Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ What If ❯ Past Becomes Present, Present Becomes Future ( Chapter 7 )

Author's Note: Some problems with what Rem and Vash said in this chapter were brought to my attention, so I tried my best to fix them. I think you'll find that it is much less out of character for them. If you feel otherwise, please write me a note to let me know. Thank you.

"I'm actually surprised to see you, Vash," the image of Rem said with a smile. "I expected Knives to be the one to get this."

Vash put on his poker face. "Knives won't be getting anything ever again."

The hologram sat down on an invisible chair. "I'm sorry," she said. "How did it happen?"

A tear crept out of the corner of one of his eyes. "I tracked him down. It started with July, and what he did there. For the last thirty some years, I moved all over this planet trying to find him. Every single life he took, every person his Gun Ho Guns killed has been blamed on me. When I finally caught him, I was only going to try to change his mind."

"And then?" Rem asked, giving him an encouraging nod.

"And then I shot him." Vash's mask slipped, and he started to cry in earnest. "I shot him five times. I was going to end it there, and shoot him myself. In the time it took me to decide to help him, he bled to death. I wanted to help him, he was my brother. I bandaged him up so he could look dignified in death, and carried him to a town so he could have a decent burial."

"I am so sorry," the long haired image told him. Meryl grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "But I can tell from your expression that Knives took something more from you, didn't he?"

Vash's head came up, his tears erased by a sudden blaze of anger. On the other side of the hologram, Meryl's parents gasped in fear at the look on his face. "Yes," the blonde gunman said slowly. "He took the one man I called a friend. He had him killed just to get to me."

"And my granddaughter?" Rem asked. "Has she been a comfort to you?"

"She has," he answered with a smile, his anger once again hidden. "She gave me the answer that allowed me to kill him."

Rem leaned forward on her invisible chair. "And what was the answer?" she asked intently.

"The answer is that love and peace have their place, but it does not cover all. She helped me to realize that when someone is dead inside, they want to kill so that others will be dead also. It is then that we do have the right to take the life of another. It is okay to take the life of a killer to save the lives of innocents."

"I'm proud of you, Vash," the hologram told him. "Even though by now I am long dead, I am proud of you. And terribly sorry. I learned that myself, but it took me nearly a hundred years; even though it wounded my heart, I tried to teach it to Meryl so that she would know. I knew deep in my soul that she would meet you, and I hoped that if you hadn't already learned that, then she could help teach you by example. I dreaded what would happen to you if you learned it by other means. You're such a kind-hearted person, and I know that that lesson has hurt you even more than it hurt me. I wish you had never had to learn this. I wish it hadn't been through that horrible experience."

Vash nodded, a single tear coursing down his cheek. "She did teach me. I just didn't realize it soon enough. Thank you, Rem."

The dead woman nodded and sat back in the non-existent chair. "I knew that somewhere in your long life, this lesson would become necessary. Though I might have hoped and prayed otherwise, ignorance is not bliss. That is all this hologram was created for," she said, crying holographic tears. "Just to make sure you learned this lesson. If you wish, you can keep this safe, to ask for help or advice from me whenever you need it. But if you don't wish that, I must ask you to destroy it. All my knowledge about you must never reach the wrong hands."

The tall man let go of Meryl and got down on one knee. "It was nice to see you again, Rem," he told the hologram. He pushed the deactivation button on the side of the machine. "Thank you."

When he sat back down next to Meryl and tucked the holographic generator in his pocket, he noticed that Meryl's parents where staring at him.

"Vash the Stampede?" Jonathon asked in a choked voice.

"How did you know Mom?" Mary cut in before her husband could say anything else. "You only look like you're twenty. And July happened about thirty-four years ago. How is this all possible?"

"That is a long story," Vash told them in a quiet, serious tone. "And I am sorry, but right now I find myself rather exhausted. Meryl said we would be able to stay here, but I can understand it if you would rather I stay at an inn."

Jonathon started speaking first. "That would probably be-"

"Nonsense," Meryl's mother interrupted her husband with a wave of her hand. "A friend of Mom's is a friend of mine. You can stay in the guest room. I'll prepare Meryl's old room for her and Millie to share."

Vash bowed his head. "Thank you, Ma'am."

"Actually," Meryl spoke up, "I would prefer to room with Vash."

Her father's eyes narrowed menacingly, but her mother nodded her acquiescence.

At midnight that night, Vash and Meryl lay awake in each other's arms. "Why didn't you tell me your first name is Ericks?" she asked him softly as she traced the scars on his chest.

His grip on her tightened. "My name is somewhat different," he answered in a whisper. "Vash is the familiar. If I was named like everyone else, my name would be Vash Ericks. Calling me Ericks is like calling me by my last name. Even Rem only called me Vash."

"So," Meryl asked, "when we get married, does that make me Mrs. Ericks, Mrs. Vash, or does that make you Mr. Stryfe?"

"Married!?!" Vash nearly jumped out of the bed. "What are you saying?"

Meryl tugged on his arm, pulling him back down into her embrace. "Don't act surprised," she told him with a smile. "I found the ring in it's box in your travel bag with a note. On the note, you had written down your entire proposal speech."

Vash gulped air and started looking around for a place to hide. "How long ago was that?" he asked, trying to sound innocent.

His lover caught on to what he was doing, and she grabbed his arm with both of her hands. "You aren't going anywhere, Vash the Stampede," she told him. "Actually, I found it while you were trying on the clothes I had bought you back in SEEDS City, while I was throwing out most of your old stuff."

"Oh, damn."

"Don't worry," she assured him. "I didn't throw away your red coat. It's in a suitcase in the trunk of the car."

The Humanoid Typhoon was silent for a moment. "So?"

"So what?"

"Will you?"

Meryl's amusement vanished and she gave an exasperated sigh. "Will I what?"

"Will you marry me, Insurance Girl?"