Trigun: Agony

A/N & Disclaimer: Okay! The official name of this fic is "Trigun: Agony," but the original name was "What If" which is why on the previous two chapters it says "What If" at the top. Just ignore it until I can change it. Thanks! Oh, and I don't own Trigun, and any one who's read the offical sequel, I'm sorry if this is no where near close to what happens. This is just what happened inside my head after the series ended. And, like I said before, it was inspired by a dream, so....*sweatdrop*...Yeah...Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Reoccurrence of Loss

Knives was staring at Merle, an evil grin on his face. His gun was pointed at her, cocked and loaded, but his mind was wandering away from the idea of just pulling the trigger. He was more creative than that.

Vash burst into the doorway at the end of the hallway, a fierce anger burning in his eyes as he cocked his gun and aimed it at Knives. And fired. Knives knew better by now and dodged the bullet. Of course, he could've used Merle to catch the offending nuisance of propelled metal, but that just wouldn't've been fun.

Earlier, Merle had tried using the guns from her cloak to shoot the gun out of Knives' hand, but it ended up working the other way around, and she soon knew she was defenseless. Milly was no where to be found and, luckily, aside from the bar stool Merle occupied, the rest of the tavern was empty. A celebration was taking place in the center of town, all of its people rejoycing over their new chance at life in this once slowly dying city. They were alone, which made the situation better and yet worse at the same time.

Vash looked determined and set in the way he had chosen to take.

"I'm sorry, Vash, but I just don't see the resemblance. What admiring qualities do you find in humans, anyway?" Knives was still looking at Merle, his gun aimed at her head. "I just can't seem to find any. Maybe I'll just destroy this town and all of it's filthy inhabitants."

Vash's eyes widened as he watched Knives' arm transform. Though they may have been "Angel Arms," Knives wasn't an angel of mercy and that arm could bring about the apocolypse if he so wished. Vash knew. He had put a decent sized crater in the moon himself...and that had been from a reasonable distance. Close range at maximum output would be even more devestating than Vash's previous mistake.

Without even thinking, Vash fired and the bullet flew threw the transforming limb, a spurt of blood trailing behind it as it passed out the other side. Knives would've screamed, but some part of his mind had expected it.

"You shot me again, brother. How many times are you going to shoot me before you kill me?! You treat these damn humans better than you treat me, and they're nothing but dirt under your fingernails. You've already outlived generations of them, and you'll keep living for generations more."

"What is he talking about, Vash?" Merle looked at him, her confusion present in her eyes.

"I'm not human. I'm a Plant." Vash said, his voice monotonous, his expression unchanging. Something inside him was about to snap. It was like when he killed Legato. The mounting insanity, the increasing tension. Only one small thing had to happen before he pulled the trigger again. And this time it would be a fatal blow.

"She means that much to you, and you never told her? How could she love you if she knew who you truly are, Vash? If she knew what you truly are?" Knives had turned his head to look at Vash, but now he turned back to Merle. "It would never happen. Only you and me, Vash, could ever live in harmony, and that would only be if we were alone in this world. Just give up on humans. They're a waste of time and space..." He pulled the trigger. "And bullets."

An audible "snap" echoed inside Vash's mind.

'Vash, take care of Knives...'

Those words from long ago. They made a reappearance as Merle's souless body collapsed onto the bar. The blood flowed freely from the bullet hole Knives had made in her skull, pooling on the counter and then dripping onto the floor.

"Don't worry, Rem," Vash whispered under his breath. "I'll take care of Knives."

The snap that had echoed only to his hears, now echoed in the surrounding air as the shot he had fired from his gun.

He hadn't killed Knives. He merely shot him in his other shoulder. Now he wouldn't be able to shoot his gun, and his time was severely limited with the Vash he was now facing. In the eyes of this seemingly completely different person no longer echoed the "love and peace" idealism. There was no mercy in these eyes.

Vash stood over Knives, who had been knocked onto the floor by the force of the shot, and was now laying on his back, bleeding profusely from both wounds.

"You killed her! You killed them both! You took away my reasons for being alive, Knives, so now, I'm taking away yours. Take care."

The next shot from his gun took a life that was thought by some to be immortal, and also took away Vash's last link to the past, and the last person he had ever been close to.

The word lonliness now took on a new meaning as the tears of Vash's subconscious, mourning for what he had done, and for what he had become, flowed down his cheeks. But he didn't feel them, on his skin or in his heart. He had snapped, and the dead, bleeding body before him meant no more to him than a tumbleweed blown by the desert winds.

***

A/N: I know that was short, but please don't kill me! I PROMISE the next one will be longer and its significance will fall close to this one.

Preview: Desperation can sometimes lead to an act that no one except the one who commits it understands, but when that person is lost, then their reason dies with them. No one can truly understand the workings of the human heart.

Chapter 4: Farewell, Friend