Almost immediately after Vash gave the order to aim their attacks at the ceiling, he was rather perplexed to find a rather plain-looking young man casually joining them in the chaotic cave, raising his gun and offering to help. …And then, before he could so much as comment on any of this, Vash nearly had a heart attack as he watched Minato, seemingly without thought or hesitation, shoot himself in the head.
Vash flinched, unable to stop the man in time, and rather shocked that the gunshot came with… breaking glass? Light? He slowly opened his eyes and pulled his arm away from in front of his face, and his jaw dropped at the sight of the newly-summoned warrior in front of him, along with Minato remaining completely unharmed.
Because, why should he assume that people’s bodies respond the same way to guns that they do in his world? Clearly, that’s far too much.
Regardless, with this warrior’s attack, Vash’s plan seemed to become viable, as the cavern walls were already shaking, and he imagined it wouldn’t take much to cause the ceiling to collapse. …However, at almost the same moment, a flash flood came through the cave, painfully dousing the creature. Vash stood his ground as the water came past him, the torrent coming up to his knees. Letting his shoes grip onto the gravel below, he ensured that he would not be swept away as he reached for his gun, seeing the beast’s hunched-up position as an opportunity to cover it in rubble…
…Until, that is, the monster rose up again in anger, bringing the Stampede’s attention to the cause of it all. His heart sank as he became aware of what would change the entire situation in a mere instant. Eggs. The thought echoed in Vash’s mind, as his body remained momentarily frozen in realization of what a horrible mistake they’d all made. This dragon’s a mother!
The wyvern’s horrible howl pulled him out of his trance, as did the sudden danger of even more falling debris. Vash flinched as he felt the sting of the scalding water, his pain being the only thing that brought his eyes away from the dragon in that moment. When he looked back up again, his heart leapt at the sight of the wyvern charging at all of them at an unprecedented speed. Dodging for his life, he dived to the nearby ground and only barely scrambled out of the beast’s way unscathed as Ghost Rider threw himself back into the fight, having grown to a massive size, and tackled the angry dragon, managing to slow her down and hold her back at least slightly. Vash stood by with his heart pounding, slowly pulling himself to his feet as he watched on in awe. He wasn’t sure he would’ve been able to get out of the beast’s way if it weren’t for Ghost Rider slowing her down.
Regardless, he tried desperately to wrack his brain for some sort of answer. The situation was getting more and more chaotic by the minute and the gunman found himself running out of answers fast. Given that, he almost ordered anyone else who hadn’t already thought of it to leave before something terrible happened, but something else caught his eye, and urged him to act. While logical thought would’ve told him that pursuing said option could make the situation much, much worse, Vash could not go against his instincts. Through all the chaos, the rocks falling, cavern shaking and water still sloshing about, Vash caught sight of one of the eggs getting pushed along with the current, dragging it out of its nest and into the flowing water like a piece of driftwood. As the dragon charged and attacked the group, she could no longer shield her nest, allowing one of her unhatched young to float into the dangerous battle ground.
The egg couldn’t get very far before Vash darted from where he stood. The water still capable of pushing him back, Vash leapt onto the rocks and small hills that stood above the liquid’s surface, allowing him to race towards the thing as quickly as possible, running on adrenaline and impulse decisions. He splashed into the water about a foot or two in front of the egg, allowing him to gently catch it as it flowed into his arms. He shot a very nervous look in the dragon’s direction, silently praying to every possible deity that could’ve been listening that his intentions would not be misread. Cradling the egg in his arms, he trudged through the water, back towards the nest, desperately wanting to ensure that he could return the dragon’s young to safety.
As the sound of his fear-filled heart beating almost began to drown out all the chaotic sounds surrounding him, Vash remembered hearing someplace that mother birds will reject their offspring if a person touches it. He could only hope with every fiber of his being that this principle did not apply here.
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