a truckload of trigger-happy loonies come screaming into the homestead, another of Mama Nebraska's "Shot Put Boys" hot on their heels.  what the two guys Grampa asked over hoped to do against them, I don't know, and whatever it was, it's not working.

-118-119-
Land Guard 1- They can't be serious! This is insane!

Trigun #12  River of Life

Morgan- Are we understood?  Do not damage the greenery.  I will be most put out if my new home has any flaws.  Anything else is unnecessary.  If it interferes, get rid of it!

-120-
a little smarter than the two Land Guards, Meryl and Millie rush through the denser vegetation, looking to pull of some guerilla tactics.
Meryl- //thinking// It's just as you said, Badwick.  That man is cold-blooded and heartless.  …but who am I to talk?
gunfire erupts nearby, a few bullets streaking by pretty close.

-121-
Meryl reacts instantly, flaring her cloak and grabbing for a pair of derringers.  Millie reacts almost as quickly, just not going for her stun gun.  instead she wraps Meryl up in a big hug, dragging the both of them behind cover.
Millie- Sempai NO!!  We're still right in front of them!  Their counter attack would fill us full of more holes than swiss cheese!
Meryl goes passive, realizing just how close she was to making a mistake she doesn't usually make.
Millie- What's wrong?  This isn't like you.

-122-
Meryl- …Millie, I…I envy you.  You can get righteously angry right away at a person who points guns at his parents.  That's important.
Millie- Sempai??
looks like Millie's about as confused at this sudden tangent as I am.
Meryl- I just stood there and took it all in without even flinching.  Jeez, I'm so heartless.  Anything that wasn't right in front of me got pushed off to the side…
grass rustles softly off to the side, Grampa stopping nearby.  neither woman notices him, and he doesn't say anything.  he just listens.
Meryl- I worked and worked and worked, just so I could avoid dealing with the rest of my life… But when I stop and look back, I feel like I've forgotten something really important. I……
Millie blinks, getting even more confused when Meryl suddenly starts slapping herself in the face.
Meryl- Enough of this.

-123-
Meryl- No, no, no and no.  This is not the time to fall apart like this.  C'mon Meryl, pull yourself together.
Grampa watches just a few seconds more, not saying anything, then turns away.

elsewhere, there are still people fighting, 'cuz y'know, there are still a whole bunch of gun-toting maniacs running around the area.  another particularly large explosion sends both Land Guards flying.
Land Guard 1- Damnit…!  We can't keep going like this!
Grampa comes up and kneels by the fallen man's side.
Grampa- I know.  But thank you.  You've done enough.

-124-
Land Guard 1- Damn it all!  Pops, I…
Grampa- It's okay.  I've put you through quite a lot.  I'm sorry.
time to confront the source of this.  quite calm, Grampa takes up his shotgun and walks out to face Morgan and the Nebraskas.

-125-
Morgan- Have you finally begun to understand, sir?
Gramps- If you're talking about the extent of your lousy attitude, yeah.
from the house window, Badwick and Gramma watch the situation unfold.  Gramma is considerably more composed than her son.
Badwick- Pop!
Gramma- Don't fret.  Morgan won't shoot him.  If Grampa doesn't sign the forms, this land won't ever be Morgan's.
Badwick- Even with that, he's still in way over his head!  Why?!
Gramma bonks him over the head with a ladle (fourth-to-last-resort weapon ~.^).
Gramma- You are the dense one, aren't you.

-126-
Gramma- It's to protect this land, me, and you, of course.  I don't know what to compare it to, but even with your attitude, we still love you.
suddenly more than a little embarrassed, Badwick turns his head, looking away from Gramma.
Badwick- What… whatcha tryin' to say, being all forgiving at a time like this.
back outside…
Morgan- All this land must cost a terrible amount.  You can't possibly be making any money by owning it.
Gramps- True.
Morgan- So here.
he holds up a blank check.
Morgan- Something that clearly will bring you much money.  Let us begin the negotiations.

-127-
BANG
bits of check flutter around Morgan's head, a good half of hit blown away.
Grampa- That's my final offer.  Get lost.
for a long, scary moment, Morgan is quiet. then a not-nice-at-all light starts glowing in his beady eyes.
Morgan- ……I see.  You're in a hurry to die.  Well then, why don't we give you a hand.
Grampa- Not a smart move.  The second you kill me is the second you lose, Morgan.  I've got all these witnesses to back it up, too.
Morgan- BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!  You overestimate your position, sir!  I would not do that if I were you.

-128-
uhm, Grampa, you forgot just how many of those nutcases he's brought along with him…
Crazy Thug 1- Witnesses? What witnesses?
Crazy Thug 2- Ain't nobody gonna say nothing, 'cuz there ain't nobody whose gonna live.  It's gonna be a perfect slaughter.
there's a sudden quick rustle in the bushes…
Meryl- That's far enough!
…and the two insurance girls step into the fray.  I think everyone forgot they were there.
Meryl- I cannot stand back and allow this situation to escalate any further.  So much as twitch and we will fire.

-129-
Morgan- Hmph.  And you'll do what with a tiny derringer and a stun gun, hm?
Meryl- Would you care to find out?  That is if you think you have the guts to take a huge cross in the face.
another tense moment settles in, each side sizing up the other, wondering who has the hidden ace. enter convenient silence breaking distraction…

-130-
KABOOOOOOOOOM
an explosion.  again.  there are lots and lots of them in this manga…
but anyway, an explosion lights up the far side of the house, well away from the scene of the showdown.  Grampa and Meryl spin around to find the source, catching a glimpse of Badwick hightailing it out of the area on a motorcycle.  I guess he forgot that doors are meant to open and just plowed through… ^.^;;   but not everyone was caught flat-footed.  Mama Nebraska's arm wooshes by Morgan…

-131-
…and she lets fly with one of her sons, aimed dead on Badwick.  Meryl follows just milliseconds behind the strike, bringing a derringer to bear on the living missile, maybe to knock it off course, but…
Meryl- I'm too late!!

-132-133-
BANG
hit clean, the Nebraska Shot Put Boy snaps out of his tuck, spinning wildly off to the side into a crash landing.  Badwick completes his escape unharmed.

-134-
everyone's jaws drop to the ground, slack with shock.  perhaps the most shocked of all of them is Meryl. there's no way that her small-calliber derringer could have changed the trajectory of something that big.
Meryl- …… huh?

-135-
Millie recovers first, somewhat.
Millie- S.. Sempai!  That was awesome!!
Meryl just stares at her gun, dumbfounded.  it really, really shouldn't have been able to do that…
…stepping back a few paces, around the corner of a building and up to an empty rain barrel, another gun smokes.  this one has the oomph to do that.  the gun's owner also has the precision timing to fire at exactly the same time Meryl did…
Vash- I owed you one from the Sandsteamer.  Consider it paid back.
okay, the obligatory Vash Cameo dealt with, back to the story……
Vash- Hey! That's it?! My turn's over?
yes, hon. it is. go take a break or something.

-136-
back where the action's going on, Meryl is still staring at her gun, and everyone else is still staring in shock, so Millie steps up to the plate.
Millie- S-S-S-S-S-S-s-s-so THERE!  We warned you!  It doesn't matter how many of you there, no one can escape Sempai's derringers!  Next she'll pinpoint your hearts or your brains!  Ha HA!
Meryl still stares at her derringer, completely stumped.  Morgan, however, doesn't stay shocked.
Morgan- Impossible!  That was a miracle!  Sheer chance!  Such a small gun couldn't possibly do something like---- that?!
the Nebraskas are convinced. both remaining Shot Put Boys are curled up in their shells, quivering.  a deep, yet somehow feminine, howl starts up.  Marilyn Nebraska looks down on Morgan, tears in her eyes.
Marilyn- I don't know what you're talking about!  We're finished!  Our super-gorgeous teamwork has been beaten!
it takes a second for that particular ludicrous statement to sink in, but Morgan figures out they're serious quick enough.
Morgan- What… kinds of… COWARDLY things are you saying?!

-137-
Morgan- You have already received a hefty payment up front. I expect you to be worth that money… OR
…"else".  I think that's what he was going to say, anyway.  he just made the mistake of standing too close to Mama Nebraska when the grief finally got to be too much.  wailing like a bass banshee, she collapses to the ground… Morgan firmly underneath her rear.
Mama Nebraska- GUOOOUOUOOOO! (translation: Chinpeeeeeeiiii!!!)
Morgan- GAAAAGIIKGRAAKGYYAAAA
Marilyn- It's okay Mama, dry your tears.  Chinpei's okay.  I'm sure.
how she managed not to fall off when Mama sat down, I don't know, but now, shedding tears of her own, she gives Mama's head a big hug.  everyone else just watches, most of them getting annoyed.
::Crazy Thug 1- 'I'm sure' nothing, babe! Why don't you go and look, huh?  And if he's such a precious little boy, don't toss him around like that in the first place!::
::Crazy Thug 3- I don't think I wanna do this anymore.  Let's split.::

and so the unusual standoff comes to an appropriately weird end.  Grampa wins!
heaving a deep sigh now that it's pretty certain he's going to live through the night, he also sits down heavily.  Gramma, Meryl and Millie are with him immediately.
Gramma- Grampa!
Grampa- I'm alright.  I just overdid it a little.

-138-
Grampa- He… ran away, didn't he.
Gramma- I don't know. …but he did take that "form" with him.
Grampa- Y'know, Gramma, I understand.  No matter what happens as a result, it's the road he's chosen. Let's leave it up to him.

-139-
he turns to the insurance girls, who have been watching patiently.
Grampa- There aren't words to express how thankful I am for your help.
Meryl- Uhm, it's no big deal, really.
Grampa- Oh, Miss Meryl.  It may have been rude of me, but I overheard your conversation a little while ago.  Having raised that rebellious boy, I don't know if I have a right to speak, but… people are different.  Even the bonds between parents and children aren't immune to that.  Instead of seeing it as a burden to overcome, look at as a far more simple, important thing…

-140-
Grampa- Choose your own path, and walk it with confidence.  But remember, life is connected with life. You have your own way to live, and through your bond with your parents, that brings life to them.

-141-
in the middle of nowhere, Badwick sits on his stopped motorcycle, glaring at the "form", trying to make a decision.
Badwick- //thinking// I don't know if it's the deed or what!
and who needs it? he grips both ends of the envelope and starts to rip it…
…but stops.

-142-
back in town, he stomps his way into a busy bank, handing the "form" over to a teller.

-143-
Teller- Yes. It's a land deed.
job done, Badwick turns to leave.
Badwick- Bye.
Teller- Ah!  Wait!  Wait sir!  Another slip of paper is included.  A Transfer of Ownership form.  In the 'recipient' blank, "Son: Badwick" is written.  Is that you?
it's a long moment before Badwick has any ability to respond. the reasons for a lot of things come clear in a second.  he has the decency to blush; in the end, not really a bad kid after all.
Badwick. Yessir.  That's me…

-144-
later, a peaceful morning is again shattered, Millie pounding her way through town at a dead run. however, it's not bullets or explosions or another Vash Incident that's making her run.  it's the bus.
Millie- Sempai!  Sempaaaaaii!!  We're not gonna make it!!!
Meryl- I'm sorry!!  It's my fault!  I stayed up too late…
ahah!!  she spots something on the side of the road.  a mailbox.  suitcase in tow, she trundles over and deposits a letter within, a satisfied smile on her face.
Millie- Sempaaaaaaii!!
Meryl- I'm coming! I'm coming!

-145-
Life is connected with life.  And at the head of it's flow… is Now.

River of Life/ END

back