serious look faded instantly, changing to a welcoming smile with a flirtatious glint in his eyes. He nodded to her as she placed the plate of steak and eggs and a cup of coffee in front of him.

"Thanks, love. A fine meal and a finer-looking woman... you're making my day."

His smile turned into a grin as he arched an eyebrow ever-so-slightly. The waitress blushed and smiled nervously.

"T-thank you. Glad to be of service."

Harry leaned in towards her, his grin staying constant. The waitress took a step back, somewhat leery of his expression.

"Although I can think of a way you can be of more service."

A suddenly stunned look grew on her face, suddenly turning beat red,

"I-I'm sorry?!"

Right off that bat, Harry pointed towards Jesse, looking briefly towards him and then back towards the waitress.

"You see Mr. Straum over there?"

The waitresses redness suddenly paled as she looked over towards Jesse. The look of nervousness shift, from one of almost wonder to one that was more fearful. He was suddenly laughing even harder after one of his henchman told him a joke that couldn't be heard. The waitress turned towards him.

"Oh, you have the wrong man," she said, trying to mask her fear. "If that was him, we'd be obligated to inform the law!"

Harry chuckled quietly, suddenly looking disappointed.

"Damn, what a shame. I was hoping that was him. Truth be told, I've been impressed with his work. The way that man works around the law requires some skill! I always wondered how he was able to skirt around such intelligent lawmen! Even being apart of his group for a while, I couldn't really learn his secrets."

"Wait... you worked with him?"

"Yeah. Not as mean as a guy people make him out to be. The way he's demonized, it kinda gets to him? Not exactly helpful for the image, but hey, I'd lose my temper if people lied about me, too."

The waitress suddenly looked nervously at him, then back towards Jesse. Harry looked back towards him as well. He soon began to laugh quietly as he reached for the coffee, taking a sip.

"Relax, I'm just joking."

The waitress gave him a strange look as she suddenly snapped to attention. Harry smiled as he rose the cup towards her.

"Sorry. I just love flirting around with dangerous jokes. Of course, that's not the only thing I tend to flirt with."

He gave the waitress a wink. Suddenly, the ruby red color of embarrassment flooded her cheeks again. Harry leaned in with a more relaxed expression.

"Can you do me a small favor though? What's the best stuff you got?"

"Uh... that depends on what you prefer."

"It's not for me," Harry replied wryly.

Milly put the food out on the table and then went to the bottom of the stairs, "Mr Vash, Meryl breakfast!", she called up as she went and sat down at the table and started sipping her Ceylon tea. The tea had become a ritual of hers through out the pregnancy, it had been the only thing that would settle her morning sickness. She sighed a the thought; it had never been her plan to be pregnant, not married and the father of the child ..... she hated to think about it. It was something that had ate away at her the whole time, but then again there wasn't really time to have a funeral or anything because Mr Vash had to do something about Mr Knives. Mr. Knives that was something else Milly hated to think about, the man that was responsible for the death of Nicholas was upstairs out cold in a bed. Milly had never been one to hold grudges but, the thought of him being her sickened her slightly. She tried her best to be indifferent for Vash but what was going to happen when he woke up, should she hold onto the hope that Vash is right and he can change or does she need to worry about the safety of her unborn child.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meryl heard Milly's call to breakfast so she decided to make her way downstairs, slipping on her robe she glanced at Vash's door as she passed. H had been quiet as of late, "He most be worried about Knives", she thought, even though she didn't like the idea of bringing Knives along with them to December, she felt like Vash deserved to at least try to help his brother reform. She now knew the truth when it came to plants, she really couldn't blame Knives for his hatred of humans, but even with that she couldn't condone his methods of dealing with it. "He's lucky he has such a kind brother", she thought again, she decided that she was hungry and continued downstairs. Meryl smiled at the very pregnant Milly, she was happy and sad for her friend at the same time, to receive such a precious gift, but to loose the man she loved and the father of her child was tragic. But Milly was always strong and tried her best to keep a smile on her. "Hey Milly are you heading to the orphanage today?", asked Meryl.

He needed some friggin' sunglasses. But none of the one he examined were right. With his chin placed precariously between thumb and forefinger, Nicholas Wolfwood continued to scrutinize, hoping the right ones would shine with the light from the Heaven's and make this decision so much easier.

"Can I help you sir?" A gruff voice spoke up from behind. Nicholas grabbed a pair of sunglasses faster than a jackrabbit running from the line of fire and turned on his heel. The round, old man jerked back a little at the speed and then smiled warily. Nicholas still held his chin between his fingers and lifted an eyebrow.

"I think these are good. You?" He didn't really wait for an answer. The old man wasn't really sure how to deal with this strange and too tall stranger. Nicholas stood up straight, releasing his chin and letting his hands fall fluidly back into his pants pockets. He handed him enough double dollars for about half and then found his way to the door. Turning, he pulled the glasses down and peered at the old man.

"December?" The gruffy man pointed a chubby finger Northeast.

"Thanks," Nicholas whispered as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his inner jacket pocket and placed a rather crooked cigarette between his lips.

The sun was dry and hot, like always. December was only a few hours walk away, or so he thought. For a moment his head ached and he sat down outside a little saloon. Every time he thought of the damned placed his head ached something awful. Suddenly, realizing what he was sitting in front of, Nicholas whirled around and trudged his way through the swinging doors. Two dark blue eyes scanned the room behind the dark sunglasses, assessed the situation as somewhat harmless and sat down at the bar.

"Hard stuff," he mumbled to the tender and let his forehead rest in the palm of his hand. Smoke coiled around his head and filtered into the space around him. Something instead him was urging him to stop wasting time and get to the orphanage he could barely remember, but another part of him was terrified of what he would find there. Was it a piece of his childhood he couldn't remember? Or was it something worse? Nicholas could remember was kind of a man he was and a tiny voice inside him kept repeating, "Your different. You've changed." But Nicholas was far from believing the pest. So the "hard stuff" would quell the voice in him and he would get to December when he damn well pleased.

Harry stared at Jesse as he chugged down the heavy liquor. It was top shelf stuff, costing him a good $$500. While it wasn't the most expensive he had ever bought, he was never too keen on spending that much unless the taste truly justified it. For some reason, alcohol never really affected him. However, it was clearly doing a number on his target. The man somehow seemed even more raucous and loose, his arms flapping uncontrollably. Blood was also clearly rushing to his face, as he seemed redder compared to before. Harry smirked. This made things easier for him. He slowly got out of his seat and pushed the chair in, throwing down a his payment plus a rather generous tip as the waitress returned. She stared at the money, almost impressed, before look back up at Harry.

"I think that alone would make cattle fall over."

"What can I say? I'm a big tipper. Get to know me and you'll see that's not the only kind I partake in."

Harry chuckled as the woman's face turned red again. He looked back up towards her, now with a curious expression.

"I just have one last question... is this place insured?"

"I don't think so, no."

Harry sighed quietly as he rubbed his forehead. That was news he never wanted to hear. It put a damper on his pay-day. It also meant he'd need to restrain himself and be more careful when need be. He nodded towards the waitress.

"Tell your boss I said sorry in advance."

He walked towards Jesse's table. The waitress hurried after him, suddenly aware of his intentions, grabbing him by the arm.

"What are you doing?!" she asked in a hushed voice.

Harry turned his head towards the woman and gave her a reassuring grin.

"Collecting my tip."

The woman let go of him, backing up as she tried to take in his rather strange level of confidence. He nodded towards her as he continued approaching the table. The woman quickly hurried off, running to the back room. The men who were laughing with Jesse soon fell silent as Harry took a seat next to them, pulling out a chair from a neighboring table.

"Gentlemen... how's the drink?"

{vash}

vash reluctantly got up and put on the Erics clothing. he couldn't feel his mechanical arm again this morning. so he did what came natural and jabbed it back in order he cringed at the pain it caused him but he managed to get some functionality form it. he needed to get it tuned up or something but he hadn't seen the doc sense brad died. he felt that he couldn't stand to see Jessica again....to meany memories.

he walked past the room where knives lay. still no change. then came down to where breakfast was waiting. he came in just as Milly was sitting down. he looked at the pregnant woman and thought how that child will never meet its father . and naturally he felt it was because of him. he looked down at the floor and muttered under his breath . '' i'm sorry.....i'm just so sorry. ''

he slumped down in the chair at the table his eyes to the floor. he rubbed his hand on his chin he was getting stubby again . guess he hadn't noticed sence he was too busy caring for knives. he hadn't had time to look in a mirror.

Meryl had got up to get a cup of coffee when Vash came to sit down, she frowned he looked horrible this mourning he needed a break from Knives. She set down her cup and walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. It hurt her to see him like this, it made her miss his idiotic broomhead ways. There was a knock at the door and Milly got up to answer, "Must be Johanna", said Meryl. Johanna had become fast friends of the group and was quite an interesting young woman. She was the daughter of a Plant manager that was trying to end the use of Plants all over planet Gunsmoke. Needless to say they're ideas had not been widely recieved and they were very frustrated about it. But Johanna never seemed to give up on the idea that there was another way to live.

"Hi everyone", said Johanna smiling at everyone.

Meryl leaned down to Vash's ear, "I need to go to town to day to get some supplies how about you come with me?", she asked with a smile. She knew that he would say know but it was a good thing her back up plan had just walked in the door. She had been talking to her about how Vash needed a break; Johanna had offered her time to sit with Knives while she took Vash to town.

Johanna saw Meryl speak to Vash and she knew what she had said by reading her lips it had been the plan, "Well Vash just tell me what I need to do for Knives and you and Meryl can go get some shopping done. Don't even think your going to tell me no either cause if you do I'll boot you butt right out that door", Johanna said with a big smile on her face. The young woman pushed her glasses up on her nose, she knew Vash would probably try to talk her out of it but she wasn't about to let her do it.

"Yeah Mr. Vash I'm sure Johanna will take care of Knives just as good as you", said Milly with a smile on her face she had known of Meryl's plan as well.

"Well Vash you better finish up and go get ready and don't think your gonna get out of this one; you got three women on ya", Meryl said with a wink. There had been no change in Knives for weeks, and he needed a break.

Nicholas could feel a palpable tension in the saloon. The dry whiskey was helping his headache a little. He'd had about four shots already. He could feel his brain swimming in his skull, but one of his many talents was appearing completely sober while being entirely too far gone. The waitress walking about the tables moved behind the bar. He knew the look on her face anywhere. She was scared of something.

Nicholas thought he should get out before he gets involved. The gunslinger laughed and finished the fifth shot before the tender showed his face once more.

"Hey, Mister," he whispered harshly, "best get out. Thing's is gonna get a mighty bit wild in here." A flash of sadness wiped over his face and Nicholas had a familiar, lost feeling. Like he'd been here before and seen that look before. Wild meant destruction... like a typhoon.

"Aw, dammit!" Another sharp pain in his temple and Nicholas tumbled off his chair. Taking a few off-kilter steps, he sighed and shook his head, hoping the pain would exit his ear. Didn't help. With an inward growl, he peered over his shoulder at the group of rowdy men surrounding a large table. Another had just joined them and they all quieted down. Yep, time to head out. The young man had that look about him, the one he'd seen plenty of times... Or wait... had he actually seen it, or just imagined it? Where had he seen it before?

With a quick shove of his arms, Nicholas Wolfwood's hands were back in their pockets and he was shoving his clumsy way out the door. No need to delve into business not his own. Instead, he stood just on the side of the swinging doors. The sun felt nice for once. If the fight made it's way out here, Nicholas would have to intervene. He could just be an innocent bystander wanting to protect himself, right?

A tiny grin lifted the corner of his mouth as he pulled those new sunglasses onto his nose.

"Sorry, friend, but I'm afraid you're going to have to come with me."

Jesse and his gang stared at Harry with a look of shock and confusion. Jesse scoffed and let out a loud laugh. Harry tilted his head to the side, feigning confusion.

"Is something funny to you?"

"You!" he said drunkenly. "You just waltz up to me, THE Jesse Straum, and tell me to follow you?! Who do you think you are, ya putz!"

Harry chuckled quietly as he leaned back in the chair. He was definitely drunk. This would hopefully make things easier... unless this was the type of angry drunk who got stronger with booze. Regardless, the plan worked most of the time. He stuck out his hand, the grin still plastered on his face.

"Name's Harry... Jameson."

One of the more sober members perked his head up, clearly recognizing the name. His eyes gradually widened with fear as began to slide his chair back, trying to distance himself from the bounty hunter. Jesse stared at him indifferently, confused at the importance of his name. Harry lowered his arm, hiding the disappointment that no one took the bait.

"What, are you new law 'round here or somethin'?"

"Nope. I'm better than any lawman. But let's just say any place I move into, we come into mutual agreements."

Jesse and the other lackey soon came into a realization of what he meant. Almost instantaneously, the henchmen closest to Harry lifted his gun. Harry grabbed the gun and sent his fist flying into the mans nose. There was a sickening crunch that didn't even finish ringing out as Jesse and one of the other men lifted their guns and aimed. No sooner did Harry put his hand behind the incapacitated man's head and slammed it face first into the table. It flipped the other end upwards, knocking the men's aim off, sending their shots flying into the ceiling. The glasses of booze flew into the air, spreading the alcohol everywhere around them, dousing the men in its vicinity. Harry grabbed one of the glasses before it could hit the ground and threw it at the henchman with the drawn gun, hitting him in the temple and sending him reeling to the ground. Harry quickly drew a long barreled .50 Smith and Wesson and aimed at Jesse as he tried to situate his aim at Harry. Jesse glared at Harry as the third henchmen simply cowered in his seat, soaking in booze. He was shaking violently as he tried to move. Harry chuckled quietly.

"Mr. Straum... I implore you to come along peacefully. Not because I want to be civil, which I assure you I heavily prefer, but because I have a much better gun, with much bigger bullets, and a faster shot than anything you have on you. So what do you say?"

Suddenly the other man shot up and bolted out of the tavern. Harry could hear him screaming as he disappeared out of sight, shouting something along the lines of an apology. As the two stared at each other, a grin suddenly appeared on Jesse's face.

"You need to pay attention to what's in my other hand, boy."

Harry gave him a confused look. As his gaze descended towards his hand, he noticed a tightly gripped hand grenade tucked under his coat. Harry looked back up at Jesse, who's grin gradually widened.

"Clearly a more clever drunkard than I thought."

"Always come prepared!"

He tossed the grenade towards Harry and darted towards the window, jumping through it. Harry shouted out as he juggled it momentarily, trying to get a grip on it. In a panic, he looked back towards the window and threw it back through the window that Jesse had jumped out of. Jesse found the grenade rolling in front of him. However, he ignored it as if it was nothing. Soon, a hiss of smoke came spouting out. Harry's eyes widened in shock as he realized what he had just dealt with.

A dummy grenade?! You cheap son of a bitch!

Harry quickly vaulted over the window and spurted after the man. Jesse, in a drunken state, was slow and stumbling. He still had enough focus to muster out Harry. As Harry took aim at the man a hail of gunfire came from a group of several others. Harry quickly took cover behind one of the buildings nearby. He peered around the corner to find several armed men, including the one who ran off. Harry chuckled quietly as he readied his gun. No matter what Jesse was his priority.

Backup, huh? Still not even a fair fight for them!

{Vash}

vash looked at johnna shaking his head. '' no...no I can't. if Knives where to wake up and find you. Its....well lets just say its wouldn't be
the best situation. ''

he considered the possibility of knives waking and finding human caring for him. Johanna would probably not survive
He needed to be there when knives woke up or else everyone in the house hold would be in danger. he was likely still unstable
He was unsure if he would still have to take him out or not.

oops

Johanna, shook her head "Really Vash I'm not the helpless little girl, I think I can handle a guy whose been in a coma for months", she said.

Milly looked at Vash she understood why he was so worried Knives was dangerous a fact that they had kept from Johanna, "Mr. Vash I'll stay here with her as well, I have Nicholas's weapon if things go wrong", said Milly.

"Besides, he's in a comma how much harm can he do, you guys wont be gone that long you'll come back and everything will be the same", said Johanna.

[Vash]

vash was unsure if he should leave Milly to handle Knives. But everone seemed agenst the thought of him staying in the house when he was the best choice to deffend them.

" Milly but your... and your kids at the orpanage."

Meryl sighed "Come on Broomhead do you want me to throw you in the shower", said Meryl with her hands on her hips. Then she looked him in the eyes, "Please Vash you need to get out it's not healthy for you to stay in all the time; I'm worried about you", said Meryl.

[Vash]

vash stood up from the table. He sighed " fine okay but.... I can't stay out for vary long. Knives is my responsibility."
He got up from the table and went to his room and got his shoes and his yellow shades

Meryl sighed she was glad to finally get him out of the house, "Meryl don't you two worry we'll take good care of Knives", said Johanna with a smile. Meryl nodded and took Milly aside, "My guns are stowed under my bed Milly just in case, don't hesitate to shoot Knives if he does anything to threaten you or Johanna", she whispered.

Johanna got busy helping clear the table, "Here Johanna I'll help you do the dishes", said Milly waking up to the sink.

Meryl then made her way upstairs and got dressed, she came out just wearing jeans and a t-shirt, then she knocked on Vash's door "I'm ready I'll be downstairs waiting on you", she said through the door. she walked downstairs and slipped on her shoes.

"Wow, Meryl your hair is getting so long", said Milly while drying a plate, Meryl smiled "I just haven't really seen the point in cutting it lately", she said as she flipped her hair behind her. She leaned up next the door and waited for Vash to come down.

[Vash]
vash looked out the window at all the towns people. this would really be the first time out ans about. He hoped he wouldn't stand out too much. Hopefuly everyone belived that the 60 billion dollar outlaw was truely dead.
He walked down tge staries to meet Meryl at the door. He looked at her
"Meryl are you sure about this I mean it's not like any one around here is really dieing to know me or anything. and I...uh"
as he stammerd to find an exsuse not to go outdoor's

The raucous ended up in the alleyway, which left Nicholas slouching against the wall of the Saloon. Perhaps fate was suggesting he just back away and head in the direction he needed to go. He sucked down the cigarette like it was better than oxygen and just stood for a few moments more. The lanky traveler was just about to snuff it under the toe of his black boot when the roaring sound of massive gun fire erupted from the previously mentioned alleyway.

An all too familiar grip on the hilt of his gun, brought him running from the front into the alleyway to see the lone bounty man with a rather large handgun, taking cover around the side of the building. The bullets were whizzing past his head and the yells and cries of joy coming from the assailants made Nicholas remember something, vaguely. Like a time that had been frozen and hidden away someplace. The idea of a wild, blonde haired fellow.

Nicholas squatted beside the unofficial lawman and smirked.

“Got yourself in a little bind?” He added a few extra bullets to the chamber of his revolver, spun it gladly, and set it ready to fire. The smoldering cigarette butt dangled from his lips.

“Half your takings and I’ll lend you a few good shots.” He peered over his sunglasses, a glint in his eye that was indescribable.

Harry stared at the new arrival. The man had expression similar to that of Harry's: cocky and eager. His grin turned almost into a manic smile.

"Never been one to turn down help. Cover me so I can get to the other side. When you see this..."

Harry reached under his coat. For a moment, a wide array of explosives became visible as he pulled out a red labled silver canister.

Do you think you could do me a favor and shoot it? And when you do... keep the shades on."

Harry nodded towards the man, giving him a salute with the gun. He soon spun around the corner and began firing at the crowd, darting across the open plane. Several of the men took cover as he and the mysterious man fired down the alleyway. One man with a rifle didn't hide and continued to fire. Harry concentrated as he took aim and fired. The rifle flew our of the man's hands, the wooden frame suddenly splintering. Harry quickly ducked to the other side before the gunfire suddenly focused on him. He snapped open the gun as he pressed himself against the wall, ejecring the rounds and reloading with a speed loader. He peered to the side, giving the man a nod. He readied the canister in his hand. He reeled his arm back, backing up to give himself some throwing room, and launched it into the air. He waited for the shot that would ignite it. It was going to burn anyone's retinas close by, that was for certain.

Meryl shook her head and smiled, "Come on broomhead", she said as she grabbed Vash's hand and pulled him out the door. Linking her arm in his as they made their way to town. As they came into town it bustling with activity; this was typical of December and it was nice to be around it every once in a while. They walked into a shop to by some food.

The old woman behind the grocery counter smiled, "How are you today?", asked the grandmother like woman.

Meryl smiled, "Oh were good, thank just need to get some supplies for the house", said Meryl.

"Such a nice couple", said the old woman making Meryl blush slightly.

She began to fill the basket with all they needed for the house, and then she cam across the donuts, she smiled, and picked up a box "Treat", she said to Vash with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the kitchen was cleaned Milly sat down at the, chess set on a table next to the front window, "Would you like to play Johanna?", asked Milly.

Johanna smiled as she put away the last of the dishes, "No, I'm going to go check on Knives but maybe when I come back down alright", said Johanna setting the towel aside.

Milly got a worried look on her face, "Just be careful with him Johanna, he's... a little unstable mentally", said Milly she still felt bad for lying to Johanna.

Johanna smiled, "Thats alright he's been out so long, I doubt that he's gonna pop up now", she said as she made her way upstairs.

She stood in front of Knives door and took a deep breath, she slowly turned the knob and opened it, she smiled at the sleeping Knives. "Wow, he really look like his brother", she said, as she went around the room picking up some clothes and such left by Vash. His hair was slightly lighter then his brothers but other than that they looked identical. She frowned and sat down at chair right next to the bed, "What did you do to make everyone so afraid of you?", she said. She pulled out her research notebook and began to write, "I've been told that if you read or talk to someone in a coma they can still hear you", she said looking at Knives with a smile.

She hummed to herself a little as she flipped through the notebook, "It's kind of boring but I could tell you about the research I'm working on I guess. So far what I studied from the records of the SEEDS ships that I have been digging through; that before they left planet Earth that they had began work on something called solar energy", said Johanna. She kept on reading for awhile tills he got to the part about when they discovered Plants and changed over. "Thats just horrible they had such a good idea and then the just abandoned it for something even more impractical then fossil fuels. So foolish is the human race, it just seems like we keep on making the same mistakes over and over again", she turned to Knives.

"You an your brother are something so amazing, and unique how could they even thought that using Plants as energy, it's just unfair that we live comfortably because we slowly drain the life out of them. I'm so frustrated sometimes with all the people who have more than me telling me I'm foolish to think it's wrong, Don't fix it if it isn't broken, fools..". Johanna said with a sigh.

{ vash }

vash kept shifting his eyes around. So far no one noticed him. Could this really mean that his life as a wanted man was really over and he could start living a normal life. could this be what Rem meant when she said to live for another

" uh hay Meryl. What exactly you girls tell the insurance company you worked for happened to e-hem-hem Vash the stampeded.'' he whispered to Meryl wile the where in the back of the store farther away form the old lady running the store

Meryl sighed not a word about the donuts, he must be sick, "They knew that we were following you and so when we told them that he had been gunned down in a random gunfight they believed us. Especially since nothing has happened in the past several months. It just shows you how narrow minded the human race is Vash, out of sight out of mind", she whispered back at him as she put the donuts in their basket. "I think we have just about everything we need you ready to go home", she said with a smile.

{Vash}


vash nodded.but as they walked home vash stopped in the middle of the street. " hay Meryl. If knives wakes up and is still unstable....I.'' he paused for a moment and thought carefully what how he was gonna but this.

he took off his sunglasses and looked her straight in the eyes. '' I want you all to leave the town. Because if he still wants to destroy humanity. I don't want your or Milly to be in his path. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happens to you guys. Knives is not your guys responsibility..... '' he looks down and walks past her toward the house. '' i just fear for the worst.

"Oh Vash...", Meryl said quietly almost under her breath, when he walked past her she caught his arm and pulled him towards her and through her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. "Vash...", she knew why he had said that but she didn't know how to tell him that she cared about him so much that it would probably take, a team of wild thomases would have to tear her away. She knew that he had made the decision to not kill Knives, "You made a choice Vash, but your right it is your responsibility, but that doesn't mean you need to face it alone. Maybe your right maybe he can change right now you need to stop being so depressed and think positively or that may never happen", she said as she began to cry her tears soaking his shirt. "Please it hurts when I see you like this".