Lazarus Heart
Disclaimer: I don't own Trigun
Authors note: this fic is post series; so don't read if you haven't seen Trigun in its entirety, it would spoil the ending. This is the first fic I have written solo, so any feedback would be great, enjoy. (*= Thoughts) Chapter 1:Escape
It was unusually chilly that night on the planet Gunsmoke, as the planet's moons shone down upon a small house, in a small town. The town was small in size and population, but recently its population had grown by four. The four (three to the town people's knowledge) had been staying in the town for 2 months now, long enough to not be stared at, but still new enough to be newcomers.
Three of them were seated around a table in the kitchen of their small home, while the fourth and last one; lay unconscious on a bed placed in a back room. The three at the table were strangely enough, having a discussion about the unconscious man, and what to do with him once he awakens.
Vash the Stampede, or Erics as he went by now, sat at a table with the insurance girls Millie and Meryl. They all wore solemn expressions as they talked about Vash's brother, Knives.
They had talked many times about him, but could never come up with a solution to deal with Knives violent nature, or his hatred towards humans.
Vash felt that with time, he could save Knives from himself, but he knew that knives would be a threat to everyone as soon as he was back on his feet.
Meryl suggested that they just keep Knives locked up in his room, until he was no longer a threat. Her idea was soon shot down, Vash explained that the room knives occupied, would not hold him after he woke up. Millie was surprisingly silent through these discussions, as she really didn't know what to say about it.
Vash sighed, no matter how long he thought about it, he couldn't find a way to keep his brother from hurting people, other than handcuffing knives to himself at all times. He knew there was a solution he just wasn't seeing it. Vash looked at the tired faces of the girls, "maybe we should call it a night?" Meryl nodded "yeah it's getting late, and we have work tomorrow".
Vash stared at the table as the girls stood up and began to walk to their room. Meryl stopped by Vash's side and laid her hand on his shoulder, "don't worry so much, we'll find a way to help your brother" she told him. Vash smiled then looked up at her "you two have been a great help to me, especially with the laundry" he told her, letting one of his goofy grins overtake his face.
Meryl narrowed her eyes as she took her hand off his shoulder, and then smacked him on the back of his head. "Your still an idiot Vash, you know that right?" she said with an annoyed tone. Vash rubbed his sore head, "you should be more gentle or I'll be the one bedridden, although it might not be so bad with the daily sponge baths I'll get", he said as his goofy grin was replaced with a lecherous one.
Red appeared on Meryl's cheeks, and quickly spread as embarrassment turned into anger. "You perverted jerk!" she screamed, and then punched him so hard he fell out of his chair. She shook with anger for a moment, and stomped out of the room, leaving Vash lying in a heap on the kitchen floor.
Meryl didn't let Vash see her smile as she left the room, she didn't mind his perverted comments as much as she let on, but still she had to teach him a lesson now and again.
Vash waited until she left, and then picked himself up off the floor, she hadn't hit him as hard as she used to he noted. He knew she loved him as a friend, and he suspected she loved him as something more.
He had grown attached to the girls, over the time he had spent traveling with them, Meryl especially, and he really couldn't resist getting her riled up. She looked cute when she was angry, and that thought alone made him pretty sure that he was falling in love with her as well.
*Well I should* he thought to himself, after all the years he spent wandering this desert planet; he was able to identify his feelings for what they were. The problem was, he didn't know if he should act on them.
In the one hand he would be loved, accepted for what he was, scars and all. On the other hand, he was a wanted man, and whether Meryl would admit it or not he was a danger to her.
Not to mention, one day the girls would leave this world, and he would still be here, unchanged by the passing of time. Meryl would be taken from him, one way or another. Vash shook those thoughts from his head, "I'm too tired to think about this now", he said to himself, as he too walked off to his room.
********
Knives lay awake in his bed as the conversation in the kitchen died down, and the other people in the house went to bed. *Soon* he thought to himself, he would be free of them, free to execute the plan he had devised long ago.
He would kill the humans down to the last man, women, and child. His defeat at the hands of his brother was nothing but a setback in his mind, and he had learned from that defeat.
He was being of logic, and logically he had simply underestimated Vash's will to protect the humans. He had wanted Vash to suffer for the pain he had caused him, and in the end all he got was more pain.
Not only pain, but humiliation from being taken care of by the two human women that Vash stayed with.* Not this time*. He would not lose to Vash again. This time there would be no assassins sent after Vash, no red letters to taunt him into confrontation.
He would escape from here and destroy the humans first, then decide what to do with his brother. He knew Vash wouldn't stand by and let him exterminate the humans without a fight, but knives knew that it would only take a small rumor of him to send Vash searching where knives wanted him to be.
Vash would figure out the game quickly, but any time it would buy Knives would be useful, and unless Vash were to receive a tip like last time, Knives doubted Vash would be able to stop him until it was too late.
Knives plan brought a grin to his face; all he had to do now was escape from his brother. His wounds were healed, and the others believed him to be comatose. If he just disappeared Vash would no doubt be after his trail by morning, so the question was how to stall Vash and give himself a head start.
Knives thought a minute, before a wicked grin spread across his face. His brother had gained quite a reputation with the humans, he was the humanoid typhoon and the first localized human natural disaster. All Knives would have to do is tell the townsfolk that Vash the Stampede was in their town, and they would panic, keeping Vash busy while knives made his escape.
With his plan set in his mind, Knives pulled the cover off of him and got out of the bed He had been lying on for almost 3 months. He stood up with shaky legs, not having used them in a while; he took a minute to steady himself, and then turned to face the dresser that was beside his bed. *No doubt that my idiot brother threw away my clothes* he thought to himself.
It didn't matter really, his space suit would have attracted too much attention anyway, so knives settled for a white button up shirt, and a pair of brown pants as his traveling clothes. He needed a pair of boots, but he didn't dare try searching through the house, and risk anyone hearing him.
Knives walked silently over to the only window in his room, and quietly opened it. He was about to climb out of the window, when he noticed a glimmer right in front of him.
He inspected the glimmer closer, and found it to be a trip wire that stretched across the window frame. Knives smirked then carefully stuck his head out the window, and found that the wire went from his window all the way around the house, probably to Vash's room.
* Maybe Vash isn't naive after all*, he thought as he slipped his body out the window, careful not to touch the wire. Knives stood still for a moment feeling the cool desert sand around his feet.
He was about to walk away when he saw a pair of boots; they were lying next to the house with their shoelaces tied together. Knives bent down and was about to pick them up when another glimmer caught his attention.
Knives shook his head then carefully untied another trip wire set by his brother. After untangling it from the shoelaces, he slipped the boots on his feet.
He looked up at the fifth moon and the light it shined down upon him, the same moon that his brother put a hole through. It seemed to Knives, that the moon was finally getting revenge on Vash by helping him in his escape.
Knives now ready to travel, had only one last detail to take care of, how to alert the town of his brothers presence? He walked out into the main street as he pondered this, the general store caught his eye, and an idea formed in his mind "Perfect."
********
The sun peaked over the horizon spreading its light across the sand. The dawn light soon shone through the window of a small house, and onto the sleeping form of its resident outlaw. Vash slowly woke up and blinked the sleep out of his eyes.
With a yawn he sat up, then turned to face away from the window and sit with his legs crossed. Vash closed his eyes beginning his daily meditation, and like every morning, he quit after three seconds.
He didn't practice his gunmanship any more, so he stood up and slowly walked out of his room. Vash continued walking until he reached the front door, and opened it ready to see a new day.
At least he would have seen a new day, except for the gun barrels that blocked his view. Vash stared at the gun barrels with wide eyes, then promptly slammed the door, and leaned against it breathing heavily.
"Oh crap, oh crap," he chanted as his eyes darted this way and that, looking for an escape route. "Maybe I'm just hallucinating, yeah that's it", he said with a nervous laugh. Vash turned and opened the door just a little; the gun barrels were still there to greet him.
Vash once again shut the door and leaned against it, "maybe their not looking for me, yeah that's it" Vash said nodding to himself. "Vash the Stampede, come out here with your hands up!" called a voice from outside.
Vash sighed, "Oh man, what is with these people, why don't they just run away when they hear I'm around?" any more thoughts Vash might have had were cut off, as a bullet tore through the wood door, and missing his head by an inch.
"We're not going to tell ya again," yelled another voice from outside. "This is not a good way to start the day," Vash said and then ran off down the hallway towards the kitchen.
Vash ran into the kitchen, and then jumping up on the kitchen counter, hurled himself through the window above the sink. Vash hit the sandy ground, then rolled to his feet and took off running again. He ran faster as shouts of "there he is" and "get him," reached his ears.
He ran to the edge of town, then ducked behind last house, and leaned against it. "How could they have found out who I am?" he said to himself. His hair was shaggy now, not having cut it since his last fight with Knives, and he didn't wear the red coat anymore.
Hell he didn't even carry a gun now, although he kind of wished he did at the moment, especially when a man leapt out from behind the house, and pointed a rifle at Vash. Vash yelled then rolled foreword to avoid being shot, he scramble back to his feet, and ran around the side of the house.
He ran into the main street of the town, and then turning, he ran left towards the house he was renting. He ran past the front of his house, and around the side with sound of the town people behind him.
What followed looked like a race, as Vash and the pursuers that chased him, ran circles around the house. During this time Vash was able to estimate that about 12 people were after him, (that was about 3/4ths of the town population).
As the minutes rolled on, the town people grew tired, and two of the men who chased Vash got the idea of running in the other direction, to head him off on his next circuit around the house.
Vash ran into them around the corner, and quickly leapt over them, slamming the men's head's together with his hands before he landed. The two men fell to the ground in a heap, as Vash ran around the next corner. The town people who followed Vash, tripped over the bodies of the unconscious men, and they too fell to the ground in a heap.
Vash ran as fast as he could one more time around the house, and came up behind the group that chased him. The group of town people was just getting to their feet, when Vash reached down and picked up a pistol, which had fallen out of the hands of one of the unconscious men.
As soon as the pistol was in his hand, the town people's expressions turned from angry, to fearful. Vash smiled "hey don't be like that, were all friends here right?"
The town's people were silent for a few seconds, but they quickly scrambled to their feet, and ran screaming back to their houses. Vash let out a sigh of relief as he dropped the pistol on the ground, and then he walked over to the back door of his home.
Before he turned the doorknob, he looked over at the window he had crashed through, then back to the door. Vash sweat dropped.
He opened the door, and walked into the kitchen, but what awaited him there froze the blood in his veins. Meryl stood in the kitchen with a furious expression on her face, "and just what have you been up too?" she said through clenched teeth.
Vash scratched the back of his head "would you believe talking with the neighbors?" he said with a nervous chuckle. Meryl's eyebrow began to twitch as she stalked towards him.
********
A howl of pain was heard throughout the small town, scaring the already frightened town people, who huddled in their homes afraid of the legendary Hominoid Typhoon.
**** Interlude: 2 1/2 months ago.
(Dream) He was dreaming, he wasn't supposed to be dreaming, you don't dream in cold sleep. Foreign images began to play through his mind, a red flower, and the smell of gun smoke, a dark haired man dressed in black. He was in a church now, with the man clad in black standing in front of him. The man clad in black had his back to him, "who are you?" He asked. The man clad in black didn't speak, "where am I.who am I?" He asked.
"You know."the man in black replied, "we are nothing like god.not only are our powers limited, but we are sometimes driven to become the devil himself". He began to get angry "what are you talking about?" he yelled. "Its time to wake up Lazarus.its time to find him" the dark haired man replied, and then disappeared. He was alone now in the church, but soon everything turned dark, and shadow was all that remained. (End Dream)
Deep below the surface of the planet Gunsmoke, in the bowels of an ancient Seeds ship, long dormant computers began to turn on. A low whine filled the chamber where the computers were housed, as information was processed.
Light was restored to the chamber revealing a row of computer consoles, but most importantly, the five cryogenic tubes that occupied the center of the chamber. Gas began to fill the first tube, as the computer activated it's revive function. Once the process was finished, the lid of the tube rose up, and revealed the tubes soul occupant.
It was a man, lean in build with long red hair resting on his shoulders. The man opened his gray eyes, and then sat up bringing a hand to his head. He rubbed his eyes as the fog of sleep left his mind, and he became aware of his surroundings.
"Computer, code name Lazarus, acknowledge" he said in a raspy voice. An electronic voice echoed within the chamber, "Voice I.D. confirmed". "Star date?" asked Lazarus. "Unknown" responded the computer. Lazarus sighed then stood up and stepped out of the cryo tube, "computer, activate supply locker, then list command priorities" Lazarus said as he walked over to a wall, clad only in shorts.
The computer acknowledged the command with a beep, and the previously smooth wall grew seams in it. The now door shaped part of the wall slid inward, then up, and revealed the locker that lay behind it. The locker had only four shelves stocked with clothing, and other survival tools. The computer listed the command priorities, while Lazarus slipped into a Grey jumpsuit.
"Command priority one: locate Gemini plant life forms."
"Command priority two: regulate plant energy in all plant life forms."
"Command priority three: establish neural link between plant reactors."
"Command priority four: activate Lazarus protocol."
"List command restrictions" Lazarus said as he grabbed a duffle bag, and began placing survival tools in it.
"Command restriction one: human termination prohibited."
"Command restriction two: plant termination prohibited."
Lazarus set the now full duffle bag on the floor beside him; he then reached into the top shelf of the locker, and pulled out the gun that lay there.
He checked the laser sight, which worked, and the magazine, which seemed to be in working order as well, the gun was standard issue for the crew of a Seeds ship.
The last item he grabbed from the locker was a light brown poncho, which he unfolded, and put on to cover his jumpsuit.
Now that Lazarus was ready to travel, he picked up the duffle bag and then putting it over his shoulder, walked over to another section of the wall. "Open emergency lift", he told the computer, which complied, and opened the section of the wall that hid the lift from view.
He stepped inside the cylinder shaped space, and activated the lift, it made no sound as it moved upward towards the surface. After a few seconds the lift sounded an electronic beep, signaling it had reached the surface; Lazarus pressed a button on the lift control panel, and opened the door.
Sand was what greeted him as he stepped out of the lift, lots of sand. The vast desert that covered the planet Gunsmoke, lay as far as the eye could see. Lazarus scanned the horizon with his eyes, and took in the environment he had been awakened in.
"Sand, rocks, and.a crater?" he said in surprise. There was a large crater in the distance, about half a mile from where he stood. The small trek over to the crater only took a few minutes, and when he arrived at the rim of the crater, he stood there amazed at its size.
It wasn't very deep, but the radius that it spanned was enormous. *An explosion couldn't have caused this*, he thought to himself, and then began to examine the area. There were shell casings everywhere, and in the very center of the crater, there lay several guns.
Two revolvers, the first one was silver, the second was black, and there was a large metal cross-shaped weapon he couldn't identify. Lazarus left the weapons alone as he continued to search the area, and he soon found more items, not far from where he found the weapons.
He found a tattered red coat, and a complicated set of straps. Lazarus piled all the objects he found in the crater together.
He then looked up at the blue sky, it was a sharp contrast to the dusty brown of the planet, and reminded Lazarus of the sky back home. He wondered what had become of the human race, were they thriving on this new planet, or dying slowly under its harsh environment.
The objects that lay at his feet gave him hope, that people still survived on this planet, and that he was not alone. He wanted to finish his task as soon as possible, because he had only just awaken on this planet, and he was already starting to hate it.
End chapter 1 Written by Lee,
Disclaimer: I don't own Trigun
Authors note: this fic is post series; so don't read if you haven't seen Trigun in its entirety, it would spoil the ending. This is the first fic I have written solo, so any feedback would be great, enjoy. (*= Thoughts) Chapter 1:Escape
It was unusually chilly that night on the planet Gunsmoke, as the planet's moons shone down upon a small house, in a small town. The town was small in size and population, but recently its population had grown by four. The four (three to the town people's knowledge) had been staying in the town for 2 months now, long enough to not be stared at, but still new enough to be newcomers.
Three of them were seated around a table in the kitchen of their small home, while the fourth and last one; lay unconscious on a bed placed in a back room. The three at the table were strangely enough, having a discussion about the unconscious man, and what to do with him once he awakens.
Vash the Stampede, or Erics as he went by now, sat at a table with the insurance girls Millie and Meryl. They all wore solemn expressions as they talked about Vash's brother, Knives.
They had talked many times about him, but could never come up with a solution to deal with Knives violent nature, or his hatred towards humans.
Vash felt that with time, he could save Knives from himself, but he knew that knives would be a threat to everyone as soon as he was back on his feet.
Meryl suggested that they just keep Knives locked up in his room, until he was no longer a threat. Her idea was soon shot down, Vash explained that the room knives occupied, would not hold him after he woke up. Millie was surprisingly silent through these discussions, as she really didn't know what to say about it.
Vash sighed, no matter how long he thought about it, he couldn't find a way to keep his brother from hurting people, other than handcuffing knives to himself at all times. He knew there was a solution he just wasn't seeing it. Vash looked at the tired faces of the girls, "maybe we should call it a night?" Meryl nodded "yeah it's getting late, and we have work tomorrow".
Vash stared at the table as the girls stood up and began to walk to their room. Meryl stopped by Vash's side and laid her hand on his shoulder, "don't worry so much, we'll find a way to help your brother" she told him. Vash smiled then looked up at her "you two have been a great help to me, especially with the laundry" he told her, letting one of his goofy grins overtake his face.
Meryl narrowed her eyes as she took her hand off his shoulder, and then smacked him on the back of his head. "Your still an idiot Vash, you know that right?" she said with an annoyed tone. Vash rubbed his sore head, "you should be more gentle or I'll be the one bedridden, although it might not be so bad with the daily sponge baths I'll get", he said as his goofy grin was replaced with a lecherous one.
Red appeared on Meryl's cheeks, and quickly spread as embarrassment turned into anger. "You perverted jerk!" she screamed, and then punched him so hard he fell out of his chair. She shook with anger for a moment, and stomped out of the room, leaving Vash lying in a heap on the kitchen floor.
Meryl didn't let Vash see her smile as she left the room, she didn't mind his perverted comments as much as she let on, but still she had to teach him a lesson now and again.
Vash waited until she left, and then picked himself up off the floor, she hadn't hit him as hard as she used to he noted. He knew she loved him as a friend, and he suspected she loved him as something more.
He had grown attached to the girls, over the time he had spent traveling with them, Meryl especially, and he really couldn't resist getting her riled up. She looked cute when she was angry, and that thought alone made him pretty sure that he was falling in love with her as well.
*Well I should* he thought to himself, after all the years he spent wandering this desert planet; he was able to identify his feelings for what they were. The problem was, he didn't know if he should act on them.
In the one hand he would be loved, accepted for what he was, scars and all. On the other hand, he was a wanted man, and whether Meryl would admit it or not he was a danger to her.
Not to mention, one day the girls would leave this world, and he would still be here, unchanged by the passing of time. Meryl would be taken from him, one way or another. Vash shook those thoughts from his head, "I'm too tired to think about this now", he said to himself, as he too walked off to his room.
********
Knives lay awake in his bed as the conversation in the kitchen died down, and the other people in the house went to bed. *Soon* he thought to himself, he would be free of them, free to execute the plan he had devised long ago.
He would kill the humans down to the last man, women, and child. His defeat at the hands of his brother was nothing but a setback in his mind, and he had learned from that defeat.
He was being of logic, and logically he had simply underestimated Vash's will to protect the humans. He had wanted Vash to suffer for the pain he had caused him, and in the end all he got was more pain.
Not only pain, but humiliation from being taken care of by the two human women that Vash stayed with.* Not this time*. He would not lose to Vash again. This time there would be no assassins sent after Vash, no red letters to taunt him into confrontation.
He would escape from here and destroy the humans first, then decide what to do with his brother. He knew Vash wouldn't stand by and let him exterminate the humans without a fight, but knives knew that it would only take a small rumor of him to send Vash searching where knives wanted him to be.
Vash would figure out the game quickly, but any time it would buy Knives would be useful, and unless Vash were to receive a tip like last time, Knives doubted Vash would be able to stop him until it was too late.
Knives plan brought a grin to his face; all he had to do now was escape from his brother. His wounds were healed, and the others believed him to be comatose. If he just disappeared Vash would no doubt be after his trail by morning, so the question was how to stall Vash and give himself a head start.
Knives thought a minute, before a wicked grin spread across his face. His brother had gained quite a reputation with the humans, he was the humanoid typhoon and the first localized human natural disaster. All Knives would have to do is tell the townsfolk that Vash the Stampede was in their town, and they would panic, keeping Vash busy while knives made his escape.
With his plan set in his mind, Knives pulled the cover off of him and got out of the bed He had been lying on for almost 3 months. He stood up with shaky legs, not having used them in a while; he took a minute to steady himself, and then turned to face the dresser that was beside his bed. *No doubt that my idiot brother threw away my clothes* he thought to himself.
It didn't matter really, his space suit would have attracted too much attention anyway, so knives settled for a white button up shirt, and a pair of brown pants as his traveling clothes. He needed a pair of boots, but he didn't dare try searching through the house, and risk anyone hearing him.
Knives walked silently over to the only window in his room, and quietly opened it. He was about to climb out of the window, when he noticed a glimmer right in front of him.
He inspected the glimmer closer, and found it to be a trip wire that stretched across the window frame. Knives smirked then carefully stuck his head out the window, and found that the wire went from his window all the way around the house, probably to Vash's room.
* Maybe Vash isn't naive after all*, he thought as he slipped his body out the window, careful not to touch the wire. Knives stood still for a moment feeling the cool desert sand around his feet.
He was about to walk away when he saw a pair of boots; they were lying next to the house with their shoelaces tied together. Knives bent down and was about to pick them up when another glimmer caught his attention.
Knives shook his head then carefully untied another trip wire set by his brother. After untangling it from the shoelaces, he slipped the boots on his feet.
He looked up at the fifth moon and the light it shined down upon him, the same moon that his brother put a hole through. It seemed to Knives, that the moon was finally getting revenge on Vash by helping him in his escape.
Knives now ready to travel, had only one last detail to take care of, how to alert the town of his brothers presence? He walked out into the main street as he pondered this, the general store caught his eye, and an idea formed in his mind "Perfect."
********
The sun peaked over the horizon spreading its light across the sand. The dawn light soon shone through the window of a small house, and onto the sleeping form of its resident outlaw. Vash slowly woke up and blinked the sleep out of his eyes.
With a yawn he sat up, then turned to face away from the window and sit with his legs crossed. Vash closed his eyes beginning his daily meditation, and like every morning, he quit after three seconds.
He didn't practice his gunmanship any more, so he stood up and slowly walked out of his room. Vash continued walking until he reached the front door, and opened it ready to see a new day.
At least he would have seen a new day, except for the gun barrels that blocked his view. Vash stared at the gun barrels with wide eyes, then promptly slammed the door, and leaned against it breathing heavily.
"Oh crap, oh crap," he chanted as his eyes darted this way and that, looking for an escape route. "Maybe I'm just hallucinating, yeah that's it", he said with a nervous laugh. Vash turned and opened the door just a little; the gun barrels were still there to greet him.
Vash once again shut the door and leaned against it, "maybe their not looking for me, yeah that's it" Vash said nodding to himself. "Vash the Stampede, come out here with your hands up!" called a voice from outside.
Vash sighed, "Oh man, what is with these people, why don't they just run away when they hear I'm around?" any more thoughts Vash might have had were cut off, as a bullet tore through the wood door, and missing his head by an inch.
"We're not going to tell ya again," yelled another voice from outside. "This is not a good way to start the day," Vash said and then ran off down the hallway towards the kitchen.
Vash ran into the kitchen, and then jumping up on the kitchen counter, hurled himself through the window above the sink. Vash hit the sandy ground, then rolled to his feet and took off running again. He ran faster as shouts of "there he is" and "get him," reached his ears.
He ran to the edge of town, then ducked behind last house, and leaned against it. "How could they have found out who I am?" he said to himself. His hair was shaggy now, not having cut it since his last fight with Knives, and he didn't wear the red coat anymore.
Hell he didn't even carry a gun now, although he kind of wished he did at the moment, especially when a man leapt out from behind the house, and pointed a rifle at Vash. Vash yelled then rolled foreword to avoid being shot, he scramble back to his feet, and ran around the side of the house.
He ran into the main street of the town, and then turning, he ran left towards the house he was renting. He ran past the front of his house, and around the side with sound of the town people behind him.
What followed looked like a race, as Vash and the pursuers that chased him, ran circles around the house. During this time Vash was able to estimate that about 12 people were after him, (that was about 3/4ths of the town population).
As the minutes rolled on, the town people grew tired, and two of the men who chased Vash got the idea of running in the other direction, to head him off on his next circuit around the house.
Vash ran into them around the corner, and quickly leapt over them, slamming the men's head's together with his hands before he landed. The two men fell to the ground in a heap, as Vash ran around the next corner. The town people who followed Vash, tripped over the bodies of the unconscious men, and they too fell to the ground in a heap.
Vash ran as fast as he could one more time around the house, and came up behind the group that chased him. The group of town people was just getting to their feet, when Vash reached down and picked up a pistol, which had fallen out of the hands of one of the unconscious men.
As soon as the pistol was in his hand, the town people's expressions turned from angry, to fearful. Vash smiled "hey don't be like that, were all friends here right?"
The town's people were silent for a few seconds, but they quickly scrambled to their feet, and ran screaming back to their houses. Vash let out a sigh of relief as he dropped the pistol on the ground, and then he walked over to the back door of his home.
Before he turned the doorknob, he looked over at the window he had crashed through, then back to the door. Vash sweat dropped.
He opened the door, and walked into the kitchen, but what awaited him there froze the blood in his veins. Meryl stood in the kitchen with a furious expression on her face, "and just what have you been up too?" she said through clenched teeth.
Vash scratched the back of his head "would you believe talking with the neighbors?" he said with a nervous chuckle. Meryl's eyebrow began to twitch as she stalked towards him.
********
A howl of pain was heard throughout the small town, scaring the already frightened town people, who huddled in their homes afraid of the legendary Hominoid Typhoon.
**** Interlude: 2 1/2 months ago.
(Dream) He was dreaming, he wasn't supposed to be dreaming, you don't dream in cold sleep. Foreign images began to play through his mind, a red flower, and the smell of gun smoke, a dark haired man dressed in black. He was in a church now, with the man clad in black standing in front of him. The man clad in black had his back to him, "who are you?" He asked. The man clad in black didn't speak, "where am I.who am I?" He asked.
"You know."the man in black replied, "we are nothing like god.not only are our powers limited, but we are sometimes driven to become the devil himself". He began to get angry "what are you talking about?" he yelled. "Its time to wake up Lazarus.its time to find him" the dark haired man replied, and then disappeared. He was alone now in the church, but soon everything turned dark, and shadow was all that remained. (End Dream)
Deep below the surface of the planet Gunsmoke, in the bowels of an ancient Seeds ship, long dormant computers began to turn on. A low whine filled the chamber where the computers were housed, as information was processed.
Light was restored to the chamber revealing a row of computer consoles, but most importantly, the five cryogenic tubes that occupied the center of the chamber. Gas began to fill the first tube, as the computer activated it's revive function. Once the process was finished, the lid of the tube rose up, and revealed the tubes soul occupant.
It was a man, lean in build with long red hair resting on his shoulders. The man opened his gray eyes, and then sat up bringing a hand to his head. He rubbed his eyes as the fog of sleep left his mind, and he became aware of his surroundings.
"Computer, code name Lazarus, acknowledge" he said in a raspy voice. An electronic voice echoed within the chamber, "Voice I.D. confirmed". "Star date?" asked Lazarus. "Unknown" responded the computer. Lazarus sighed then stood up and stepped out of the cryo tube, "computer, activate supply locker, then list command priorities" Lazarus said as he walked over to a wall, clad only in shorts.
The computer acknowledged the command with a beep, and the previously smooth wall grew seams in it. The now door shaped part of the wall slid inward, then up, and revealed the locker that lay behind it. The locker had only four shelves stocked with clothing, and other survival tools. The computer listed the command priorities, while Lazarus slipped into a Grey jumpsuit.
"Command priority one: locate Gemini plant life forms."
"Command priority two: regulate plant energy in all plant life forms."
"Command priority three: establish neural link between plant reactors."
"Command priority four: activate Lazarus protocol."
"List command restrictions" Lazarus said as he grabbed a duffle bag, and began placing survival tools in it.
"Command restriction one: human termination prohibited."
"Command restriction two: plant termination prohibited."
Lazarus set the now full duffle bag on the floor beside him; he then reached into the top shelf of the locker, and pulled out the gun that lay there.
He checked the laser sight, which worked, and the magazine, which seemed to be in working order as well, the gun was standard issue for the crew of a Seeds ship.
The last item he grabbed from the locker was a light brown poncho, which he unfolded, and put on to cover his jumpsuit.
Now that Lazarus was ready to travel, he picked up the duffle bag and then putting it over his shoulder, walked over to another section of the wall. "Open emergency lift", he told the computer, which complied, and opened the section of the wall that hid the lift from view.
He stepped inside the cylinder shaped space, and activated the lift, it made no sound as it moved upward towards the surface. After a few seconds the lift sounded an electronic beep, signaling it had reached the surface; Lazarus pressed a button on the lift control panel, and opened the door.
Sand was what greeted him as he stepped out of the lift, lots of sand. The vast desert that covered the planet Gunsmoke, lay as far as the eye could see. Lazarus scanned the horizon with his eyes, and took in the environment he had been awakened in.
"Sand, rocks, and.a crater?" he said in surprise. There was a large crater in the distance, about half a mile from where he stood. The small trek over to the crater only took a few minutes, and when he arrived at the rim of the crater, he stood there amazed at its size.
It wasn't very deep, but the radius that it spanned was enormous. *An explosion couldn't have caused this*, he thought to himself, and then began to examine the area. There were shell casings everywhere, and in the very center of the crater, there lay several guns.
Two revolvers, the first one was silver, the second was black, and there was a large metal cross-shaped weapon he couldn't identify. Lazarus left the weapons alone as he continued to search the area, and he soon found more items, not far from where he found the weapons.
He found a tattered red coat, and a complicated set of straps. Lazarus piled all the objects he found in the crater together.
He then looked up at the blue sky, it was a sharp contrast to the dusty brown of the planet, and reminded Lazarus of the sky back home. He wondered what had become of the human race, were they thriving on this new planet, or dying slowly under its harsh environment.
The objects that lay at his feet gave him hope, that people still survived on this planet, and that he was not alone. He wanted to finish his task as soon as possible, because he had only just awaken on this planet, and he was already starting to hate it.
End chapter 1 Written by Lee,