Trigun
Dragon's Breath
Written by: Spike Spiccardo (Insert random message about not owning Trigun or any Linkin Park song here)
"I am – a little bit of loneliness;
A little bit of disregard,
Handful of complaints, but I can't help the fact
That everyone can see these scars-
I am – what I want you to want,
What I want you to feel, but it's like
No matter what I do, I can't convince you
To just believe this is real – so
I let go – watching you –
Turn your back like you always do –
Face away and pretend that I'm not,
But I'll be here, 'cause you're all I got-"
-Linkin Park, from the song 'Faint'
Chapter 10: Cry For Blood(Due to technical problems, this first sentence won't appear italicized. Just know that it's Vash the Stampede thinking.)
It was daytime. The burning twin suns of the east were now settled upon the horizon. I had sat here throughout the night, trying to remember her heartbeat, but it wasn't working. I had nothing left for me anymore, nothing left to do. A natural force – one that I was forced to use in self-defense each and every day – has now taken that which I loved the most.
Vash's tears had long since dried up in the heat of the noon. A large, gaping hole now lay upon the earth, right next to Knives' podium of hell. Within it, Vash had placed his red geranium coat down upon the bodies of Meryl Strife and Milly Thompson, whose faces were still veiled with the shock of the bullets that had brought them to their fates. His fingers trembled as he began dumping the dirt and sand upon their bodies. The storms will soon swallow their gravesite up, and no one will ever know they were here, save for the gravestone which now stood erect on the near edge of the podium.
In Memory of Meryl Strife, Honored Member of the Bernardeli Insurance Company, and her Esteemed partner Milly Thompson, intriguing naturalist and undeniable friend. Rest in peace.
No one will know their names anymore, except for the two men who believed.
Kartsu had long since left Tonim Town, but he was still nowhere near July – in his unsatisfied yearning for Demonte's blood, he had forgotten all about how he expected to actually REACH July. Within a few hours, he was exhausted, dehydrated, and anxious for any signs of life in this barren wasteland he was now lost in. But he knew no one would come. They were all safely tucked in to their houses, or else doing chores, or out for a drink at the salon. There was no one left who could save him.
"So… is this… truly the end…?" And then he knew no more.
"Is he alive?"
"I dunno. Should we check?"
"Perhaps he is still alive, and he's faking it?"
"Nah, it couldn't be. Check his pulse!"
The coldness of the hand… the smell of smoke and breath… a warm face reaching close… Kartsu slowly pulled his lids up to allow light to his eyes. He could see now the faint outline of a woman, hardly over 21, feeling up his pulse. He tried to push her away, but his whole body felt fatigued, as if he'd just climbed a giant obstacle and thought he'd never make it. He now shifted his eye over the woman's shoulder and spotted two other people with her – men, judging by the previous voices. A dim light and a soft breeze came from above; a simple guess told him they were in a salon. But which town was he in?
"Lie still, sir. You'll be just fine if you just relax for a moment. That was quite a place to be stranded in, ya know! All the way out in the middle of the Reharo Desert… you MUST be exhausted!"
"Re… Rehar… Reharo…?" It was painful to speak, so he decided against it unless absolutely necessary.
"Yeah, the Reharo Desert. It's one of the more dangerous forks of land on Gunsmoke. Like I said, you're lucky to be alive. Though, if not for this kind of weaponry-" She flashed him his Colt, the golden flesh reveling in his eyes for a moment. "-We'd of thought you were some weakling on vacation who'd lost everything he owned!"
Kartsu's body now felt well enough to sit up. He felt around his body and realized they hadn't stripped him. They had merely removed his .44 and Golden Colt. His head was pounding into desertion with such anger that he put a hand up to his temple just to relax it. He chose his next words very carefully.
"What… town…?"
The woman giggled. "We're on the edge of the Reharo Desert, right here in good ol' Reharo Town! If you need any more reference, we're about… oh, 200 iles from the nearest major city… which happens to be the ruins of July. Shame what happened to it – I'm surprised no one's tried to build it up again! Maybe the fear of Vash the Stampede still lingers, even to this day."
One of the men now spoke up. "Perhaps we should not speak more of it until we know his name."
An expected question, he thought. "Kartsu… Kartsu Gevan. And who… in the hell… might all of you… be…?"
The woman flashed a smile of brilliance. "My name is Blistra Gahero, and these are my comrades-in-arms, Maro and Daro Gahero. As you can tell, we're of the same family of outlaws."
This is… too much for me… What am I doing here? I should be in July… Demonte… and his… but I…
Kartsu's thinking soon becomes too jumbled, and he fainted once more. Blistra stared for a second, then shrugged.
"Maybe the stress was too much for him. Let's just lock him up in one of the rooms, and we'll question him later."
As Maro and Daro took Kartsu's limp body into another room, Blistra's thinking turned to his marksmanship. Perhaps he could be of some use to us. I won't be overtaken again by those bloody packrats, not if my life depends on it… which, by the way, it does!!
Vash's tears had now dried. He realized that he could not stay in mourning for much longer. He realized that the world was now changing, and he was to be a major part in this play. Glasses on, hair now returned to its original shape, a spare red coat, which he had sewn himself, now borne proudly on his body, and a shining piece of metal slung into his pocket. Vash the Stampede now stood upon one of the last buildings of Tonim Town, staring into the nothingness of the sunset.
"I'll swear to all of you whom I have failed – I will not let this happen again. Everyone I meet finds an endless fate, all because of me… And I can't let that happen again. Kartsu is the last person alive that I know will not meet a sad end… and I shall not fail him, even if it means taking my own life in the hands of a madman!" His eyes widen at his own vow. Am I really able to go through with such a thing? Can I do this without becoming like him? I want to be free from this energy… I want to live in a peaceful world… but where can I find Eden among all this… raging, burning Hell?
And then he remembered…
"Er time ago, an age of destruction. The deeds of this man could not be undone. Through ice and fire, he survived the fall. But his greatest challenge will soon come to call. To those he meets, he is naught but death. But his journey will end on the dragon's last breath."
The words of the fortuneteller now rest on their lips. Vash, Kartsu, Demonte, and one more yet who has now heard this prophesy. Four men whose fate now rests in their choices, one thought left that won't be denied – will I be enough to rescue my own destiny?
-Spike-