Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ The Resurrection Of Nicholas D. Wolfwood ❯ Nicholas The Stampede?! ( Chapter 6 )

The Resurrection Of Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Part Six: Nicholas The Stampede?!

By Bekka Mouri

(Trigun doesn't belong to me and I am not making any money from this so please don't sue my poor butt. Wolfwood reveals to Vash how he took down the Nebraska Family and we find out the name of the town they are in. I managed not to put any spoiler action in this chapter! Do I get a cookie?)

Wolfwood waited in his room, wondering what was taking Vash so long. He had convinced him that it would be a good idea to leave the town they were in and start making their way back to the girls. Vash figured it would be the best since Knives had vanished for the time being and Wolfwood just wanted to get out of the town. Once they got to the girls, they would do everything they could to make sure they were protected in case Knives decided to target them like they feared.

He heard some commotion in the street below and looked out the window to see what was going on. A small crowd of people were standing in the street and looking up at the hotel. When Wolfwood stuck his head outside, someone yelled and pointed, " That's him! He's the one who took down the Nebraska Family! "

" Could he be Vash The Stampede? I heard Vash never killed anyone, " Someone else said. " Could Vash have returned? "

Wolfwood narrowed his eyes, " I am not Vash! " He yelled. He knew why the people were there and he wasn't going to hang around just so they could get him. He was quite certain they would be pissed and they looked like they were.

" Don't be stupid, Bob! Vash was a blonde! " Somebody holding a large black cat called to the man who had thought Wolfwood was Vash. " This here is a new guy! Let's get him for what he did to our town! "

" Go away! I had to do it! Don't you care about your safety? " Wolfwood yelled and slammed the window shut.

Vash laughed and scared Wolfwood; " Looks like you're the legend now. "

Wolfwood turned around, " When did you come in here? "

" While you were yelling at everyone. Come on, I think we had better leave the back way, " Vash opened the door. Wolfwood could see he had a backpack slung over his shoulder and was obviously ready to go.

Wolfwood grabbed his cross, " But the bike is parked out front. "

" Give me the keys, " Vash put out his hand. " I'll bring it to the back. "

Wolfwood shook his head, " The hell you're touching my Angelina II. You can't even ride a Thomas and you expect me to let you ride my bike? "

" Just around the corner and down the alley. It can't be that hard, " Vash laughed. He smiled and held up the keys. " Thanks. "

Wolfwood's eyes narrowed and he dropped the cross, " How the hell did you do that? "

" It take a lot of skill, my friend, " Vash threw the keys up in the air.

Wolfwood caught them with one hand and slapped Vash upside the head with the other, " Keep your hands out of my pants, needle noggin. "

Vash put his hands up, " Oh come on. You didn't even feel it! "

" Come on! I think his room is up here! " Someone yelled.

Wolfwood threw the keys at Vash and grabbed the cross again; " I'll meet you downstairs in five minutes. Don't. Wreck. The. Bike. "

Vash smiled as Wolfwood tore down the hallway towards the back stairs. He had just vanished down them when the crowd came up the front stairs. They stopped when they saw Vash and looked bewildered. The man with the black cat stepped forward and looked around.

" Can I help you? " Vash asked politely.

" Did you happen to see a man in a black suit around here? " The man asked.

Vash looked down at the cat and smiled, " What a cute kitty you have there! "

(^o.o^ Kuroneko-sama moment) The cat looked up at Vash and blinked " Myaaa. " When Vash went to pet it, it slapped his hand away and clawed him.

" She doesn't like you, " The man said flatly. " Perhaps she might if you answer my question, boy. Did you see a man in black up here? "

Vash grimaced and put his injured hand behind his head, " Gee, Mister. I don't know what you are talking about. Sorry. "

The man turned around and walked back through the crowd, " Maybe he's on the next floor. We'll go to the roof if we have to, " He muttered. The crowd let out a collective disappointed groan and headed back to the front stairs.

Vash sighed in relief and headed for the front stairs once the crowd had made it to the next floor. He took them two at a time and got to the door. He had the forethought to pay for both his and Wolfwood's rooms ahead of time so he didn't have to stop. He stepped outside and looked down the street at the bank.

Steel glistened in the morning sunshine, jagged concrete surrounding it like some kind of abstract frame. Vash figured the Nebraskas had done that damage to the building but there was other damage that couldn't have been their handiwork. Large concrete statues had adorned several of the buildings around the bank when Vash had come to the town but they were now gone. He looked at the ground and saw the slabs of wrecked concrete blocking large parts of the road.

He studied them from a distance and noticed they were peppered with bullet holes. He felt a crooked grin tug at the corners of his mouth. " Needle noggin! " Wolfwood barked, making Vash jump.

" Sorry, " Vash smiled. " I was just looking at your handiwork. "

" Give me the keys to the bike, " Wolfwood growled. " They saw me from the roof and are coming back down to get me. "

Vash handed him the keys, " What's got them so riled up anyway? "

" Get on the damn bike! " Wolfwood said, securing the cross to the back as fast as he could.

Vash jumped on and Wolfwood got on in front of him. " You'd think they'd be happy I stopped them, " He muttered and started the engine. This time, he gunned it because the crowd was trying to push their way through the front door.

" Stop him! He destroyed our statues! " The man with the black cat yelled.

Vash has suppressed the urge to scream this time because he knew Wolfwood wasn't trying to scare him. ~Statues? Were those some kind of historic statues? ~

" I think your ability to piss people off rubbed off on me too, needle noggin! " Wolfwood shouted above the roar of the engine.

" What makes you say that? " Vash shouted back.

" Just hang on tight, " Wolfwood pushed the engine more, " We got to get the hell out here! These people are not very happy with me and I don't have time to chitchat! "

Vash shut his eyes but not before he noticed quite a few large factory type looking buildings on a nearby hilltop. ~Hm… I wonder. ~

**

Vash downed the canteen of water in one gulp, gasping for air once he was done. Wolfwood was going between gulping down water and taking long drags off of his cigarette. Vash looked over at him, " What was their problem anyway? "

Wolfwood flicked some of the ashes from the cigarette. " Did you know what the name of that town was, Vash? "

" Um, I know it wasn't one of the major ones but think it was called Steele City. I think it was named after some guy whose last name was Steele. He must have settled it a while after the ships came down, " Vash kicked a rock. It bounced towards Wolfwood and hit him in the shin.

Wolfwood picked the rock up and flung it at Vash, " Haven't you ever heard of Steele Steel, you idiot! "

Vash ducked, " Actually, I think I have… " He stopped, recalling the factories just above the town. He blushed a little, " I guess it didn't dawn on me until we left town. I figured the town would have been a lot bigger since they produce the steel. "

" It's the strongest steel on the whole freaking planet! That whole town was built with it to keep it from blowing away because we're in the middle of a typhoon region. All the buildings have core walls of steel a yar and a half thick surrounded by a yar of concrete on either side to cut the heat, " Wolfwood shouted, picking up another rock and pitched it.

" So? The Nebraskas weren't going to stop until got into the bank or someone stopped them, right? " Vash dodged that rock too but he didn't see the other one Wolfwood threw and it pegged him between the eyes.

" Right, " Wolfwood grumbled. " But I didn't think I would piss people off by stopping them! "

" Let me guess, " Vash rubbed the place where the rock had hit, " You shot the statues from the buildings next to the bank and used the falling pieces to knock the Nebraskas out. "

" Well, just the mother and son. The girl fell and hit her own head when her mother fell down and the ballboys' brother fell on them. By the time it was all over, the sheriff had come around as well as his deputies and took them all away. He took me back to his office and gave me the reward but told me I had better leave as soon as I could, " Wolfwood took a long drag off of the cigarette.

" The statues didn't have steel cores? " Vash asked.

" Just a bar that went through the middle to keep them from getting blown away, " Wolfwood picked up another rock and rolled it around in his hand. " I never imagined anyone could get so pissed about some stupid statues. "

" I still don't understand why they were mad, " Vash shook his head. " You'd think they'd be happy you stopped The Nebraskas. "

" That's what I thought. Those people who were chasing me were members of the Steele family though and they weren't very happy I destroyed the family monument statues, " Wolfwood exhaled the smoke. " The sheriff knew the family wouldn't hear about it until morning so he told me to get the hell out of there as soon as the sun came up. "

" Family monument statues? " Vash looked confused.

Wolfwood nodded, " The statues were of the town founders who just happened to be their ancestors. "

" What's wrong with them? " Vash asked. " Do they care more about some stupid statues than their town? "

" Well, I wrecked a few other things but you would think they would be happy we stopped those freaks, " Wolfwood finished the cigarette. " The Bernardelli Insurance Society is probably going to hear about it too. "

Vash started crying, " No! The insurance girls are going to think it was me! I don't want the shorthaired one pissed at me again! She's going to blame it on ME! "

Wolfwood laughed, " Deny it all you want pal but I think you like her. "

" Not like that! I swear! " Vash whined.

Wolfwood lit another cigarette, " Uh huh, I believe you. "

**

The Urgent Transfer Machine came to life, a cloud of dust flying up into the air. The machine was hooked into the telegraph lines for the town when Vash's destruction spree was at its highest point so the agency could get reports almost instantly. The longest it had sat quiet was the time between Augusta had been destroyed and Vash's reappearance in Little Jersey. Everyone in the office turned to look, their eyes as wide as saucers.

Meryl's heart was in her throat but recovered quickly and she dashed to the machine. She watched as the lines appeared on the paper, her eyes growing wide as she read it.

'To: Bernardelli Insurance Society

From: City Hall, Steele City

Re: Multiple Class Property Damage Claims

Cause: Multiple Causes

Incident occurred yesterday at 10 a.m. Nebraska Family attempted to rob city's bank, caused major damage to outer façade of bank.

Stopped by an unidentified man in black suit and white shirt. Man caused large amounts of damage to stop robbery. Man vanished early this morning in the company of another man but his identity is also unknown. Identifying features of man in black are black suit, cross cuff links, black motorcycle and a large cloth wrapped cross. The man is believed not to be Vash The Stampede.

Man in black destroyed several historically important statues of town founders. Replacement is possible but value is undetermined at this time.

Statues also caused unknown damage to cars parked around the buildings. Detailed report to follow.

-End of report-'

Meryl tore the message off and read again. ~What do they mean a man in a black suit and white shirt with cross cuff links, a motorcycle and a wrapped cross? What is wrong with priests these days? ~

" What's that Meryl? Has Mr. Vash struck again? " Milly had come up behind her but she was too wrapped up in the telegram to realize it.

Meryl quickly folded the paper, " No. It's something else. "

The chief came out of his office, " Did I just hear the Stampede Machine? "

Meryl hated the nickname the chief had given the telegraph but she had to admit it was true; the machine had been worked to near breakdown when Vash was at his pinnacle. " Yes sir. We just got an urgent message from Steele City. "

" Really now, Stryfe? I thought that city was supposed to be indestructible, " The chief came over and took the paper from Meryl. He read it and frowned. " It wasn't The Stampede, eh? "

" No sir, " Meryl stammered. " Remember he vanished three months ago. "

The chief nodded, " Well, this guy sounds just a destructive. If any more reports about this guy come through, I may have to assign someone to investigate. "

Meryl gulped and looked at Milly. The two of them had more experience with destructive types than anyone in all of Bernardelli. She stared having unhappy visions of Milly, several months pregnant and still kicking ass with her stun gun. She shut her eyes and shook her head slowly, ~Oh please may this just be an isolated incident. ~

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