Tuesday Afternoon

Chapter 9

Hello! Sorry it's been a minute since I posted a chapter. College sucks, but the semester is almost over! I take my finals in like 2 weeks so hopefully by December I'll have some time to pump out a few more chapters!

Finally, Some Clarity

You woke up very early in the morning with a hangover and Vash sprawled out over you in your hotel room. Vaguely, you remember partying with the townfolk, who showered Vash and yourself with drinks and food as a 'thank you' for saving the town. A welcome celebration at the time, but something you were so regretting when the twin sun's light shined into your eyeballs.

You groaned, shoving Vash (still schlumped) off of your chest as gently as you could so as not to wake him, and immediately moved toward the bathroom. Either to puke or take a shower - whichever came first, really. You sluggishly went through the motions, getting ready for the day (no puking, luckily).

If you remember right, this was supposed to be the Sand Steamer episode. But you already dealt with those events (both versions of them), so there was no telling what may be in store for you today. If you were lucky, nothing bad would happen, but you and Vash didn't really get that luxury it seemed.

Still, you could be hopeful.

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

Later that morning, there were lots of disappointed murmuring amongst the town's residents. Meryl and Milly were more panicked than disappointed though, struggling to pack their bags as fast as possible.

"Hurry up, Milly!"

"They just told me," Milly started, turning her head towards her partner. "They both got on the sand steamer!"

"Whaaa!? But we don't have enough money!"

Actually on the sand steamer, you and Vash were nestled on the terrace waving goodbye to Tonis and the other kids. It made you sad, but at the same time at least you kind-of-sort-of replayed Rosa and the rest of the town for the, uh, blunder with Knives the last time you were here.

And by the looks of things, this was the same sand steamer that shit went down on 5 years ago. So either things were going to repeat on you, or you might get a chance to actually explore the damn thing without having to fight your way through it. You hoped for the latter.

Once the groups of kids were out of sight, the two of you made your way below deck to find a nice spot to settle down in. You managed that much, but Vash still had a massive hangover. While you went to the bathroom to wet a cloth for his headache, he opted to simply lie down in the corner he'd claimed as his own.

"Are you Vash the Stampede? You sure don't look like it, you don't even have Heart-Eyes with you."

"I don't remember ordering room service," the blond replied.

The man laughed heartily. "That's exactly what Heart Eyes told me all that time ago! You must be the real deal."

"Hm?" Vash glanced over at the man just as you returned with the now wet cloth.

"Hey... I remember you!" You exclaimed while pointing a finger at the man. "You're the guy from last time!"

As soon as he looked at you a big smile stretched across his face, "Aha! You guys are the real deal! This is perfect!"

You grimaced and slightly deflated, "Don't tell me you guys need protection again..."

"Oh no, no, nothing like that," the man assured. "I'm actually here to escort you to the control room. There's someone who'd like to see you."