Vash the Stampede

"LOVE AND PEACE!"

- Vash

Vash the Stampede (ヴァッシュ・ザ・スタンピード|Vasshu za Sutanpīdo) is the main character of the anime and manga series Trigun. Vash is also known as The Humanoid Typhoon due to the destruction & chaos which surrounds him. Wielding a huge silver revolver, he travels from town to town. He is initially discovered by Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, two Bernardelli Insurance Society representatives investigating claims made due to damages caused by the mysterious Humanoid Typhoon.

In the anime the pair find Vash while he is being chased by bandits who want to collect the bounty on "The $$60,000,000,000 (sixty billion double dollar) Man". He escapes while Milly and Meryl eventually learn that Vash is actually the person they are assigned to track.

In the Manga they discover Vash facing off against The Nebraska Father and Son duo after he was avoiding a conflict with the somewhat innocent townsfolk who aimed to use the sixty billon double dollar bounty on his head to correct the finacial problems vexing their town.

Birth
Vash is not human, but a human-like Plant, inter-dimensional beings that are tapped as a source of power and energy. As a Plant, his body does not physically age past his mid-twenties, though he is 150 by the time the series begins. As "independent" plants, he and his twin brother Knives are capable of consciously using their immense energy to perform incredible destructive feats.

Vash and his twin brother Knives were discovered aboard a SEEDs ship by Rem Saverem, seemingly born from one of the Plants powering the ship. Rem raises them over the course of one year, where they quickly grow from infants to young children.

While experimenting with the ship's databases, Knives accidentally disrupts with the navigation system, triggering an alarm and waking the dormant passengers aboard. Rem quickly corrects the system and sends the passengers back to sleep, but one awakened crewmember, Dr. William Conrad, discovers Vash and Knives. He agrees to keep their existence a secret after talking with Rem.

Knives and Vash later accidentally stumble across a restricted area aboard the ship, and there discover that they were not the first independent Plants to be born. Another plant Tesla had been studied by the crew aboard the ship, and subjected to continuous scans and vivisections that eventually led to her slow and painful death.

Horrified, Vash locks himself away and declares his hatred of humanity. Afraid and feeling alone as one of only two independent plants amidst millions of humans, Vash attempts suicide. Rem intervenes, and Vash accidentally wounds her in the process. At first calmed by the sudden catharsis of hurting a human, Vash becomes horrified by what he has done and saves her. Rem shares her own troubled past and convinces Vash to have faith in the limitless potential for the future, and Vash gains a newfound respect for life.

The Great Fall
Knives, now unable to believe that humans and Plants can ever coexist, uses what he learned from his accidental tampering before to crash the Fleet on the planet eventually known as Gunsmoke, intending to wipe out all the humans and save only those ships necessarily for him and Vash and however many other Plants that survived the fall to live on the planet. Rem sends Vash and Knives aboard an escape pod, but stays behind to try to correct the navigation and save as many people as she can, and so dies in the crash. Aboard the escape pod, Knives reveals his involvement in the fall, but Vash finds himself with no where else to go, and so follows Knives as they wander Gunsmoke, watching what few survivors there were build cities around the crashed ships.

As Vash later notes, the Great Fall that was intended to save Plants from humans ironically only made humans more exploitative of Plants than ever, forcing them to slowly drain Plants as energy sources to survive amidst the harsh conditions.

Vash and Knives eventually separated after Vash was captured in a small town and Knives killed all the people to save him. Horrified, Vash shot Knives in the shoulder, causing Knives to retaliate by cutting off Vash's left arm. Following their separation, Vash wandered Gunsmoke until he was found by a group of humans that lived aboard a still mostly functional ship. Vash adopted the city as his new home, and there received his cybernetic arm.

July Incident
The infamous July Incident occurred before the start of the manga, when Vash traveled to the city of July in search of Count Revnant Vaszues, who Vash correctly believed to be the psuedonym of Dr. William Conrad, who had used his knowledge of plants to build a wealthy life in July. However, upon he is confronted by Knives, who has already forced Conrad into his service. Knives captures Vash and has Conrad study Vash's arm to better understand their abilities. Knives decides to attempt to activate Vash's dormant powers forcibly, but the plan backfires and the blast obliterates July, directly killing 200,000 people and severly wounding Knives. Conrad and Legato find Knives amidst the rubble, and save his life, with Legato swearing revenge on Vash for what happened to Knives.

The incident secures Vash's reputation as The Humanoid Typhoon.

Trigun
The series opens with Vash being chased by bounty hunters, only to be saved by the arrival of Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson of the Bernardelli Insurance Society who announce that Vash has been classified as a "Natural Disaster" and as such his bounty has been cancelled. Though initially happy to learn of the bounty's cancellation, he is dismayed when he learns the two intend on following him.

As he travels, the Insurance Girls in pursuit, he happens to pass by a priest stranded in the desert. The priest introduces himself as Nicholas D. Wolfwood, and the two part on friendly terms.

The primary story begins with the arrival of Legato Bluesummers, who identifies himself as a follower of Knives. Legato gives Vash a coin case, warning Vash that twelve assassins will come for him, each bearing a coin, and if Vash is successful in collecting all twelve "something interesting will happen."

The twelve are revealed to be the Gung-ho Guns, Knives's elite killers, and the priest Wolfwood has recently been contracted as one of them under the name Nicholas the Chapel. Vash is successful in defeating the first three, Monev the Gale, E. G. Mine, and Dominique the Cyclops, though he loses his cybernetic arm in the battle with Gale.

Shortly after defeating Dominque, Vash senses Knives's imminent rebirth, and goes to confront him. When Legato instinctively moves to attack Vash, the reborn Knives breaks Legato's body, and then attempts to activate Vash's power again to wipe out the city. Vash resists, and instead redirects the blast upward, where it hits one of Gunsmoke's moons and leaves a massive crater. Vash disappears afterward.

Trigun Maximum
Years later, the priest Nicholas D. Wolfwood arrives in a city in search for Vash the Stampede. Once he discovers Vash, he convinces Vash to come out of his pseudo-retirement, telling of Knives's exploits and progress in wiping out humanity. Learning of Vash's locations, the broken but alive Legato declares that the killing game has begun anew, and sends Rai-Dei the Blade.

In his confrontation with Blade, Vash learns that Legato and the Gung-ho Guns have discovered the location of his home. After Wolfwood executes Blade, the two have a near falling out over the morality of killing, but they agree to continue traveling together, going to Vash's home. There, Vash battles Leonoff the Puppetmaster and Wolfwood fights Grey the Ninelives. After their victory, Vash learns from the inhabitants that the ship has successfully made contact with Earth, and ships will be arriving to save them from Gunsmoke.

Knives uses his powers to cut down the satellites used to communicate with Earth, and Vash resumes his travels when he learns of the severed connection and correctly guesses the reason. They reunite with the Insurance Girls, but as a result the two girls are caught up in the battle when Midvalley the Hornfreak, Hoppered the Gauntlet, and Zazie the Beast arrive. Hoppered, a survivor of July, seeks revenge on Vash, while Wolfwood's true goals are questioned by Midvalley as the two battle. In the battle, Vash's abilities are awakened again, and only Elendira the Crimsonnail's intervention defuses the situation. The Insurance Girls thus learn the truth about Vash's powers as a Plant.

After burying Hoppered and Midvalley, Vash and Wolfwood continue their travels to Knives's base, where Vash and Knives battle once again. Vash is defeated and restrained by Legato, while Knives sets out aboard his arc with a new plan for wiping out humanity: traveling from city to city to absorb the Plants to increase his power and cut off humanity from their one lifeline. Wolfwood betrays the Guns and rescues Vash, revealing his true identity as Nicholas the Punisher of the Eye of Michael and the Gung-ho Guns, and how he betrayed the real Chapel to try to infiltrate the Guns and kill Knives. Wolfwood leaves shortly thereafter when he learns the last of the Guns and the real Chapel are heading toward the orphanage where he grew up.

Vash rejoins Wolfwood and saves him, but Wolfwood passes away. Livio the Double Fang, Wolfwood's childhood friend, joins Vash, and the two head to December, the last human city. Vash uses his power to create destructive bullets that efficiently damage the now-monstrous Knives. The ships from Earth arrive, and battle Knives and the arc while Legato arrives for one final confrontation with Vash. Legato reveals that the now completed coin case blocks his powers, meaning that the entirety of Vash's journey against the Guns has led to this climactic finish.

Vash defeats Legato, and finally breaks his vow not to kill when the defeated Legato threatens Livio. However, unable to stop with so much at stake, Vash continues on and helps break Knives's control over the Arc and the absorbed plants. The now powerless Knives confronts Vash one last time, but Vash saves Knives from the vengeful ships from Earth and fly off. Knives and Vash make peace before Knives uses up the last of his power and passes away.

Now essentially powerless as well, Vash continues his travels as a normal gunslinger.

Anime
Vash is actually 131 years old in the anime, Vash requires a special weapon known as the Angel Arm to activate his powers to their full extent. This weapon is one of two that Vash's Brother Knives created from the technology he salvaged from a crashed SEEDs ship. Shortly after he receives his Angel Arm from his brother, Vash discovers that the two guns were made to aid Knives in his plan of "cleansing" the planet of its human populace. Conflicted both emotinally & morally against his brothers goal Vash remembering the morals his human care taker Rem Saverem taught him shoots Knives in the leg. After witnessing the pain and shock his brother has just experienced Vash in a dismaying panic then takes both guns and flees into the desert as Knives painfully calls out to him to comeback. He spends two years alone wandering Gunsmoke until he finally collapses from exhaustion. He is rescued by a group of humans from the only remaining functioning SEEDS ship on the planet, which didn't quite crash during "The Great Fall." While there, he makes human friends and is gifted with his signature red (duster styled) trench coat. After a few months he leaves and ventures out into the world. Vash returns to the ship 80 years later in search of any relatives of Rem in its databanks and finds the last one alive: PASSENGER NO.300-89-9023AS, or "Revenant Buskus". Buskus had studied Plants and established a new plant-theory in July City. Vash goes to July City in the hopes of meeting him, but instead finds Knives standing over Revenant's dead body. In the ensuing firefight, Knives shoots Vash's left arm off; while in the manga, in a flashback, it is revealed that Knives cut off Vash's left arm after Vash shoots him in the shoulder after his twin massacres a town in order to save his life. After regaining possesion of the black Angel Arm, he then activates Vash's White Angel Arm in an attempt to destroy the city and everyone in it but Vash turns the Angel Arm on Knives instead, resulting in the July Incident. Vash's full name is never revealed however, in the anime, when Vash first meets Wolfwood, he introduces himself as Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gumbigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andry Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III. When Milly says Vash the Stampede, Vash tells Milly she should not use his 'real name' all the time. In the anime, when Nicholas D. Wolfwood asks for Vash's real name, but Vash answers 'Just between you and me, my name is irrelevant'. Later in the story Vash "puts down his gun", hoping to leave his bounty hunted life and start over. He then goes by the name Kanan or when some call him Eriks. Wolfwood starts to look for Vash, and finds him in a town full of criminal gangs in which their leader calls himself Vash The Stampede.

Personality
Vash displays two different personalities. Vash usually exaggerates foolish characteristics to make people feel unthreatened and to hide his identity. He exhibits an almost obsessive love of doughnuts, engages in lecherous behavior, and on at least one occasion claimed his real name was Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gumbigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andres Charton-Haymoss Ivanovicci Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III (although this is most likely false for he likes to joke around and probably not spelled right here). He frequently voices the catchphrase, "This world is made of love and peace," which is usually complemented by his flashing of the Peace sign. Vash's reputation as "The Humanoid Typhoon" is legendary, as is the damage and destruction associated with his presence. However, when those around him are threatened, Vash shows complete focus and control.

Vash is a multidimensional character who, despite his age, has still not found peace with himself. A point of conflict in the series are the inner differences between Vash and Millions Knives, his twin brother, and their regard for humanity. Though Vash and Knives have gone through the same experience and torment, Vash chooses to remain hopeful and loving toward humanity, where as Knives has fallen into a deep-seated hatred of their race. Their personalities also have other key differences: Vash cannot stand the despair of being alone, whereas Knives revels in his loneliness and has no desire for any company other than Vash.

Because Vash refuses to kill any of his opponents, he often suffers at the hands of a number of very persistent enemies. As a result, his body is a patchwork of large scars, chunks of missing flesh supported by metal mesh, and stitch marks. Although these scars may be from experiments on the SEEDS ship, as heard from Millions Knives.

Also at one point it seems Vash has the ability to break the fourth wall. In both the manga and the anime, at one point, he complains directly to the viewers and perhaps the shows writers over how little screen time he got during the middle of a battle in which he fired a single shot while in hiding.

Abilities
Aside from his Angel Arm, Vash has shown a superhuman level of agility, strength, reflexes, eyesight and complete muscle control. In episodes of the anime, Vash has often shown the ability to dodge bullets at close range and dodge skilled melee attacks (at one point doing so while at the same time pretending to dance with a woman). During a gun duel competition, Vash was able to prevent the deaths of many of the competitors by throwing rocks at key moments to knock bullets off their lethal courses. Vash is possibly stronger than most human beings as seen when he was able to use Wolfwood's Punisher (although he did comment on its weight). Finally, his intelligence is stated to be superior to that of most (if not all) humans. In the anime it is shown that he is capable of telepathic communication with his brother, though whether or not he possesses Knives' telekinetic capabilities remains uncertain.

Weapons
Signature weapon 

Vash habitually carries a custom made .45 caliber silver- or nickel-plated revolver, a classic six-shot double-action with a top break reloading mechanism that fires .45 Long Colt ammunition. The engraving on the side of the gun describes it is a ".45 Long Colt AGL Arms Factory" with wings around the "AGL" as in angel. Vash's revolver has the barrel aligned with the 6 o'clock chamber, not the 12 o'clock chamber as is the typical configuration of standard revolvers. Only one actual weapon follows this form factor, the Mateba Autorevolver. In the series, this handgun was created as part of a pair by Knives, of which Vash was given the silver model, and Knives kept the black model. Vash eventually carries both weapons for a time, before losing the black gun to Knives in another fight.

In the manga, Vash uses his unique gun more out of mere novelty and habit. Visually the handgun in the manga is also different from that in the anime, though it still features the unique placement of the barrel in the 6 o'clock position. In Trigun Maximum, the revolver used in the anime appears for Vash for use as a two-panel replacement for his standard gun while it is being repaired.

Angel Arm

In the series, within Vash's trademark revolver lies the catalyst needed to activate his "Angel Arm". The Angel Arm is Vash's ultimate weapon. Upon activation, his right arm transforms into a weapon powerful enough to destroy entire cities with a single blast. Vash fears the Angel Arm's potential for destruction, and knows little about how to use it.

In the manga, the Angel Arm is a natural feature of a plant's body, and can be manipulated into various shapes to create a number of effects beyond destruction. His power using the Angel Arm is limited: like a battery, it contains only a certain amount of energy, and when that energy is gone he will die. Vash's Angel Arm typically takes the shape of a large cannon weapon, which uses a tremendous amount of power. As a meter of spent energy a plant's hair color gradually darkens as their internal power is spent until reaching a final color of black when fully depleted. To illustrate the power of the Angel Arm, Vash's hair began to darken after the second time he fires it, using enough energy to blast a hole in the moon. Throughout the manga, Vash learns to gain better control of his power to form smaller cannons and defensive feathers, though his hair continues to grow darker until almost completely black. By the final volume, he has only a small lock of blond hair left.

Cybernetic arm

Vash lost his left arm when Knives blew it off using a different revolver, after Vash stole Knives' black Angel Arm pistol years earlier. In the manga, Knives cut it off when they were younger with a blade he formed from his own body. He now has a cybernetic replacement, which also conceals an integrated firearm. In both the series and manga, it is initially a powerful semiautomatic pistol that is later upgraded to a fully automatic submachine gun.

Other weapons and equipment

In the series, Vash can be seen using a knife hidden in his boot in multiple episodes. During his battle with Brilliant Dynamites Neon, he uses an automatic weapon that appears similar to an AK-47 carbine. In the climactic final battle with Knives, he also uses Wolfwood's Cross Punisher.

In the manga, Vash's signature coat changes on multiple occasions, usually after being damaged, destroyed, or lost. At least one model is described as being bullet-proof. During a battle with Knives aboard The Ark, tubes on his then-present coat were used to reload his revolver and to feed ammunition into his sub-machine gun. The tubes were used without Vash laying hands on them, but it is not made clear if this is done by mechanical means, or by Vash using his plant abilities.

The Great Fall
Vash's past differs greatly in the anime. Him and Knives do not discover Tesla and Vash doesn't try to commit suicide and doesn't accidentally stab Rem.

Vash and Knives were found by the crew as human-like infants a year before the Project SEEDS fleet arrived at Gunsmoke. The crew initially wanted to kill them; however, Rem threw herself between the twins and the weapons, begging for their life. In just one year, they aged nearly ten years in appearance and had much higher intellectual capabilities than normal. Steve, one of the crew members, disliked the idea of the living Plants on the control ship and didn't conceal it (ironically, he's the exact look-alike of Vash's friend Brad. Possibly being Brad's ancestor or relative). He insisted on the twins being monsters, and often hit or kicked them when the other crew members weren't around.

One day in the recreation room, Rem cut Vash's hair and styles into his current spiky hair style. She says how Vash reminds her of her old boyfriend, Alex. She tells Vash "Thanks to him, I was able to face my mistakes without judgement. I learned to make them right again.". When Vash asks where he is, Rem tells him he's now in heaven. Vash then goes on to say that he will protect Rem and tells her he loves her. Knives, lost in his own thoughts of what his purpose for being there was, and possibly jealous of the close bond between Rem and Vash, eventually left to cut his own hair. When finished he runs his hand through it but gets angry and shouts "It's all wrong!", possibly because he couldn't copy Vash's hair himself. When Vash finds him shortly afterwards and asks what happened, Knives smiles it off, saying "If we stay the same, there's no individuality." This is the first time that a change in Knives' demeanor can be perceived. Later, the crew discusses the twins' hair styles, Vash getting called a "momma's boy". Steve gets angry and calls the two of them monsters again. He drapes himself over Mary when she tells him he's had too many to drink. Knives rebukes him, saying "You are a disgrace. Is that any way for a grown man like you to behave in the presence of innocent children?" Steve laughs himself out of the room, and when the others comment on his crazy behaviour, Knives whispers, "It's because he's afraid". Later on, Knives is seen entering Rolan's room, and then Mary's room (both rooms occupied by their owners).

Again at the recreation room, the twins and Rem find a butterfly stuck in a spiderweb. Vash attempts to save it when Knives grabs the spider, killing it. Knives justifies the action by saying it was the easiest way to stop the spider and save the butterfly, but Vash becomes distressed because he wanted to save both. Knives counters that you can't save both, because the spider would die of starvation unless it ate the butterfly. Rem breaks in, saying that you can't make that choice lightly because they're both living creatures, but Knives continues to argue that his way of thinking is right. Vash knocks him to the ground and yells at him how he wanted to save both, completely stunning Knives. After a moment they both sit up. Knives leaves, saying that the two of them don't make any sense; Vash shouts back that it is him that doesn't make any sense. This very well could have been their first fight.

Sometime later, the crew is gathered in a watching room, where in another rooom Steve is in a straightjacket and awaits sentencing. Joey states that according to interplanetary law, Steve will be relieved of duty and will be frozen until they land where he will stand trial. Steve continually shouts that he didn't do anything, while Rolan says that he saw him enter Mary's room, and Mary quietly says that he raped her. Rem argues that it's not too late to hear Steve's side of the story while Joey says that to function as a group they need laws to keep them safe. Despite Steve and Rem's protests, Steve is frozen.

Afterwards, Vash asks Rem why people can't get along she tells him it's because humans all have different ways of thinking, but even if a mistake is made, as long as a person realizes their mistake, it's possible to make it right again. And if you keep your vision clear, you will see the future. This is what one must realize. These words leave a marked impression on Vash.

Meanwhile, Rolan proposes to Mary, even handing her a ring. She says he must be teasing and he reveals that he adjusted the freezer temperature that Steve is in, effectively killing him. Mary is horrified at this, but Rolan smiles, saying "I guess that now makes us partners." Rem and the twins hear gunshots shortly after and notify Joey, then race to the room to find Rolan standing over Mary, who shot her multiple times. Rolan tells Rem that he had no choice, that Mary had betrayed him after all he had done for her. He then points the gun at Knives, saying that it must be his fault that Mary had to die. Rem stands in front of the line of fire and tries to talk Rolan down, saying that no one has the right to take the life of another. Joey tries to get in contact with them, eventually getting a video feed from the room to work. Rem continues to slowly walk toward Rolan while he steps back, clearly disheveled and scared. Rem is about to take the gun from Rolan when Joey opens a hatch behind Rolan, sending him and Mary's body into space while safety bars close keeping Rem from being sucked out too.

Rem is incredibly upset. Joey tries to explain that he thought Rolan was going to shoot her, and that he was doing what he thought was best. Rem is convinced that Rolan wasn't going to shoot her, and laments their fallen comrades with Vash by her side while Knives heads off to the bridge where Joey is. Knives tells Joey that he agrees with his decision; that it was the right choice, but Joey has doubts, saying that maybe Rem was right. Angered by his change of heart, Knives says that he's just like all the other humans and shoots Joey, confirming to himself that his is the right choice. He leaves the gun in Joey's hand and alters the ship's course program.

Rem and Vash hear a message from the computer system that the fleet had changed its course and was about to crash. The three decide to go to the escape pods, but at the last moment Rem hangs back, saying she has to try help Joey and save the others. She closes the door despite Vash's protests, telling him to take care of Knives, possibly hinting that she knew all along. The pod was launched and Vash watched as the control ship exploded in re-entry. He collapsed, crying. Knives laughs and reveals that his plan and changed the course to kill the humans that were part of the SEEDS project, while keeping the plant ships safe so he and Vash could create a paradise for them alone on the new planet. Just at that moment all of the fleet receive a new directive, automatically starting the reverse thrusters so the ships could enter the atmosphere safely. Rem was able to save Project SEEDS and Knives is surprised. The pod then falls onto the surface of a planet.

When Vash regains consciousness, he sees in the sky dozens of ships raining down like meteors. Knives tries to help him, but Vash pushes him away; accusing him. Knives demeanor changes as he grins madly, agreeing with what he did, calling it "spectacular". The two brothers then spent the following years wandering through the deserts, observing crash sites and the few survivors. during a discussion about humans leeching off of the Plants to survive, Knives' proclaims that he's out to kill the spiders to save the butterflies as that is what makes logical sense. While sleeping Vash holds a rock above a sleeping Knives' head, ready to kill him to save the humans. But he can't do it; not wanting to go against everything Rem told him and throws the rock down, crying.

During their search through crash sites, they find a group of humans arguing over water. Knives, disgusted by their selfish behaviour activates the ship-board Plant's Angel Arm, but Vash pushes him over and prevents him from firing. Years later, Knives finds the ship he was looking for. He spends a whole year rummaging through the wreckage whilst Vash waits for him to return, saying how he hates being alone. When Knives returns he finally procures the two revolvers and some battle armor for himself. He throws one of the revolvers to Vash, and tells him they are their new "siblings" and would be used to wipe out the "human scourge", He then goes up to a hill and test-fires, creating a huge blast similar to a nuclear explosion. Vash, knowing that the two guns were made to aid Knives in his plan of "cleansing" the planet of its human populace becomes conflicted both emotionally and morally against his brothers goal; remembering the morals Rem taught him. In his conflict Vash shoots Knives in the leg. After witnessing the pain and shock his brother has just experienced Vash, in a dismaying panic, takes both guns and flees into the desert as Knives painfully calls out for him to comeback. Vash spends two years alone wandering Gunsmoke until he finally collapses from exhaustion. He is rescued by a group of humans from the only remaining functioning SEEDS ship on the planet, which didn't quite crash during "The Great Fall". While there, he makes friends with the humans and is gifted with his signature red (duster styled) trench coat. After a few months he leaves and ventures out into the world. Vash returns to the ship 80 years later in search of any relatives of Rem in its databanks and finds the last one alive: PASSENGER NO.300-89-9023AS, or "Revenant Buskus". Buskus had studied Plants and established a new plant-theory in July City.

The July Incident
Upon arriving in July City he is greeted by Knives, who had slain Buskus; the very man Vash had come to speak with. Knives announces that he's destroyed the last connection Vash had to Rem so that he can stop with his foolish sentiment towards humans and in the exchange that follows, shoots off Vash's left arm. Against Vash's will, Knives activates Vash's previously dormant Angel Arm, hoping to annihilate the surrounding town. However, Vash aims the blast at Knives; the resulting blast reducing July to rubble. Though there were no casualties as a direct result of the skirmish (as Vash's Angel Arm seems to only destroy inorganic material) there were indirect fatalities after the homeless citizens of July began to fight among themselves; turning the remnants of the town to "Hell", in the words of one survivor.

The $$60,000,000,000 Man
The incident in July brands Vash an outlaw throughout Gunsmoke and he comes to be known as "The Stampede" and "The Humanoid Typhoon" as destruction seemingly follows him wherever he goes. A bounty of $$60,000,000,000 is placed on Vash, dead or alive, the largest bounty ever placed. With Knives unaccounted for, Vash spends the next twenty-three years hiding from civilization in order to stay alive. It is at this time two insurance agents, Meryl and Milly, are assigned to find and watch Vash in order to prevent further damage wherever he goes. After their first meeting the two women accompany Vash throughout his travels, much to Vash's dismay.

The next pivotal point in the story comes in Inepril City. Upon learning Vash the Stampede is in the city the residents seek to capture him for the bounty as the city has been depraved and sunken in poverty due to the shutdown of one of the city's main reactors. In a desperate, but foolish, attempt to capture him the city's mayor enlists the help of the Nebraska Family, a sinister father and his giant half-machine son who have recently escaped from prison. Vash is captured without the Nebraskas' help in a small saloon, but soon the Nebraskas reveal they have plans of their own for the bounty. The bar is destroyed by the son, but all inside manage to survive. Vash carries the survivors to safety and stands off with the Nebraskas, but the family stoops to lower methods by taking aim at the survivors in order to strike Vash off his guard. However, Vash thwarts this action and defeats the Nebraska family.

The city's wealth is restored with the bounty for the Nebraskas and repair immediately begins on the damaged reactor. The project is led by a young, beautiful woman named Elizabeth. Elizabeth soon reveals she has an agenda of her own, that being to kill Vash. She lures Vash to the reactor which she has sabotaged to seemingly prevent Vash from escaping. When Elizabeth locks Vash in the reactor she reveals her intentions to kill him are not for the bounty, but for vengeance. Twenty-three years before, a three-year-old Elizabeth was a resident of July City when it was destroyed by Vash. Though none of the residents were killed in the destruction they began to destroy themselves in their pain and suffering. Elizabeth's parents would be victims to this destruction and she would be all alone. In her flashback she finds comfort in the arms of man, a very familiar man. Elizabeth leaves Vash to die, but miraculously Vash shuts the reactor down himself. He encounters Elizabeth outside and she pulls a pistol on him intent on getting her revenge. Vash then tells her he remembers nothing of July's destruction, only the ruins of the city when he awoke. Shocked, Elizabeth still begs in her sorrow for revenge, but suddenly recognizes a tearing Vash as the man who comforted her all those years ago. She collapses in realization of the truth and spares him.

Nicholas D. Wolfwood
As Vash and the girls journey on they meet a traveling priest carrying a large steel cross named Wolfwood. Although he appears to be just an ordinary priest, in an ensuing struggle with machines powered by lost technology, Wolfwood shows to be more by using his own skills in gunfighting. The two part part ways afterward but would meet many times down the road.

Legato and the Gung-Ho Guns
The story comes to its main focus when Vash encounters Legato Bluesummers. Legato soon reveals he is in service to Knives, shocking Vash to know his brother still yet lives. Knives has made it Legato's sole purpose of his life to cause "eternal pain and suffering" for Vash. Legato leads a cutthroat and mostly superhumanoid gang known as the Gung-Ho-Guns. In order to carry out Legato's purpose the Guns seek to harm Vash and eliminate all that's around him of whom he cares for. This even results in the deaths of the entire gang, not by Vash himself, but either due to elimination for their failures by Legato or suicide in order to scar Vash's conscience. Vash's struggles with Legato come to a turning point with the death of Wolfwood. In the next city he comes to Vash encounters Midvalley the Hornfreak. When Midvalley fails to defeat Vash he uses his powerful horn to kill himself. Vash is scarred furthermore and pursues Legato, but still refuses to kill him when Legato reveals his intent to allow Vash to kill him in order to bring his "ultimate" suffering by his first conscious kill. When Legato threatens the lives of Meryl and Milly Vash has no other alternative and shoots Legato in the head, killing him.

Reunion and Final Battle
The girls bring Vash to a small town to heal his injuries. Vash spends the next few weeks in torment over what he perceived to be his first murder. Vash refuses to confront Knives knowing he would have to kill again should the moment come. When the locals of the town learn of Vash's presence they take him to the outskirts of town and drag him behind a speeding vehicle. Meryl comes to Vash's aid and stands between him and a frustrated gunman. Vash sees Rem in Meryl's actions and his morale is revived. Saying his goodbyes for what may be the last time, Vash ventures into the desert with Wolfwood's cross rifle to confront Knives for the final battle.

Vash finds Knives in a small flourishing oasis in the middle of the desert. After the two exchange docile greetings they face-off. The fight comes to a stalemate, both men with a gun in the face of the other. Knives knows Vash won't shoot and shoots Vash, subduing him. He then prepares his Angel Arm and fires, but Vash counters with his own and negates it. However, Knives gains the upper-hand once more and takes Vash's gun giving him two Angel Arms. Just before Knives can fire the voice of Wolfwood comes to Vash telling him to "use it". Vash drives his hand into the ground and retrieves Wolfwood's cross rifle and fires it at Knives. Knives loses control of the Angel Arms and Vash shoots Knives in his shoulders and calves, thus subduing him and ending the fight. Vash emerges victorious and after discarding his famed red coat and gun and, finally coming to terms with Rem's death, declares that while he will always believe in her, he will now turn to his own words for guidance. He leaves with an unconscious Knives over his shoulder as he returns to the town where Meryl and Milly await. Judging by the last line Meryl says in the anime, that Vash "wouldn't keep a good woman like me waiting", a romantic relationship between the two may have begun.

Voice Actors

 * Japanese Voices: Masaya Onosaka (Adult), Kouki Miyata (Young)
 * English Voices: Johnny Yong Bosch (Adult), Bryce Papenbrook (Young)

Trivia

 * Vash made a cameo appearance in Wild Arms 2nd Ignition
 * In certain frames, the buttons on Vash's coat are reminiscent of udders, an idea consistant with the meaning of the word "vache," which is "cow" in French.
 * The catlyst inside the guns owned by Vash and Knives, are black and white. This may refer to the light silver plutonium, and the dark gray uranium. Or Yin and Yang.
 * Despite appearing with them in every episode of the anime, Vash has only refered to Meryl by name once, never Milly.