Okay first let me apologize a bazillion times over for not updating sooner.
I was very sick for the first two weeks of December, that flu bug hit me
like a ton of bricks, the holidays were beyond insane, and my mother had
some major surgery earlier this month. (She's do super great though).
Here is the final chapter for this ending. It take place many many years later
Anyway Read Enjoy Review and again I'M SOOOO SORRRYYYY!!!
Many decades later.
Vash was alone, trudging through the dusty wasteland. Almost 50 years had past, yet he didn't look a day over 25. He was so lonely, almost to the point of going crazy. The sun was getting unbearably hot, and he had been traveling through the desert for weeks.
He saw it, a little glimmer on the horizon. He shaded his eyes with a gloved hand and squinted, it was a town.
"I'M SAVED" he squealed, a second wind had taken over as he ran towards the town. The thought of water and a friendly conversation making him move faster.
He was only a few yards from town when he noticed how familiar it looked. He stopped short, his black duffel bag dropping to the ground with a thud. Flashbacks filled his head. Flashbacks of things he'd rather forget.
A girl laying on a table bleeding....
The smell of burning flesh...
Tears of sadness and grief.....
He remembered....This was where she had lived....
He had traveled across the entire planet of Gunsmoke. Never had he imagined he would have ended up back there.
He walked into town, he should at least pay his respects.
The town was the same and yet different. Shops he had remembered were different, the people he remembered had long since passed away. The bar was the same except the bartender was a young man.
Vash entered the bar and slumped onto the nearest barstool.
"What can I get you?" the bartender asked.
"Water for now, I've been traveling a long way."
"No problem." He quickly filled a glass and handed it to him. Vash gulped the water down greedily. The bartender smirked and filled the glass again. Vash was on his third glass when he heard a voice behind him.
"I never thought I'd see you come through here again. You haven't aged at all." the voice was old, and raspy.
Vash turned around slowly, hand lowering toward his gun, hoping he wouldn't have to use it.
The voice came from an old man who sat at a corner table, he looked as if he would drop dead at any moment.
"Excuse me sir do I know you?" Vash asked politely.
"Easy there dad," the bartender laughed and turned to Vash.
"Sorry bout that, dad's old he ran this bar about 50 years ago or so. Strange; normally he doesn't say a word to anyone." the bartender went over to his dad, "now dad just rest, leave this man alone he-"
"No wait, it's all right, it's been so long since I've been able to talk to anyone, I'll be glad to keep him company for awhile if you don't mind."
The bartender shrugged, "sure if you want." he returned to his customers. Glad to not have to look after his father for a few moments.
Vash sat in the chair across from the old man, "How do you remember me?"
The old man studied him for a moment, keen old eyes taking in every detail, "You look the same as you did the day you came through here 50 years ago. Vash the Stampede."
Vash gulped, "uhh...heh heh.." he nervously tried to change the subject.
"Don't worry I'm not gonna turn you in. I'm to old to do much of anything, cept sit here. What made you come back?" he asked.
"Actually I sorta stumbled across this place again. I figured while I was here I should go and..." his voice trailed off.
"See her?" the old man sighed, "she was a good woman. The town was very sad when they found out Cora had died. We would go up and see if he wasn't."
Vash bolted upright. "If who wasn't?"
The old man gave him a serious look, "You, know who. He's been there for years now. No one ever goes up there. The few who did never came back. After a few years of people disappearing we let him tay up there. He's never come into town, so we figured as long as we stayed away he'd let us be."
"You mean he's been here all these years?" Vash stood up and looked out the doors, towards the direction of Cora's old house, "all these year, no wonder I haven't been able to find you." he said to himself.
"You thinking of going up there?" the old man asked.
"I have to. He's all I have left." Vash walked out the door, and out of town.
It was as if he had never left, he found the house with not even so much as an upward glance.
He stared at the house, it's once pristine whitewashed walls were dingy. The familiar old truck sat rusting in the dirt road. He could have sworn it was in the exact spot he had parked it the night Cora had died. He shook his head, he had to be imagining it.
He walled around to the side of the house. Everything in the yard was falling apart. It looked as if nothing had been touched, except one thing. Coras grave looked like someone had been tending to it.
Vash looked down at the grave, quietly paying his respects, when he heard a familiar sound. The click of a gun cocking.
"What are you doing here brother?" Knives said, he didn't seem happy, or angry, just empty.
"Trust me I didn't show up here on purpose, but I figured as long as I was hear I'd pay my respects to her." he turned around and looked at his brother.
Something in Knives had changed. Physically he had stayed the same. His hair still a shiny pale blonde, his physique showed he had stayed in shape. He looked like he had always looked. All except his eyes, his eyes were old. To everyone he looked like he was still in his twenties, but his eyes said differently. They were sad, distant eyes, yet at times they looked as if they were searching for something.
"It's good to see you brother." Vash said.
Knives nodded, "same to you brother," Knives looked at the sun which was slowly setting, "it's starting to get cold." he barked and walked inside.
Vash took this gruff statement as an invitation to come in.
The inside of the house was neat as a pin, everything still the same as the day he had left. He wasn't surprised though, Knives had always been beyond clean.
Knives sat down at the table, Vash sat across from him. That sat in silence for awhile, neither knowing what to say.
Knives; ever tactful, broke the silence, "did you leave your spider in town?"
Vash dropped his gaze and slumped forward a bit, "Millie met a nice man about five years after we left you. She went off and married him I guess... I dunno I lost track." his voice grew quieter as he spoke, "Meryl...she passed away about 15 years ago, she had gotten sick and...." he stopped, even after all these years he couldn't talk about it.
"I see." Knives paused. "so it's just you and me again eh brother?"
"I suppose so." Vash said softly, "you know I've been wondering all these years what you had been doing with yourself. Things have been quiet for a long time. I was beginning to think you were dead." Vash laughed nervously trying to lighten the mood.
Knives didn't even crack a smiled, "I left for a few months, until I found out someone had moved in here. I had to get rid of him of course."
Vash's jaw dropped, " you didn't?"
The corners of Knives' mouth perked up into a smile, but it quickly faded, "no......I didn't I scared him off though," he sighed, "that was a long time ago."
Knives ran a hand through his hair, "A few townsfolk have tried to come up here over the years, " Knives' voice was sounding more distant as he spoke, "I didn't kill any of them either. Seems like all I can do is threaten now. Granted most of the times I've threatened people, it's been with a gun pointed at their heads. I just can't ever pull the trigger."
Vash sat there not believing his ears, Knives' hadn't killed a single soul for fifty years.
"It's funny how love will change you." Vash said.
Knives grumbled bitterly, "It never changed me, I just decided that I'd rather not waste my time on killing one or two puny cockroaches. Trust me, if I wanted to I could go down to that town ad wipe them out in a second. I'm being generous by letting them live."
Vash wasn't buying it, but he left it go. Knives would never admit that Cora had changed him for the better.
"Do you miss her Knives?" Vash asked.
Knives was quiet for a moment, he wanted to smack his brother for asking stupid questions. But something in him made him stop and think. He sighed again and stared at the tabletop.
Finally he answered, "everyday of my life...."
Vash's heart tugged, his brother was still hurting as much as he did the day she died. Vash had to do something for him, he couldn't just leave his brother alone.
"What if I stuck around for awhile, seeing as it's just the two of us again."
Knives looked up at his brother, and thought for a moment. Then he shrugged, "do what you want brother. I'm going upstairs."
Vash smiled as his brother stomped up the stairs, he could read Knives like a book. His indifference to Vash's staying was a blatant cry for companionship. His brother had been alone for too long. He needed someone, whether he admitted it or not.
And Vash like always was willing to be that someone....
The End
So what did you think? I was trying to make the brothers come full circle, they started out just the two of them and ended with just the two of them. I hope you liked it.
All right I had a happier ending up for about a month and then I trashed it, a few of my friends, and a few of my readers that it took away from the first ending and I'd have to agree with them. Not every ending needs to be happy.
So that's it, there's the end. It's been a long and highly enjoyable experience. I appreciate every one of my readers and you check out my other stories and enjoy them just as much!
Also I'm debating on whether or not I will try my hand at another Trigun fic, so I figure that I'd leave it up to my readers. Should I? It may be awhile, if so what would you like to read about. I'm not doing a V/Meryl fic there are way too many of those. I would like to try something that isn't done a lot, give me some ideas. What do you stories do you think their needs to be more of? And I'll try my darndest to make a good story for it
Here is the final chapter for this ending. It take place many many years later
Anyway Read Enjoy Review and again I'M SOOOO SORRRYYYY!!!
Many decades later.
Vash was alone, trudging through the dusty wasteland. Almost 50 years had past, yet he didn't look a day over 25. He was so lonely, almost to the point of going crazy. The sun was getting unbearably hot, and he had been traveling through the desert for weeks.
He saw it, a little glimmer on the horizon. He shaded his eyes with a gloved hand and squinted, it was a town.
"I'M SAVED" he squealed, a second wind had taken over as he ran towards the town. The thought of water and a friendly conversation making him move faster.
He was only a few yards from town when he noticed how familiar it looked. He stopped short, his black duffel bag dropping to the ground with a thud. Flashbacks filled his head. Flashbacks of things he'd rather forget.
A girl laying on a table bleeding....
The smell of burning flesh...
Tears of sadness and grief.....
He remembered....This was where she had lived....
He had traveled across the entire planet of Gunsmoke. Never had he imagined he would have ended up back there.
He walked into town, he should at least pay his respects.
The town was the same and yet different. Shops he had remembered were different, the people he remembered had long since passed away. The bar was the same except the bartender was a young man.
Vash entered the bar and slumped onto the nearest barstool.
"What can I get you?" the bartender asked.
"Water for now, I've been traveling a long way."
"No problem." He quickly filled a glass and handed it to him. Vash gulped the water down greedily. The bartender smirked and filled the glass again. Vash was on his third glass when he heard a voice behind him.
"I never thought I'd see you come through here again. You haven't aged at all." the voice was old, and raspy.
Vash turned around slowly, hand lowering toward his gun, hoping he wouldn't have to use it.
The voice came from an old man who sat at a corner table, he looked as if he would drop dead at any moment.
"Excuse me sir do I know you?" Vash asked politely.
"Easy there dad," the bartender laughed and turned to Vash.
"Sorry bout that, dad's old he ran this bar about 50 years ago or so. Strange; normally he doesn't say a word to anyone." the bartender went over to his dad, "now dad just rest, leave this man alone he-"
"No wait, it's all right, it's been so long since I've been able to talk to anyone, I'll be glad to keep him company for awhile if you don't mind."
The bartender shrugged, "sure if you want." he returned to his customers. Glad to not have to look after his father for a few moments.
Vash sat in the chair across from the old man, "How do you remember me?"
The old man studied him for a moment, keen old eyes taking in every detail, "You look the same as you did the day you came through here 50 years ago. Vash the Stampede."
Vash gulped, "uhh...heh heh.." he nervously tried to change the subject.
"Don't worry I'm not gonna turn you in. I'm to old to do much of anything, cept sit here. What made you come back?" he asked.
"Actually I sorta stumbled across this place again. I figured while I was here I should go and..." his voice trailed off.
"See her?" the old man sighed, "she was a good woman. The town was very sad when they found out Cora had died. We would go up and see if he wasn't."
Vash bolted upright. "If who wasn't?"
The old man gave him a serious look, "You, know who. He's been there for years now. No one ever goes up there. The few who did never came back. After a few years of people disappearing we let him tay up there. He's never come into town, so we figured as long as we stayed away he'd let us be."
"You mean he's been here all these years?" Vash stood up and looked out the doors, towards the direction of Cora's old house, "all these year, no wonder I haven't been able to find you." he said to himself.
"You thinking of going up there?" the old man asked.
"I have to. He's all I have left." Vash walked out the door, and out of town.
It was as if he had never left, he found the house with not even so much as an upward glance.
He stared at the house, it's once pristine whitewashed walls were dingy. The familiar old truck sat rusting in the dirt road. He could have sworn it was in the exact spot he had parked it the night Cora had died. He shook his head, he had to be imagining it.
He walled around to the side of the house. Everything in the yard was falling apart. It looked as if nothing had been touched, except one thing. Coras grave looked like someone had been tending to it.
Vash looked down at the grave, quietly paying his respects, when he heard a familiar sound. The click of a gun cocking.
"What are you doing here brother?" Knives said, he didn't seem happy, or angry, just empty.
"Trust me I didn't show up here on purpose, but I figured as long as I was hear I'd pay my respects to her." he turned around and looked at his brother.
Something in Knives had changed. Physically he had stayed the same. His hair still a shiny pale blonde, his physique showed he had stayed in shape. He looked like he had always looked. All except his eyes, his eyes were old. To everyone he looked like he was still in his twenties, but his eyes said differently. They were sad, distant eyes, yet at times they looked as if they were searching for something.
"It's good to see you brother." Vash said.
Knives nodded, "same to you brother," Knives looked at the sun which was slowly setting, "it's starting to get cold." he barked and walked inside.
Vash took this gruff statement as an invitation to come in.
The inside of the house was neat as a pin, everything still the same as the day he had left. He wasn't surprised though, Knives had always been beyond clean.
Knives sat down at the table, Vash sat across from him. That sat in silence for awhile, neither knowing what to say.
Knives; ever tactful, broke the silence, "did you leave your spider in town?"
Vash dropped his gaze and slumped forward a bit, "Millie met a nice man about five years after we left you. She went off and married him I guess... I dunno I lost track." his voice grew quieter as he spoke, "Meryl...she passed away about 15 years ago, she had gotten sick and...." he stopped, even after all these years he couldn't talk about it.
"I see." Knives paused. "so it's just you and me again eh brother?"
"I suppose so." Vash said softly, "you know I've been wondering all these years what you had been doing with yourself. Things have been quiet for a long time. I was beginning to think you were dead." Vash laughed nervously trying to lighten the mood.
Knives didn't even crack a smiled, "I left for a few months, until I found out someone had moved in here. I had to get rid of him of course."
Vash's jaw dropped, " you didn't?"
The corners of Knives' mouth perked up into a smile, but it quickly faded, "no......I didn't I scared him off though," he sighed, "that was a long time ago."
Knives ran a hand through his hair, "A few townsfolk have tried to come up here over the years, " Knives' voice was sounding more distant as he spoke, "I didn't kill any of them either. Seems like all I can do is threaten now. Granted most of the times I've threatened people, it's been with a gun pointed at their heads. I just can't ever pull the trigger."
Vash sat there not believing his ears, Knives' hadn't killed a single soul for fifty years.
"It's funny how love will change you." Vash said.
Knives grumbled bitterly, "It never changed me, I just decided that I'd rather not waste my time on killing one or two puny cockroaches. Trust me, if I wanted to I could go down to that town ad wipe them out in a second. I'm being generous by letting them live."
Vash wasn't buying it, but he left it go. Knives would never admit that Cora had changed him for the better.
"Do you miss her Knives?" Vash asked.
Knives was quiet for a moment, he wanted to smack his brother for asking stupid questions. But something in him made him stop and think. He sighed again and stared at the tabletop.
Finally he answered, "everyday of my life...."
Vash's heart tugged, his brother was still hurting as much as he did the day she died. Vash had to do something for him, he couldn't just leave his brother alone.
"What if I stuck around for awhile, seeing as it's just the two of us again."
Knives looked up at his brother, and thought for a moment. Then he shrugged, "do what you want brother. I'm going upstairs."
Vash smiled as his brother stomped up the stairs, he could read Knives like a book. His indifference to Vash's staying was a blatant cry for companionship. His brother had been alone for too long. He needed someone, whether he admitted it or not.
And Vash like always was willing to be that someone....
The End
So what did you think? I was trying to make the brothers come full circle, they started out just the two of them and ended with just the two of them. I hope you liked it.
All right I had a happier ending up for about a month and then I trashed it, a few of my friends, and a few of my readers that it took away from the first ending and I'd have to agree with them. Not every ending needs to be happy.
So that's it, there's the end. It's been a long and highly enjoyable experience. I appreciate every one of my readers and you check out my other stories and enjoy them just as much!
Also I'm debating on whether or not I will try my hand at another Trigun fic, so I figure that I'd leave it up to my readers. Should I? It may be awhile, if so what would you like to read about. I'm not doing a V/Meryl fic there are way too many of those. I would like to try something that isn't done a lot, give me some ideas. What do you stories do you think their needs to be more of? And I'll try my darndest to make a good story for it