Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ The Resurrection Of Nicholas D. Wolfwood ❯ Civilization At Last ( Chapter 3 )

The Resurrection Of Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Part Three: Civilization At Last

By Bekka Mouri

(Trigun doesn't belong to me and I am making no money from this so please don't sue. There's a tiny bit of porcelain god worship in this part but not in too much detail. Oh yeah, some girl talk and some spoilers I think.)

Wolfwood smiled when he reached what looked like a town and couldn't wait to get something to eat. He had reassessed his position by looking at the suns and discovered that he had not been going north at all but going east. Once he found out where he was, he would try to find Vash and the others. It had been three months since he had any kind of contact with them and didn't know where to look for Vash but he had a good idea where to start looking for the girls.

He pulled the Angelina II up to a hitching post in front of a saloon and shut it off. He dismounted, gathered up the cross from the back and went inside. Everyone inside stopped for a moment to look in his direction before they went back to what they were doing. (^o.o^ Kuroneko-sama moment!) Out of curiosity, he went to the wall where a row of wanted posters had been displayed as a black cat dashed past and the bartender chased it out of the bar.

He studied them through his sunglasses, reading the names to himself and didn't notice that someone veiled in shadows was watching him from across the room. Two-bit thieves with minor bounties were shown on the posters but no one Wolfwood knew. He frowned when he did not see the ever-present poster without a picture with the offer of sixty billion double dollars. He went to the bar and sat down.

" What'll it be, Mister Preacher? " The bartender asked in a tone that let Wolfwood know the man was bored out of his mind.

" Whisky, " Wolfwood said. He hadn't had a drink the entire time he was with Momma and wondered if he would even be able to tolerate it. The bartender placed a shot glass on the bar and filled it. Wolfwood took the glass and gulped it down; He grimaced and said, " Whoo! That's some strong stuff. "

" Not a drinking man, Mr. Preacher? " The bartender chuckled and went to fill the glass again but Wolfwood stopped him.

" That'll be enough for now, " Wolfwood said. " I have been away from the stuff for a few months. Well, I have been away from everything for a few months and it seems some stuff has changed. "

The bartender leaned down, " A lot can change in three months, Mr. Preacher. "

Wolfwood nodded, " Say, could you tell me what has been going on? "

" What's it worth to you? " The bartender smiled.

" Fifty double dollars to answer all my questions, " Wolfwood reached into his jacket and pulled out a crisp fifty double dollar bill. He had taken some of the money out of the box and put it in with his cigarettes in case he needed it when he stopped to stretch his legs during his journey.

The bartender took the money and tucked it into his pocket, " Ask away. "

**

Meryl Stryfe stared out the window from her desk at The Bernardelli Insurance Society and sighed. Things had been very quiet since Vash faced off against Knives and just about everyone welcomed the peace. A rumor had been perpetuated that Vash had totally disappeared and that resulted in the bounty being removed from his head. He had vanished but she knew was that it had been only two weeks since he had; she had gone to see him and Knives one day and discovered they were both gone.

She looked around for Milly. She was the only other person that knew Vash had been trying to live a normal life and was going to try to sway his brother's beliefs about humans. ~Where is that girl? I am surprised that she still has a job, ~ Meryl thought. ~I could have sworn she was up when I left the house… I hope she isn't sick again. ~

" Thompson! You're late! " The boss said as she walked in and Meryl looked over. Something wasn't right about Milly and it was obvious. She was little pale and looked like she had been sick already. She had been ill for a couple of weeks and Meryl had mentioned it to Vash because she was worried that maybe Milly had started grieving for Wolfwood again, making herself sick.

" I'm sorry, sir. I tried to get here on time but something came up, " Milly said and her eyes got wide. She placed a hand over her mouth and ran back out the door.

The boss looked at Meryl, " Stryfe! Go see what's wrong with Milly. "

Meryl scrambled to her feet and nodded, " Yes sir! " She said and dashed out the door. She went down the hall to the women's washroom and opened the door. It was strangely quiet for a moment and then she heard Milly's quiet sobs. " Milly? Is everything okay? Are you sick again? "

Milly gagged and sounded like she was throwing up. Meryl walked down the short row of stalls until she got to the end where Milly's feet were sticking out from under the unlocked door and she peeked in. " Milly? " Meryl said again.

" Meryl, " She whispered. " I don't know why I have been like this for days. Every morning I get sick. It goes away by after noon but it's getting through it that's hard. "

Meryl's eyes grew wide, " Milly. Have you been… well, you know… late? "

Milly looked up at her, " Yeah, everyday for the last two weeks. "

Meryl shook her head, " No late like that. Late like… well, you know what I mean... Your monthlies"

" My monthlies? " Milly blinked. " But I haven't had anything to write about since Mr. Vash fought his brother. "

Meryl got the urge to bang her head into the wall. Milly could be so dense sometimes it was frightening. She placed her hand over her eyes and shook her head. She didn't know why she was even asking Milly about that because as far as she knew, Milly was still… like her.

" My redheaded friend hasn't been around though, " Milly said. " It hasn't happened for three months now. I think I might be pregnant. "

Meryl's jaw dropped and she looked down at Milly. " What? Oh God, Milly! I thought you had made yourself sick thinking about… how did this happen? "

Milly looked up at Meryl, " Well, a man and a woman…"

" No! Of course I know how but I want to know… well, you know, how it happened to you. When were you alone with anyone long enough? " Meryl went cold as she started to think back. She had sent Milly to Wolfwood with some sandwiches when they were staying in Tonim Town. ~No way… They couldn't have… ~

Milly's eyes started to fill with tears and she grabbed a handful of paper. She wiped her eyes and nose before throwing it in the toilet. She sighed, " Help me up. "

" Are you going to be okay? " Meryl said, giving her a hand. Milly nearly pulled her to the floor as she stood to her feet and flushed the toilet.

" I think it has passed for now, " Milly looked down at Meryl. " For now anyway. "

Meryl nodded, " Who's the father? " Milly bit her lip as fresh tears started to form in her eyes. Meryl wiped them away and hugged her, wishing she hadn't asked the question even though she had to know. " It's Wolfwood, isn't it? "

" Yes, " Milly sobbed and hugged Meryl.

Meryl was just slightly shocked but she had suspected that would be the answer, " Milly, I never knew the two of you got that far. I thought that you two were just friends. I know you liked him a lot but… Oh Milly. "

" It happened so fast, Meryl. I never had a chance to tell you that it happened, " Milly sniffled. " I don't know what to do Meryl. I need someone to help me because I don't know the first thing about being pregnant. "

" It's okay, " Meryl said even though she was nearly being crushed. " I don't either but we can get through this together. I'm sure it won't be as tough as staying alive around Vash was. "

Milly hugged Meryl ever tighter, " Thank you! You're the best friend I have ever had, Meryl! "

" You're welcome, " Meryl croaked. " Please let me go now. "

Milly let Meryl go, " I'm sorry. "

" It's okay, " Meryl sighed. ~Just one more thing I have to worry about. ~

**

Wolfwood stared up at the ceiling as he tried to fall asleep but all of the things the bartender had told him were keeping him awake. Vash had vanished and the reward had been dropped because it seemed as though he disappeared from the planet totally. This could have meant that Knives had destroyed him but things were too calm for that to be true. Knives had it in for the whole human race and everyone would have been dead if he had his way, including Vash.

It was also possible that Vash had won and made himself disappear like he had when he was in Kasted City, living under an assumed name and identity after he destroyed Augusta. He decided that was true but that would make finding him extremely hard. From other things the bartender had said, Wolfwood assumed things had calmed down considerably and things were all around more peaceful. ~That's good news, ~ He thought.

Other things that the bartender had said really meant nothing to Wolfwood because all he wanted to know was what happened to Vash. He let the man ramble for a long time though so it was worth the fifty double dollars and because the whisky had kicked in, re-acquainting Wolfwood with being buzzed. He had made up his mind to find Meryl and Milly first because that would be much easier. He knew that they worked for The Bernardelli Insurance Society but he didn't know how many offices the company had all over the planet.

~Maybe I'll just find the main office and see what I can find out there, ~ He sighed and closed his eyes. His mind started to wander and he found himself pondering the events of earlier again. He thought over his entire stay with Momma and wondered why everything seemed so perfectly normal when the truth was… well, he didn't know what the truth was. Had they all been playing out some elaborate script until he was well?

He went over how Momma always seemed to know everything and how she told him that she didn't think God minded that she had listened to his confession. He had thought it was a little odd but he wasn't going to argue with someone who was caring for him free of charge even if she seemed a little nutty at first. If they had all been angels, why did Chance question Momma… was that also part of the elaborate play? The whole experience boggled his mind but he knew it happened.

Another thing that still boggled his mind was the fact that Legato's shots had been off even though he was so strong. Had Momma been there too and manipulated the trajectories somehow? He had realized that Chapel would have never shot him and wondered if he had fought so much, it threw the aim off. ~Never question a miracle, Nicholas, ~ He remembered Momma saying to him when he had gotten stuck on the subject when he was still there.

~She's right. It is better not to question it, ~ He rolled onto his side and fell asleep. (^o.o^ Kuroneko-sama moment!) As he drifted off, a large black cat with huge green eyes walked across his windowsill, stretched and yawned before lying down to go to sleep as well.

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