You Never Really Left
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, however the plot is. The characters belong to their respective owners of Columbia Pictures. Let's just say if I owned the characters, all of the seven would have survived and rode off into the sunset together for many years to come. Oh, and I designed the cover image myself, so I hope if you can see it that everyone likes it! I, for one, am in love with the final outcome of both the story and the cover image! :) For those who cannot see the cover image, it is an arrangement of pictures of the Magnificent 7 individually with a picture of all seven of them in the center on horseback.
They were gone. Four of them were gone; three remained. Having to leave them behind in Rose Creek is one of the hardest things any of the remaining three have ever done. Vasquez mutters soft Spanish under his breath for two weeks after their deaths, not wanting to have lost his newfound family so soon. Deep down, he's scared and also a bit grateful. That could have been him that got wiped out by a Gatling gun while protecting the people of Rose Creek. That could have been him that got blown across the field by the force of the dynamite trying to take out said Gatling gun that killed a good majority of the town of Rose Creek and three of the Magnificent Seven. Jack had been killed, but not by the gun. Between the two options- three if you count Faraday's death as by dynamite instead of the gun- Vasquez is not sure which one he would have preferred to be his form of death if he had died. The tanned, brown-eyed gunslinger cries when no one is looking, because he feels guilty above all the rest of his emotions. He could have saved them. He could have saved the people he had begun to consider his family. He could have done for them what no one had ever done for him. He could have…
"We'll camp here for the night, boys," Sam's voice breaks Vasquez out of his silent blame and runaway thoughts.
If only that was all it took to get the thoughts out of his head…
It's only been about three weeks since the Battle of Rose Creek as the citizens called it before the three remaining gunslingers and protectors left town with the horses. That doesn't mean that the memories aren't still fresh in Vasquez', Red Harvest's, and Sam's minds. Each man quietly blames himself for not being able to help their four fallen comrades and newly found family. Some blamed themselves more than others, their consciences weighing heavier than the one other who is slowly starting to make peace with the idea.
Sam sits down at their newly proclaimed campsite, pulling out a few of their camp supplies they used when Jack, Billy, Joshua, and Goodnight were still alive. They have four extra blankets now, but none of the remaining three dare to use said blankets. Instead, Sam hands Faraday's and Jack's blankets to Vasquez to lay out near the fireplace. The law enforcer from Wichita, Kansas then gently tosses Billy's blanket towards Red Harvest, and the cloth is caught equally as gently by Red Harvest, as the red-faced man also knows how precious and special having articles of their fallen brothers are. Red Harvest still has on part of his war paint from that day, feeling he needed to preserve at least part of it in order to keep the spirit and bravery of his friends alive.
"Set 'em up like usual, and then we can go an' get some firewood, Vasquez," Sam quietly instructs, laying Goodnight's blanket out in the dust beside Billy's and his own. "Red Harvest, could you find us some game 'round here for supper?" he continues, watching as Vasquez smooths out the few wrinkles beginning to form in Faraday's blanket from being held in a saddlebag for three weeks.
"I'll find some," Red Harvest promises, slinging his bow and arrows over his shoulders as he prepares to explore the woods around them.
The mention of the word "some" is enough to make Sam and Vasquez laugh lightly in spite of the currently dismal atmosphere. Both men can't help but think of the first time they met Red Harvest, and how Joshua Faraday- the bigmouth he was- had to make comments all the first day surrounding the word "some".
"Do you want any o' this to drink?" Goodnight had offered his flask to Faraday on that first day as they were climbing the mountain face with their horses.
"Some," Faraday had smirked, being a bit louder than necessary to catch the attention of the rest of their company, especially Sam and Red Harvest.
The Native American only rolled his dark eyes at the attention-hog he had come to know as Joshua Faraday as they continued to trek towards Rose Creek.
Later in the evening, as Vasquez and Emma- with some help from Billy- made dinner over the open fire, the sneaky Faraday decided to poke fun at the word "some" once more.
"Hey, guero," Vasquez suddenly called out as Faraday came back from the woods with a small pot of water in his hands.
There was no mistake in who Vasquez was talking to, because the Mexican outlaw only ever calls Faraday a guero. The other men and one woman he rides with would never get called the jesting term he saves especially for Joshua.
"Hmm?" Faraday hummed, as he sat the water down before pouring some of it into his hands to drink a bit of it before dinner. "What's up, Vas?" the blue-eyed gambler grinned, coming up behind Vasquez and roughly pushing the Mexican gunslinger's shoulder from behind.
No one quite knew why these two of the Magnificent Seven, a name created by Faraday and Goodnight right before they met Red Harvest, insisted on hitting each other's backs or calling each other names.
"Do you want any of this rabbit that Red Harvest and I caught?" Vasquez asked politely as Sam watched him, but he elbowed Faraday in the ribs as soon as their unofficial leader turned back around.
"Some," Joshua grinned again, and it took all of Vasquez' restraint to not actually slap that stupid, cocky grin off of the younger man's face.
Red Harvest was up before anyone could stop him and he had his hand wrapped around Joshua Faraday's neck so that the blue-eyed gambler honestly couldn't help but think all the air is going to leave his lungs quickly.
"Red Harvest," Sam started off in a very cautious voice as Jack Horne began to shriek in the background.
"Why can't we all just get along like the good Lord intended us to?" Jack nervously shouted out, as he ran over to try and stop Red Harvest from murdering Faraday.
Even though, he wouldn't say it, Jack thought that Faraday deserved a bit of a scare at least because of his constant making fun of Red Harvest in the few hours the Comanche has been with them. Red Harvest began to speak in rapid Comanche, and only Sam had a chance at understanding their new friend as the red-faced warrior continued to hold Faraday by the throat.
"Slower, friend," Sam softly said to Red Harvest as Horne tried to remove Red Harvest's hands from around Faraday's throat.
Through the whole ordeal, Faraday managed to keep that same stupid grin on his lips and had a mischievous look in his light eyes that Vasquez knew belonged on a man of trouble. Red Harvest spoke in Comanche once more, but slower this time as he wanted Sam to actually understand him now. Meanwhile, with Red Harvest distracted, Horne was able to free Faraday from the vice-like grip the youngest man in the group had the gambler in.
"So, what did he say, jefe?" Vasquez inquired, sliding back down on the log he was sitting on beside Emma while they continued to cook dinner.
"He said he would appreciate Faraday not poking fun of him anymore," Sam announced, and that goofy smile all but faded from Joshua's face as Red Harvest ran one finger across his own neck as a universal warning. "Now, that goes for the rest of y'all, too. If I catch one of ya makin' fun of Red Harvest, you will be left out of the gold or left here alone with no supplies," Sam threatened, not wanting Red Harvest to feel alienated or out-casted amongst their "merry band" as Goody also called them.
Vasquez nodded his head before he shut his dark brown eyes. Horne eagerly nodded, glad that everyone made peace with one another. Billy shook hands with Red Harvest before the knife-wielding master walked into the woods to get a bit more kindling for the fire. Emma and Teddy had no qualms with Red Harvest, so both of them remained silent but offered smiles to the man anyway. Goodnight clapped Red Harvest on the back to ensure the man everything was all right and no harm or future words of slander would be held against him. That had left Faraday.
"Do I make myself clear, Joshua Faraday? I still am in possession of your horse, and if you ever want him back you better agree to my terms," Sam pressed, wanting to make sure the young, fiery gambler from Ireland had a sense of what was expected of him.
"Yes, sir. I won't cause any more trouble with Red Harvest if he doesn't try and choke me again," Faraday had promised, that same stupid smile reappearing and Vasquez almost wanted to slap it off once again, tired of the younger man's arrogance and cocky attitude.
In that night, all of the Magnificent Seven bonded and became close friends and brothers over the meal Vasquez and Red Harvest had caught, along with some wild plants Emma and Billy found for them to eat. That felt like a lifetime ago.
Now only three of them remain around the fire like they had sat not long ago as one united family, albeit a loud, noisy one that often had fistfights between its members out of sport and a want of dominance. None of their skirmishes had ever been held in anger against one another, just a sense of what brothers often did with one another if their parents we're watching. Vasquez picks at the last bit of rabbit on his plate, not quite sure if he wants anymore after thinking of that night when all seven of them were alive. Red Harvest was successful in his hunt once more, so Sam, Vasquez, and Red Harvest have five rabbits for tonight's meal, though only three have been touched. Sam has eaten most of his, but he swallows thickly as he realizes that it's almost been a month since the other four have died. They are also back in the same spot where all seven of them had camped on the way to Rose Creek.
"Can't believe we ended up in the same spot we were at almost a month ago," Sam whispers, mostly to hear himself out loud, but he catches the attention of Vasquez and Red Harvest.
"It's not right that they died for the same cause we did just because they were insistent—" Vasquez starts off, his accent coming out more as he speaks warmly about the four men who perished in the fight against Bogue.
The Mexican gunslinger trails off, not able to finish his own sentence as emotion overcomes him once again as he feels the guilt settle in his stomach. Red Harvest gently squeezes Vasquez' shoulder and Sam wraps and arm around the younger man's back in attempt to comfort the crying Spanish outlaw.
"They are not gone," Red Harvest gently tells his friends, trying to act as the rock and strength for Sam and Vasquez as their eyes start to get wet from with-holding their tears.
"What?" Sam asks as he looks at Red Harvest, tears dripping down the lawman's cheeks.
"Are you loco, mi amigo?" Vasquez all but yells, only to quiet his own voice as he feels and sees Red Harvest flinch beside him. "Lo siento, Red Harvest. But, we saw them die! I still can smell and see their blood at night in my sleep!" Vasquez admits, tears racking his body as he curls his body inward to try and form a ball.
He just wants one family that wouldn't leave him. Just one family that wouldn't leave him alone with heartbreak and haunted dreams…
"They may be gone in body, but in spirit and memory they are not forgotten," Red Harvest speaks up as he gestures around them into the woods, in the air, and on the ground where the four uninhabited blankets lay.
"They're alive in spirit, Vasquez. And, that's one of the best ways we can remember 'em," Sam softly assures, wanting to let the Mexican outlaw know that he and Red Harvest would never leave him, not with their knowledge of his emphasis on loyalty and his wish to have a supportive family who stayed by his side even when the going gets rough.
"They hear us," Red Harvest adds in, again gesturing around them while also pointing up at the stars this time.
"What do ya mean?" Vasquez inquires, wiping tears from his dark brown eyes before stretching out and lying on his back to look at the stars.
"Each of our friends has passed on from his human form, but I see them around us in nature. Do you care for me to explain?" the Native American continues, lying down himself to look up at the stars as they shine from the heavens above.
"Let's hear it, Red Harvest," Sam presses, wanting to hear just what explanation Red Harvest has for how he can see their friends in nature every day and night.
"Billy Rocks is the wind around us as he swirls with his knives and hair pin," Red Harvest starts off, pausing slightly to think of the English equivalents to his Comanche thoughts and beliefs. "Whenever the wind swirls around us, that just means that Billy is practicing his knife skills and wants to let us know of his presence and his constant guard and vigil around us to protect us," he continues, looking to see small nods coming from Vasquez and Sam as they both seem to accept Red Harvest's explanation. "I'll see you again, my friend. You never really left," Red Harvests softly says to the sky as he looks up, and it is quite obvious that he is speaking to Billy.
"What about Faraday?" Vasquez inquires, wanting to know what Red Harvest thinks became of his best friend out of the Magnificent Seven.
Out of everyone in the group of outlaws, gunslingers, and protectors, Vasquez had grown the closest to Joshua as he thought of the younger man as a best friend and a younger brother of sorts. A howl pierces the air after that statement, and Red Harvest breaks into a small smile as he looks over at Vasquez before pressing a comforting hand against the Mexican outlaw's back.
"I believe that he just answered you, my friend," Red Harvest grins before he tips his head back and howls back at the new noise in the woods around them.
"What do you mean, mi amigo? How did Faraday answer me?"
"I have thought that Joshua Faraday would be a wolf."
"Explain your reasoning, Red Harvest, because that does seem like an animal I would associate with Faraday," Chisholm speaks up, having stayed silent throughout the explanation of Billy as he just wanted to listen to Red Harvest's beliefs.
"Joshua Faraday is a wolf for good reasons," Red Harvest starts his revelation of Faraday's spirit, expressing in his mind how happy he is that his English is much improved. "Let's take for instance, his loyalty. Faraday did not leave us in the time when we needed him most. No. He was not tempted by gold to leave us when the fight was entirely against our favor," he continues, pausing a bit where he can think through his English that Vasquez has worked to teach him in their time together as a team of seven.
A team that had now been reduced to three…
"Take your time, amigo," Vasquez softly says, his voice warm like honey as his accent rolls off his lips and sleepiness starts to overcome his body.
"Faraday was determined like the wolf and he did not let danger stand in the way of his goal to save us all. If that does not speak to his determination of the wolf, then I do not know what it does speak for. I feel that Joshua believed that the strength of our mission lied in our team, and therefore our pack," Red Harvest continues, a happy smile on his face as he listens to the wolves howling around him.
This time, Vasquez joins Red Harvest in howling back to the wolves, really feeling like he can communicate with Faraday like Red Harvest seems to believe. The third time the wolves howl back, Sam adds his own howl into the chorus with Red Harvest and Vasquez, making all three men smile as they howl with the wolves that live in the forest surrounding their campsite.
"I feel you walk beside me," Red Harvest remarks, thinking about how every time he is in the woods with a wolf beside him that Joshua Faraday is watching over them.
"I know I'll see you again," Vasquez promises into the cold night air, holding Faraday's flask up to his lips before taking a swig of brandy from the flask. "Mi hermano, I will see you again. Keep running with the pack and I will find you."
"Thank you for your bravery, Faraday," Sam speaks into the night, looking up at the stars as he finishes off his last piece of rabbit.
"Goody is an eagle, soaring high and free above his troubles as he watches us from the skies," Red Harvest announces, a knowing smile on his lips.
"An eagle? ¿Por qué un águila?" comes the question from Vasquez, and Red Harvest does not have to understand the Spanish question since he realizes the questioning tone that is present in the Mexican's voice.
"What do eagles need to soar above the clouds?" Red Harvest questions back, wanting his friends to think into why he would say Goody is an eagle.
"Wind," Sam answers quickly and with a content look on his face before a smile graces his features.
"Yes. Wind. And Billy is the wind, so Goody needs Billy to lift him up. Whenever Goody was scared or needed someone to talk to, Billy was there to help him. So, this is why Billy and Goody are so connected, even beyond where they are laid to rest," Red Harvest further explains to Sam and Vasquez.
"That makes perfect sense," Vasquez comments, a feeling of security and happiness creeping into his body as he further talks with the remaining two members of his new family and the outlaw also seems to think that Billy and Goody are keeping each other safe even beyond their gruesome deaths by each other's sides.
"I tell myself I'll see you again," Sam Chisholm looks up as an eagle flies by and lands on a small tree near where the horses are tied up. "What about Horne?"
"Jack Horne is the river, always staying on course and helping to purify and cleanse the land around him. The river gives life and provides so much hope for the living spirits around it. Jack helped to keep faith strong and helped to cleanse the thoughts of Goody when Billy could not do everything," Red Harvest finishes the beliefs he has about how and why the four missing members of his team can be found in the nature around the three survivors.
All the minds of the three men have been cleared at this moment in time, and each man has different thoughts with this knowledge and belief system being out in the open.
Vasquez knows he will not have any nightmares tonight as long as he can hear the wolf, eagle, wind, and river around him.
Sam can look forward to hearing the wind rustle through the grass and think it is Billy Rocks. Seeing an eagle would remind the double officer from Wichita, Kansas of Goody Robicheaux; wolf howls or sights of a wolf would give him a brief vision of the rash, bold, and loyal Joshua Faraday. Hearing or getting water from the river would be like hearing a Bible verse or getting a gift from Horne as he talked about his wife and child.
Red Harvest just simply knows that his friends will now be more at peace now that they know that Joshua, Jack, Billy, and Goody are still in the hearts, minds, and spirits of the three survivors and all of those left in Rose Creek.
"And those four stars right there, are their places in the Heaven of your God that Horne spoke so much about," Red Harvest finishes with a smile before he curls up inside his blanket to get ready to sleep before his guard shift later in the night.
They could never be too careful sleeping outdoors after what they've been through….
"We miss you like crazy," Sam tells the four deceased men from their original party of seven.
"Someday I'll see you again," Vasquez promises once more, placing his blanket over his legs as he lays his head against the log where he can get his sleep since last night was filled with nightmares.
"You never really left," Red Harvest tells their friends, still believing that the souls and spirits of his friends can hear him and that they are there in the world where the three of them can have some peace of mind.
"You're gone but not forgotten," Vasquez grins, finally able to smile for once in the three weeks since the Battle of Rose Creek. "Hey, guero, I heard you howling. Ya always did have a strong set of lungs on you. Sleep well, mi hermano."
"We'll never leave you," Sam promises as he looks over at the four empty blankets that they lay out every night for sanity and ritual sake while also trying to honor their dead friends' memories. "Your memory will live on with us, and we always take your belongings with us."
"No, this is not goodbye," Red Harvest whispers, and all three of them settle down for a night's rest, though Sam remains on guard for his two friends.
No. Sam remains on guard for his two brothers. Nothing would ever separate them, and of that Sam would fight until his last breath for. He knows that Vasquez and Red Harvest would do the same for him and for each other. They are a family, and the four bodies buried back in Rose Creek marked with crosses in the field would only be a resting place for the bodies. The spirits of Billy Rocks, Goody Robicheaux, Jack Horne, and Joshua Faraday would never leave the presence or memories of Red Harvest, Sam Chisolm, and Vasquez for as long as they may live and breathe. They were a family, all seven of them, and even death could not separate them from one another.
Author's Note: Well, this is my first Magnificent 7 FanFiction, and I hope everyone enjoyed it! I just saw this movie yesterday, and I had this idea as soon as I left the theatre. I understood that some sacrifice had to be made to defeat Bogue, but I had hoped that none of the Seven would die, because I really loved all seven of them, and loved the family they made. I also have a happier ending, unlike this one, but I did not have enough time to write that today. School starts back for me on January 3rd from my Christmas Break of high school. So, keep an eye out on my profile page or the fandom for any other Magnificent 7 stories from me, especially since the rest of them will most likely by AUs of the movie where all the men live. That's all I have to say for now, other than thank you all for reading and reviews are always appreciated to let me know what my readers liked and what they may want more of. Hope everyone enjoyed the story, and I hope to hear from you soon! Enjoy your day, afternoon, or night!