Uh, yeah. That was a fake out. That wasn't the end. Sorry if I worried you...
No ownie Trigunny.
Unmarked--Chapter Nine
"The end, Chapel. Run back to your family, because this time, it's the end,"
The tall blonde man cackled again, taking the gun from Legato.
"Go on," Knives said, turning back to me. "Meet your end with your family. Not out here, alone,"
Beside me, I noticed Vash stirring slightly.
Unsteadily, he stood up.
"Knives," he said calmly, as though he was addressing a child. "Give me the gun,"
"Then do it yourself," he said maliciously.
Vash's cold eyes engaged themselves in a stare down with his brother's.
"You know what you have to do," Knives said calmly.
Vash turned and ran.
I stared after him; pretty sure my mouth was gaping.
"Subordinate,"
I turned back to see Midvally now standing with Legato and Knives. Legato was speaking to him.
"You must be ready to meet your death. You knew this day would come."
I twitched slightly. "And what day would that be, lap-dog?"
Knives aimed Vash's gun at me. "Chapel, you will not speak without permission,"
"Oops," I said nonchalantly. I pressed the indentation in my cross. The sound of it converting into the machine gun it really was comforted me a bit. I aimed it at Knives. "Where is my son? I know you know,"
Knives raised his eyebrows in a humored glance. "He was simply disposed of. Destroyed for the use of a puppet."
He snapped his fingers and the ground beneath us broke slightly. A few bones rose up gingerly.
"If you would like your son, there he is."
I quickly shot at him, hitting him square in his left shoulder just as Vash appeared next to me. He shot me an accusing look.
Legato nodded his head towards Midvally, who mechanically walked over to me and took my cross. I couldn't fight it for some reason. I just watched Midvally walk back to where he'd been standing with my cross.
"Did you have fun trying to save your precious humans, Vash?" Knives asked him through grit teeth, clutching the wounded joint.
Vash glared at him then shot his other shoulder. "I told you that if you made a move to hurt anyone here, I'd kill you,"
"Rem," Knives shot, his teeth still clenched. "She wouldn't approve,"
"To hell with that," Vash said icily. "It's for the good of the people here,"
Legato picked up the gun, as Knives had dropped it when I'd incapacitated him. "I'm sure you'd be enlightened to know how we're here, Vash the Stampede,"
Vash didn't even flinch. "Tell me,"
Legato smiled as he turned and beckoned a slight woman out of the shadows. She had small, round scars that looked as though teeth had caused them.
Midvally's mouth hung open. "Rachel," he said sharply. "Why are you here?"
I knew this girl was familiar.
"Rachel Leonof," Legato said calmly. "The puppet master,"
"No fucking way," I snapped. "I killed him,"
The girl shook her head. "Another puppet, one that was sent out into the field,"
"Rachel controlled them all without ever leaving Dhmitri," Legato said, a hint of pride in his voice.
"So she could play whore to you," Dominique spat from where she was sitting with her two daughters.
Rachel ignored the comment.
"She created puppets of all of us," Legato said. "For the sake of antagonizing only,"
"No shit," I muttered, glancing at my brother.
For a second, Vash looked as though a huge weight had been lifted off of his soul. "I'm not a killer," he murmured.
The look on Legato's face clearly showed he wished he could take back what had just occurred.
"What about Daniel?" I demanded. "You had nothing to model it after,"
Legato turned to me and smirked. "Except for an image of how you looked when you were a child, which your brother so graciously provided."
Midvally glanced over at me and shook his head.
"But, none of this matters now. The day I have long awaited is now here. The complete eradication of the human race will begin with this miserable little town."
Legato tossed Vash's gun to his left arm and aimed directly between Vash and me, at the town behind us.
"This is your gift, Vash the Stampede," he said, looking directly, his eyes cold. "You denied it, as well as your brother, and now the situation has to be dealt with like this."
I felt a dangerous force pressing on me, my eyes closing due to the blinding light.
"This is what you were meant to do!" I could hear Legato shouting above the din. "For your Eden, to make this planet just for you and him,"
I turned away, putting my back to him. I opened my eyes slightly, to the ghastly sight awaiting me. The force pushed me to the ground, making me curl up into a ball.
The buildings were being decimated, taken apart piece by piece.
What was happening here, I understood, was what had happened in July and Augusta, all those years ago.
There was a loud crack from behind me and slowly all that was going on stopped. I got up and turned back.
The only ones standing were Vash and Midvally. Legato lay between them.
Presumably dead.
However, Vash and Midvally were staring each other down.
He was still holding my gun, only now it was aimed against Knives's head.
"Don't think that without his major pawn, that it isn't going to happen again," Midvally said coldly. "All he needs is your gun, or enough metal to fashion his own,"
Vash walked over to Legato and picked up his gun. He, however, put it in his holster.
"Vash!"
The Humanoid Typhoon and I turned to see Bernardelli's disaster prevention team running towards us.
Well, at least half of the team was.
Meryl froze as she drew nearer.
"There's no way," she said softly.
Then she turned back and left, muttering, "The first human act of God,"
I slowly, shaking slightly, crossed the divide between Vash and Midvally. "What the heck have you done?"
My younger brother was quivering, and as soon as I reached out to grab his arm, he collapsed to the ground.
"I just killed someone," he murmured. "I just killed him, and I almost killed someone else,"
I knelt down to him, leaning on my cross. For the first time in over thirty years, I was worried for my brother.
"I thought I could be like you, just kill someone and walk away without a care," he said quietly. "I mean, for years, you'd been killing and able to justify it. I thought I could be like that,"
His hazel eyes darted away from me. "I just can't,"
"Yes you can,"
I turned back and saw Vash. He was looking at both of us with a cold sheen in his eyes.
I wondered how Knives had been silent this whole time, until I noticed that his eyes, too, had the familiar vacant look of death.
The twin suns were rising slowly.
"This all was supposed to end, and the sun rises again," I said quietly, standing up.
I took my cross and slowly walked away, towards my home.
Milly was waiting for me.
Just like last time. Because I told her to.
~Epilogue--Ten Years Later--December City~
I wiped the sweat from my brow and walked out of the church, rice scattered on the ground.
My brother was still playing some of the music from the wedding, though quieter now.
"Clever," Midvally said, taking the saxophone away from his lips. "Having David give her away,"
I nodded. "I obviously couldn't do it,"
"Even if you weren't officiating," Vash said, coming out of the church and sitting down next to me, "I don't think you would have had the strength to give Rebekah away,"
"He still sees her as his baby girl," Midvally said, basking in the last few glows of the sun. "My girls still are."
"Chad's good to her," Vash said. "There shouldn't be anything to worry about,"
I watched him walk around the side of the building, to one of the graves. It had been left unmarked.
But we all knew who it was for.
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THE END
--Sunny