Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun. Too bad.
I pulled the trigger.
Legato crumpled to the ground at my feet, dead.
No! My mind screamed. I killed him! I took a man's life!
I forced back the thought, glanced to my right, to see if the insurance girls were okay. The townsfolk were untying them and muttering confused apologies. They didn't know what had happened. But I did.
I killed him. I'm no better then he was.
I lowered my arm. It was still shaking.
How would Rem feel to know that I had taken a man's life?
I dropped to my knees in front of Legato.
No. I whispered. There had to have been another way.
I felt tears start to slide down my cheeks. I clenched my fists, guilt and frustration boiling up inside.
Nobody had to die! I screamed. I could feel all the townsfolk, the insurance girls, staring at me. I didn't care. I took my gun and threw it as far as I could. It glinted in the sun as it spun through the air. I covered my face with my hands and just let the tears come.
I'm sorry Rem. I've failed. I took his life.
I looked down. Legato lay on the ground, a contented smile on his lips. He had welcomed his own death. Welcomed it as a release, a victory.
A victory over me.
He'd broken me, and he had relished in the knowledge of it.
My tears blurred my vision.
"The spider is dead. I killed him to save the butterfly." I whispered, suddenly feeling faint.
"But I have become the spider in his place."