Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ The Resurrection Of Nicholas D. Wolfwood ❯ Back Into The World ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The Resurrection Of Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Part Two: Back Into The World

By Bekka Mouri

(I don't own Trigun and am not making any money from this so please don't sue me.)

Wolfwood sat in the loft of the barn, staring at his cigarettes and smiling. He had been with Momma and her orphans for two months and he was finally back to normal, which meant he was free to go. It had been a hard road but it didn't take as long as he thought it would before he was his old self again and ready to go find the others. Once he did that, he would make his way back to December and his orphans.

Eve had told him Momma had thrown his cigarettes away but she hadn't. She had left them with cloth that he assumed had once been his old clothes (but the seams had been split), his sunglasses and his cuff links. He figured she had used his old suit as a guide to make his new suits even though she ended up having to take them in just a bit at first because of the weight he had lost and let out again when he regained some of that weight. He felt like he had found a fat stack of money when he discovered the cigarettes and couldn't wait to smoke one.

He rummaged around in the box and found his matches. " Thank you, thank you, thank you! " He said and put a cigarette in his mouth. He struck the match on the side of the box and lit it. He inhaled and started to cough.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth as he continued to cough. ~Damn it! I haven't choked like this since I started smoking! ~ He thought. He waited a few moments and tried to take a smaller puff. He only coughed a little and decided he was just going to have to take it slow until he was used to smoking again.

" Mr. Wolfwood? " Eve called from below. " Are you in here? "

~Shit, ~ He stamped the cigarette out; made sure it was out and threw it back in the box. He grabbed his cuff links and started to put them on. " Up here, Eve. I was just looking for my cuff links. "

Eve climbed up the ladder and stopped. She sniffed the air and smirked, " You were a bad boy, weren't you? "

" Look kid, " Wolfwood looked at her, a little embarrassed that he had been caught smoking. " I am an adult and I can do what I want. You, on the other hand, are fourteen and therefore can't tell me what to do. "

" Momma said I could come out here and tell you to stop smoking so there! " Eve stuck her tongue out.

Wolfwood blinked, " How did she know? "

" Momma knows everything. She wants you to come down to the house and see her. If I were you, I'd hurry, " Eve said and jumped from the ladder. She landed on the ground and walked out, humming a song that sounded very familiar to Wolfwood but he couldn't place it.

Wolfwood sighed as he reopened the box and took the cigarettes out. He placed them and the matches inside his jacket and stood up. He looked around and wondered why Momma seemed to know everything. ~I wonder what she wants now anyway? ~ He thought and climbed down the ladder.

He stepped out of the barn and a wind ruffled his now shoulder length hair. It was quite a bit longer than he liked it but there hadn't been much he could do about it. He went to the front of the house and Momma stood next to a chair draped with a sheet. Next to it was a table with a bowl and a pair of scissors.

Momma smiled when saw him, " Come here. I refuse to send you back out into the world looking like that. "

" Are you going to cut my hair? " Wolfwood said, smiling. " I was just starting to get use to it being like this. "

" No you weren't. You don't like it and I can tell. "

" I can't lie to you, Momma, " Wolfwood shook his head and sat down in the chair after she removed the sheet. She had never revealed her real name to him but he didn't mind calling her Momma. He had lost his own parents too soon and she acted a little like how he had remembered his mother… what little he remembered of her anyway.

" No. It is rather impossible, " She sighed and tied the sheet around his shoulders. She was silent as she carefully trimmed his hair, making it look like it did when she rescued him, not too short but not too long. When she finished, she held up a mirror so he could see how he looked.

" Oh, hello Nicholas, " Wolfwood said, a hint of humor in his voice. It had been a while since he had seen himself the way he had been. He fingered his chin whiskers and smiled. " Dashing as ever I see. "

Momma snorted a little laugh, " Quit acting silly. It will make this harder than it already is. "

" Hm? " Wolfwood turned to face her after she untied the sheet and shook it out.

" Letting you go is going to be hard, " Momma rolled the sheet up and held it to her. She looked him in the eyes, " He would be your age now you know. "

" Your son? " Wolfwood asked, puzzled.

" You have to leave, " Momma stepped away. " You need to go find your friends and start living again. "

" I know but I can stay for another day or two to give the kids a chance to say goodbye, " Wolfwood said. There was a total of seven kids in the house, the oldest being Eve and her twin brother Adam. The younger ones, including Chance, had warmed up to Wolfwood and he thought they would eventually grow up to be good people.

" You have to go today. Our time together is up because my work here is done, " Momma narrowed her eyes and a tear slipped down her cheek. Wolfwood watched it and realized it wasn't a regular tear but looked more like liquid silver.

" What do you mean? " Wolfwood stood up and tried to grab Momma up in a hug but she stepped back.

" Please don't do that, " Momma shook her head. " I still have one more gift to give to you. Come with me. "

Wolfwood followed Momma after she turned on her heel and walked towards the back porch of the house. There was a shed behind the house and she went down the steps towards it. She turned and motioned for him to come closer. Wolfwood walked to her, " What's going on? "

" Open the shed, Nicholas, " Momma pointed to the doors.

Wolfwood looked at her then looked at the shed. He walked to the doors and opened them. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes fell upon a perfect Angelina II motorcycle, the chrome and perfect black paint job shining under the limited amount of light that slipped through the slats of the rickety shed's roof. It looked like it had never been ridden and he turned to face Momma.

" This bike, " He said. " It looks perfect. "

" Of course it does, don't be silly. Did you see the other gift? " She asked.

" My other gift? " He looked back into the shed and saw the faint outline of a large cross towards the back. It was wrapped in cloth and the cloth was secured with a black strap. " But how? "

" It's not the original but I figured you would need something in case you got into a tight spot. The arms are loaded with handguns and the base has a shotgun. I am sure Mr. Vash taught you how to use guns without hurting anyone, " Momma said.

" Needle noggin taught me a lot, Momma," Wolfwood nodded. He looked at the cross again, " It's not gun itself though? "

" No, just a case for them. Now, you have to get going. There are people who need you " Momma sniffled. " Also, I think there's a young lady who misses you dearly and she needs you to get to her as soon as you can. "

Wolfwood turned to look at Momma, " Momma… "

" Get going! Our time here grows short and you need to leave us, " Momma pulled out the keys for the bike from her pants pocket and dropped them on the ground. Wolfwood wanted to ask her what she was talking about but she pushed him towards the shed. " Go. I have to go back to the children. "

" Momma! Wait! " He called after her after she took off running for the house. He sighed when she ran inside and slammed the back door. He picked up the keys before he went into the back of the shed and walked to the cross. He picked it up and discovered a small box behind it.

" What's this? " He muttered and picked it up. He opened it and found it was full of money. He shook his head, " Momma… you didn't have to. "

" Take it Nicholas, " Her voice said in his head and he turned to see if she had come back out but she hadn't. He was hearing things he decided and he looked towards the cross. He patted it down and unwrapped it. It seemed to be made of wood and he figured there had to be some place hollow. He found a compartment where the sections of the cross came together and the box was a perfect fit.

~I'll be damned. How handy, ~ He thought and strapped the cross to the back of the bike after he rewrapped it. He then mounted the bike, placed the key in the ignition and it started up nicely. He squeezed the gas as he held the brake and it roared. He could tell it was in fine condition just by the way it sounded.

He kicked the stand into place and released the brake as he walked it out of the shed. He looked out across the horizon and plotted his course. He would just have to ride until he found a town so he could get his bearings. When Eve told him where he was at, she didn't mention any directions, just the mileage between LR, Tonim Town and where he was at now.

He pulled his sunglasses from inside his jacket and put them on. He smiled and squeezed the gas. He felt alive again as the speed started to build and couldn't wait to see civilization again. He would have to get caught up on everything that had happened in the past three months because he had been isolated for so long.

He wished he had some way to thank her for what she did but didn't have any means to do so. He angled the Angelina around so he could stop and give the small house one last look but ended up stopping a lot quicker than he had wanted to and engaged the kickstand. He took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things. Where the house had been was nothing as if the house had just vanished into thin air and Wolfwood froze, scanning the horizon frantically.

~Hey, breathe a little. You're turning blue, ~ Momma's voice echoed in his head and a shadow passed in front of the suns. He looked up and saw seven small dots flying upward. He lifted his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes but the dots were gone when he looked up again.

He didn't know what to think so he just sat there for a long moment. He felt something land softly on the top of his head and he reached up to get it. He brought his hand down, staring a silver feather that was too big to come from any bird. He looked to the sky one more time before he tucked the feather inside of his jacket and whispered, " Thank you, Momma. "

He felt hands on his shoulders and turned, finding himself face to face with someone who looked like Momma but she was many years younger... and much more familiar. The wrinkles had vanished and she had a glow about her that was probably the result of the twin suns shining on her pure silver wings. " Don't thank me. I was on a mission from him. Take care of yourself, Nicholas. "

Wolfwood's eyes grew wide as Momma kissed his forehead and he realized just exactly who she could have been. She ran her hand along his jaw one last time and vanished in a flash of light brighter than the suns overhead. He shielded his eyes until the light had passed and found she had gone when he looked again. He looked around for her but didn't see her and he turned his eyes skyward, smiling.

" Well, I'll be damned. You did hear me. Thanks and I promise not to disappoint you ever again, " He said. He kicked the stand back up and fed the engine gas as he maneuvered the bike where he thought north was. He didn't know why he chose that direction but he felt it was the way he needed to go.

http://www.geocities.com/bekka_mouri/trondw03.html