03 Bright Light, Shine Through the Darkness

Airdate: January 21, 2023
Source: Crunchyroll
Transcribers: Versaphile and deludedfantasy

Transcript cleanup in progress.

Table of Contents

Summary

Vash, the town of Jeneora Rock, and the Nebraskas reach a three-way truce, but their brief moment of peace is shattered by yet another assailant. He seems to be after the plant as well, but something more sinister seems to be at play. (TVDB)

Sandstorm Warning

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Millions Knives leaves a trail of footprints in the sand as he walks towards Jeneora Rock.
Radio Host: And now, the weather for the seven cities. Strong air currents have enlarged the large sandstorm that formed in the center of the continent. It’s expected to reach the west soon. Residents in the area are advised to take shelter.	Radio Host: Looking at the forecast for the seven cities. The sandstorm brewing in the center of our continent has been intensified by a pocket of strong air currents and is expected to reach the west soon. Residents in this region are advised to take shelter immediately.

E. G. Bomber

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(Meryl Stryfe and the people of Jeneora Rock scatter in a panic outside the diner. Vash the Stampede stands in the center trying to direct them and Nebraska is next to him.)

Radio Host: If you live in a western city…

Vash the Stampede: Get to the main street! Hurry!

Nebraska: My boy, where are you?

Vash the Stampede: Move!

(Vash the Stampede grabs Nebraska and pulls him away.)

Nebraska: Gosef! Gosef!

(Two soldiers stands in a doorway looking out at the panicked crowd of people running through the town)

Radio Host: Given the conditions, it’s likely to continue into the late afternoon…

Soldier 3-A: Now what?

Radio Host: …take cover and prepare accordingly.

(Vash the Stampede, Meryl Stryfe, Roberto De Niro, Rosa and Tonis stop in the street after running away from the diner, all of them panting. Nebraska sinks to his knees. A soldier approaches them.)

Nebraska: Gone. Poor lad ran for the hills to protect us. That sweet soul!

(Nebraska beats his fist against the ground in anguish. More bombs crawl out of gaps in the ground, attaching themselves to Nebraska, the soldier, Meryl Stryfe and Roberto De Niro.)

Meryl Stryfe: Company!

(Rosa runs over to help Meryl.)

Rosa: Lemme get that!

Roberto De Niro: Don’t go pressing buttons. They’re bombs.

Soldier 3-B: They’re bombs?

(Tonis tries to outrun a bomb, but it attaches itself to his back. As it plunges into his back, he trips and falls face down.)

Tonis: Mama!

Rosa: Tonis!

(Vash the Stampede runs over to Tonis and tries to pull the bomb off.)

Vash the Stampede: I’ve got ya!

(Soldier 3-B walks over, one of the bombs attached to him turning red. Vash the Stampede tries to yank the red bomb off him.)

Vash the Stampede: Aw jeez, it’s stuck!

Roberto De Niro: Keep your hands off it! This design means it must be the work of that E.G. Bomber guy. Dismantling these damn things would take a pro.

(All the bombs attached to Soldier 3-B turn red. He pushes past Vash the Stampede and runs clear of anywhere there are people.)

Soldier 3-B: Stay back! Save this town! Promise me!

(Offscreen, the bombs detonate and Soldier 3-B screams as Vash the Stampede watches. His blood splashes on Vash the Stampede’s face and he wipes it away before turning back to everyone else.)

Vash the Stampede: Who’s this E.G. Bomber?

Roberto De Niro: His real name is Ethan Gilbert Hamilton. Apparently, taking lives is easy for this sicko. But he couldn’t just call himself “easy bomber,” had to add his stupid autograph.

Meryl Stryfe: And why would he target this town?

Roberto De Niro: Beats me.

Rosa: So what are we supposed to do?

Roberto De Niro: We’re gonna have to find the bomber himself. If these things can be disabled, he’ll know how.

Vash the Stampede: I can capture this guy for you. In the meantime, keep your spirits up.

Rosa: We’ll try.

Meryl Stryfe: Where is he?

Roberto De Niro: I’ve found that freaks like him get off at seeing the fruits of their labor.

Vash the Stampede: So, he must be somewhere with a good view.

(Vash the Stampede surveys their surroundings and catches sight of someone up high on a cliff. It’s E.G. He loads a bullet into his gun and fires at him, but misses. E.G. scampers down the cliff, giggling madly and the group gives chase.)

Nebraska: Say bye-bye, boomie!

Townsman A: Yeah!

Vash	To the main street! Hurry!
Nebraska	Gofsef! Where are you?!
Vash	Hurry! This way!
Nebraska	Gofsef!
Radio Host	There is risk of widespread plant disruption through the late afternoon.
Soldier 3-A	What’s going on?!
Radio Host	Please prepare as best you can!
Nebraska	He ran outside to make sure nobody else got hurt…
Meryl	There are more of those things!
Rosa	Meryl!
Roberto	They’re bombs! Be careful! Damn it!
Soldier 3-B	Bombs?!
Rosa	Tonis!
Vash	I’m here to help!
Vash	Damn! It won’t come off!
Roberto	Don’t mess with it!
Roberto	This design… It’s gotta be the work of E. G. Bomber.
Roberto	An amateur won’t be able to dismantle it.
Soldier 3-B	Get back!
Soldier 3-B	Please! Save the town!
Vash	E. G. Bomber?
Roberto	His real name is Ethan Gilbert Hamilton.
Roberto	He takes lives so easily that he earned himself the nickname “Easy Bomber.”
Roberto	Worst bomb maniac ever.
Meryl	What does he want with this town?
Roberto	Who knows?
Rosa	How do we survive?
Roberto	We’ll have to ask the bomber himself how to disable these.
Roberto	Assuming there is a way.
Vash	Then I’ll find him and capture him.
Vash	At any rate, don’t lose heart.
Rosa	Vash…
Meryl	But where is he?
Roberto	His type likes to watch their “work” play out.
Vash	A place with a good view of the area…
Nebraska	There he is! Get him!
Main	Hurry!

E. G. Mine

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(Nebraska, Vash the Stampede, and some townspeople run out of Jeneora Rock and onto the desert sands. The ground explodes beneath some of the townspeople, killing them.)

Nebraska: Mines too?

E.G.: More mines than you could comprehend, little man.

(E.G. sits nearby on a sand dune. He waves an admonishing finger at them.)

E.G.: Tsk, tsk, tsk. The man who once bore that name is no more. Thanks to a special someone, I have been born anew.

(The ground trembles beneath E.G. Bomber and a cage-like machine, almost like a bear trap, opens underneath him. He climbs into the seat in the middle, light flashing across his goggles.)

E.G.: E.G. the Mine. That name’s much more fitting, wouldn’t you agree?

(Vash the Stampede gasps.)

E.G.: Now, then. I heard that you fine folks have a treasure for me?

Title: TRIGUN STAMPEDE

(The machine closes around E.G., turning into a giant wheel. He drives it toward Vash the Stampede and Nebraska. Vash the Stampede grabs Nebraska and jumps out of the way.)

Vash the Stampede: He’s after the plant!

(E.G. heads into Jeneora Rock and Vash the Stampede runs after him. He drops bombs behind him as he goes which Vash the Stampede dodges. Arrows overlay his vision, a program leading him up the stairs to the plant room.)

E.G.: Bingo, baby!

(Vash the Stampede attempts to follow him up the stairs but is blown back by the blast of a bomb E.G. drops behind him. Meryl Strfye comes running after Vash the Stampede.)

Meryl Strfye: You okay?

(Vash the Stampede doesn’t answer and stands up, going after E.G. the Mine again.)

Meryl Strfye: Hey!

Roberto De Niro: Now it’s clicking. After a few short hours hanging around this fool you’re already swept up, up and away into the typhoon. Damn good nickname.

Meryl Stryfe: What do you mean by that?

(The sound of a bomb beeping interrupts them. Roberto De Niro raises his hands and steps back.)

Roberto De Niro: Whoa, whoa. Stay away.

(Roberto De Niro turns around to reveal that the bomb on his back has turned red and is ready to blow at any second.)

Roberto De Niro: Unless suicide with a drunk sounds like a grand ol’ time to you.

Meryl Strfye: Okay, blowing up is not sui…cide. There’s an idea!

Nebraska	Land mines?!
E. G.	This whole town is full of my creations.
Vash	E. G. Bomber?
E. G.	I no longer go by that.
E. G.	Thanks to someone, I’ve been reborn.
E. G.	E. G. the Mine… That’s my new name!
E. G.	Now then, where’s the treasure?
E. G.	Now then, where’s the treasure?
Vash	He’s after the plant, too!
E. G.	That must be it.
Meryl	Vash!
Roberto	I get it now.
Roberto	The moment you get involved with him, you get swept into trouble.
Roberto	The Humanoid Typhoon’s a fitting name.
Meryl	What do you mean by that?
Roberto	Whoa there. Stay back.
Roberto	Unless your idea of a good time is suicide with a drunk.
Meryl	This is no time for your trademark cynicism…
Meryl	Suicide?
Meryl	That’s it!

Stealing To Kill

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(A soldier from Jeneora Rock rides away from the town on a toma, the city rising up behind him. He spots someone approaching and comes to a stop. The figure of Millions Knives is reflected in his glasses.)

Soldier 3-C: Turn around! There’s bombs all over the place! Hey, you!

Title card: Bright Light, Shine Through the Darkness

(Panting, Vash the Stampede runs into the plant room. He hears a shout and rushes up the stairs to the main platform. Meanwhile, back in town, the bomb on Tonis’s back beeps and turns red.)

Rosa: You don’t need to worry, okay? Mr. Vash is gonna save us.

(Vash the Stampede runs up onto the main platform just as E.G. is leaving, the plant loaded into his contraption.)

E.G.: Well, well.

Vash the Stampede: Disable the bombs!

(E.G. shoots two bombs at Vash the Stampede and he shoots them out of the air, creating a smoke screen.)

Vash the Stampede: Real original idea, buddy!

(Vash the Stampede jumps through the smoke screen, surprising E.G., and grabbing hold of the cage E.G. is sitting in. Laughing maniacally, E.G. jerks him around, rolling down the stairs and out of the plant room.)

Vash the Stampede: You already have the plant, so your business here is done! Now tell me how to shut off all the bombs!

E.G.: You don’t get it, do you? I’m not killing for a chance to steal! I’m stealing for a chance to kill!

(E.G. laughs maniacally as they roll past the diner, nearly running over Meryl Strfye and Roberto De Niro. Roberto De Niro jumps onto Meryl Stryfe, pushing both of them out of the way.)

E.G.: Now scream for me!

(E.G.’s laugh suddenly cuts off when he notices Vash the Stampede pointing his gun directly at his head.)

Vash the Stampede: That’s enough.

E.G.: Damn!

Soldier 3-C	Stay back!
Soldier 3-C	The town’s covered in explosives!
Soldier 3-C	You there!
Title	#03 Bright Light, Shine through the Darkness
Rosa	Don’t worry. Vash will take care of it.
E. G.	So you’re here.
Vash	Disable the bombs.
Vash	You can’t get me with the same old trick!
Vash	If it’s the plant that you want, then your business here is done!
Vash	Disable the bombs now!
E. G.	You don’t get it, do you?
E. G.	I’m not killing to steal…
E. G.	I’m stealing to kill!
E. G.	Now suffer!
Vash	Enough.

Red Button

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(E.G.’s contraption hits a railing and goes flying out of control, landing in a patch of sand.)

Meryl Stryfe: We’re coming!

(E.G. climbs out of the piloting cage and collapses to the sand before staggering forward. Vash the Stampede lies prone on the ground and E.G. picks up Vash the Stampede’s gun from where it fell and points it at him.)

E.G.: Tragic fall from Humanoid Typhoon to Humanoid Puddle!

Roberto De Niro: E.G. the Bomber!

E.G.: It’s E.G. the Mine! Get it right!

(Roberto De Niro rushes E.G. Meryl Strfye jumps out from behind Roberto De Niro and uses the flash of her camera to momentarily blind E.G. Roberto De Niro grabs E.G. around the waist and Meryl Stryfe grabs him by the arm. The bombs on both their backs are red.)

E.G.: Hands off! I’ll detonate your ass!

Roberto De Niro: Tell us how to shut them off, or else.

Meryl Stryfe: Yeah, if we die, then you die too!

E.G.: Off me! Now!

(E.G. attempts to push Meryl away and is stopped by Vash the Stampede who grabs his other arm and puts him in a chokehold.)

Vash the Stampede: Tell us! Out with it!

E.G.: The red button on my back! Hurry up! Push it already!

E. G.	Damn!
Meryl	Vash!
E. G.	I beat the one and only Vash the Stampede!
Roberto	E. G. Bomber!
E. G.	I told you it’s the Mine !
E. G.	You! Wh-What the‚Äî
Roberto	Tell us how to disable the bombs! Or else…
Meryl	We’ll all die together!
E. G.	Damn you!
E. G.	Get off!
Vash	Spit it out!
Vash	Talk!
E. G.	The red button on my back!
E. G.	Push it! Push it already!
Townsfolk 3-A	We’re saved! We’re saved!
Townsfolk 3-B	Are you all right? Is anyone injured?

Revenge

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(Vash the Stampede uncovers the red button on E.G.’s back and pushes it. The bombs on everyone’s backs turn blue and fall off. Everyone sighs in relief. E.G. collapses to the ground, dropping Vash the Stampede’s gun. As Roberto De Niro ties E.G.’s hands behind his back, Vash the Stampede takes back his gun and holsters it. Nebraska points his rocket launcher at E.G.)

Nebraska: You killed my beloved boy!

(Vash the Stampede steps in front of E.G. and blocks Nebraska’s shot.)

Vash the Stampede: Please don’t, Nebraska.

Nebraska: Get out of my way! You would dare to protect this maniac?

Vash the Stampede: Revenge is pointless, trust me.

Nebraska: Who the hell’s side are you on, anyway?

(Everyone gasps, suddenly distracted by something else. Vash the Stampede’s eyes widen. Suddenly, piano music cuts through the air. In the diner, Millions Knives sits at the piano and plays.)

Vash the Stampede: He’s here. Don’t just stand there! Get out of town! Hurry!

(With his hands still tied behind him, E.G. headbutts Roberto De Niro, breaking his hold on him, and makes a run for it. Nebraska raises his rocket launcher again.)

Nebraska: You’re mine!

(Nebraska fires but E.G. dodges the shot and the rocket sends up a huge dust cloud when it hits. E.G. disappears into it.)

E.G.: Whoopsies! Nice shot!

(Vash the Stampede gestures emphatically at the group of townspeople gathered around him.)

Vash the Stampede: What are you doing? Run!

Roberto De Niro: Aye, aye, cap!

Meryl Strfye: He got away!

Roberto De Niro: Just run, newbie!

(Meryl Strfye and Roberto De Niro run away from the town while Vash the Stampede races into the dust cloud following E.G. and the sound of the piano music.)

Meryl Stryfe: You heard him!

Nebraska	You killed my son!
Vash	No, Nebraska.
Nebraska	Out of my way, Vash!
Nebraska	You’d protect this scoundrel?!
Vash	There’s no point in revenge.
Nebraska	Whose side are you on?!
Vash	Run…
Meryl	Huh?
Vash	Everyone, run! Get outside of town!
Nebraska	You’re not getting away!
E. G.	Whoopsies!
E. G.	You suck!
Vash	Hurry! Get outta here!
Roberto	Let’s beat it!
Meryl	What about the Bomber?
Roberto	Not now! Run!
Meryl	Hurry, everyone!

It Belongs To Us

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(Back in the town, E.G. runs up the stairs, giggling maniacally.)

E.G.: He’s finally here!

(E.G. runs through the doors to the diner and stops before Millions Knives who is playing the piano.)

E.G.: Master, you grace me with your presence!

(E.G. manic laughs are cut off. A wave of blood bursts through the diner’s doors. His severed arms, still tied together, hang from the top of the door frame. Through the swinging doors, his armless body can be seen.)

E.G.: Your power is immense, Master Knives.

(E.G.’s armless body gushes blood and he collapses to the floor. Millions Knives still sits at the piano though he is no longer playing.)

Millions Knives: Have you ever wondered what it’s like to speak with a god?

(Millions Knives closes the lid of the piano. Vash the Stampede stands in the doorway, pointing his gun at Millions Knives.)

Millions Knives: Vash, it’s been so long. I see you’re still lugging around that gun.

Vash the Stampede: Why are you here? For the plant or…?

Millions Knives: I’m taking it back. It belongs to me, or rather, it belongs to us.

Vash the Stampede: I won’t let you! That would be a death sentence for the entire town!

(Millions Knives laughs.)

Millions Knives: You won’t let me? Whose side are you on? It must feel nice. Stunning the masses with your tricks, collecting their cries of adoration. Does their praise cure it? The loneliness?

Vash the Stampede: Listen to yourself! All these years and you’re exactly the same!

(Millions Knives approaches Vash the Stampede, walking barefoot across the bloody floor.)

Millions Knives: How amusing. I was thinking the same of you.

(Millions Knives touches the barrel of Vash the Stampede’s gun with a single finger. A silvery blue energy erupts from his hands, going through the gun and causing cracks to form. Suddenly, Child Vash the Stampede floats in an empty blue landscape, still holding his gun.)

Millions Knives: You can’t even control your gate yet?

Child Vash the Stampede: Nai! Nai!

(Through silvery blue cracks in the air, Child Vash the Stampede can be seen turning in circles while Vash the Stampede stands frozen in place, his gun lowered.)

Millions Knives: So long, Vash.

E. G.	It’s him!
E. G.	You grace me with your presence!
E. G.	Master… Knives…
Knives	Have you ever desired to converse with a god…
Knives	Vash?
Knives	It’s been so long.
Knives	I see you still have that gun.
Vash	Why are you here?
Vash	Is it the plant?
Knives	I’m taking it back. It belongs to me.
Knives	Or rather…
Knives	It belongs to us.
Vash	I won’t let you take it.
Vash	It’s what’s keeping the people of this town alive!
Knives	You won’t let me? Who’s side are you on?
Knives	It must feel so nice.
Knives	All those flashy moves to save those people, earning their thanks…
Knives	A cure for your loneliness.
Vash	You haven’t changed at all!
Knives	The same…
Knives	could be said of you.
Knives	You can’t even control your gate yet?
Young Vash	Nai?
Young Vash	Nai?!
Knives	Goodbye, Vash.

Plant Capture

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(Millions Knives leaves the diner. Outside, Nebraska runs up the stairs panting, holding his rocket launcher. He sees Millions Knives walking up the stairs.)

Nebraska: Are you bomb boy’s big boss? Die!

(Nebraska fires his rocket launcher and it hits Millions Knives in the back. Back in the diner, Vash the Stampede comes out of Millions Knives’s hold and brings his gun up to shoot, his eyes widening when he realizes there’s no one there.)

Vash the Stampede: Nai? Oh no.

(Vash the Stampede runs out of the diner. Nebraska chases Millions Knives through Jeneora Rock now armed with a handgun.)

Nebraska: Come out, come out, big cheese. Huh?

(Standing on the stairs, he turns in circles. Millions Knives appears behind him and Nebraska freezes. Vash the Stampede appears at the bottom of the stairs.)

Vash the Stampede: Run, Nebraska!

(Nebraska turns around to shoot and Millions Knives cuts off his arm with his knives. The severed arm lands next to Vash the Stampede. Nebraska topples down the stairs and lands at Vash the Stampede’s feet. Vash the Stampede tries to stem the bleeding.)

Vash the Stampede: You’re okay. We need help! Hang in there. Stop this, Nai! Stop this!

(Millions Knives continues walking up the stairs and is obscured by a cloud of smoke at the top. A car races towards Jeneora Rock. It brakes and the back hatch opens, Gray the Ninelives jumping out in front of the shocked townspeople. William Conrad, holding Elendira the Crimsonnails’s hand, walks out behind him.)

William Conrad: Up ahead.

(Millions Knives walks up the stairs to the plant room. His bare feet are covered in blood. A group of three women, led by Rosa, armed with semi automatic rifles block his way.)

Rosa: You aren’t gettin’ any closer! I’ll shoot, ya hear!

(Gray the Ninelives climbs over the railing at the edge of the platform. In his hand stand William Conrad and Elendira the Crimsonnail.)

William Conrad: Step aside. The odds are not in your favor, ma’am.

Millions Knives: Doctor. You decided to show up. Recover that which is mine. I’ll take care of this.

(Millions Knives glides up the stairs towards the women as they open fire on him.)

Rosa: We’ll “take care” of you!

(As the women pant in exertion, a cloud of gunsmoke obscures Millions Knives’s figure. A chain of Millions Knives’s blades lassos the leg of the woman on the right and drags her screaming into the smoke cloud. Her screams cut off in a burst of blood. Another chain of blades grabs the second woman around the throat and drags her away. Rosa catches her by the arm and attempts to pull her back.)

Townswoman A: Rosa!

(More chains descend on Townswoman A, surrounding her, and then slicing her to pieces, leaving Rosa holding a dismembered arm. Rosa falls to the ground, gasping, and drops the arm. Knives chains snake out from his body towards the building where the plant is kept.)

Millions Knives: There you are.

(More chains unfold from Millions Knives’s cloak, leaving him naked from the waist up. Four chains spear the building as he ascends the stairs. Rosa tries to scramble back away from him. Millions Knives jumps into the air, supported by his chains as his cloak reforms around him. He slices a neat circle into the top of the building and takes off the roof like a lid. He uses his chains to wrap around the red plant bulb and lift it out of the building. Vash the Stampede runs onto the platform to confront him and points his gun at Millions Knives.)

Vash the Stampede: Nai! Come here and talk to me! Put the plant down!

Millions Knives: You’ll have to choose a side at some point, you know.

(Meryl Stryfe and Roberto De Niro cling to the side of a large pipe that runs down the shear walls of Jeneora Rock. They carefully edge their way down.)

Meryl Stryfe: Are you sure we’re going the right way?

Roberto De Niro: Focus on climbing. Don’t wanna fall by dying, newbie.

Meryl Stryfe: Great, so no. You’re totally lost, aren’t you?

(Meryl Stryfe pauses in her climb when she notices Tonis cowering on a cliff ledge holding his worm catching net.)

Meryl Stryfe: Tonis, whatcha doing here?

Tonis: Mama said to hide out for awhile.

Meryl Stryfe: So she’s still in here.

(Rocks and debris fall from above them.)

Meryl Stryfe: Uh-oh.

(A blue light flickers over Vash the Stampede’s gun.)

Vash the Stampede: How could you?

Millions Knives: Because I’m still me. And you’re still living off empty words.

Vash the Stampede: Quiet!

(Millions Knives’s chains suddenly tighten around the plant bulb with a loud clang.)

Millions Knives: Just stand back and watch. Watch them all perish.

(Vash the Stampede rushes forward and fires a shot at Millions Knives. It pings harmlessly off his blades but leaves behind a small smoking black crater.)

Vash the Stampede: Chance number two. Put the plant down!

Millions Knives: You would shoot me? Your own big brother?

(Millions Knives laughs. The cape of his hood transforms into chains of blades that wrap around him. Vash the Stampede fires another bullet and Millions Knives creates a tornado of chains around him to deflect it. Vash the Stampede reloads and fires multiple shots, and again, Millions Knives uses his chains to deflect them. The chains separate into individual blades that form concentric circles around Millions Knives as he laughs and lifts his arm. The circles of blades rise high up into the air, looming over Jeneora Rock.)

Millions Knives; Long ago, God rained fire onto the city of fools. Destruction was a small price to pay for their depravity.

Vash the Stampede: Don’t, Nai.

Millions Knives: God cleansed what man had sullied, just as I will now. This world will be a blank slate.

(The circles of blades form a large disk. Millions Knives raises it higher and higher, until it becomes clear what he means to do.)

Vash the Stampede: The city…Rosa, you’ve gotta get outta here!

(Millions Knives disk of blades comes down on the large boulder that overshadows the city and begins shredding it. Below, Gray the Ninelives, with Elendira the Crimsonnail riding on his back, rushes away from the town holding the other plant.)

Elendira the Crimsonnail: Quickly, now.

(Millions Knives surrounds the boulder with his blades and slices it into neat sections. Vash the Stampede helps Rosa up and pulls her away while Millions Knives laughs maniacally behind him. The pieces of the boulder come apart and rain down on the town. Millions Knives turns away and disappears into a cloud of dust with the plant. Holding Rosa’s hand, Vash the Stampede runs through the dust cloud and falling debris.)

Vash the Stampede: Why? How could he?

(On the ground, the doors of William Conrad’s truck close on the stolen plants. William Conrad and Elendira the Crimsonnail climb inside and drive away while Jeneora Rock burns away and falls apart behind them. On the cliffside, Meryl Stryfe clutches Tonis close to herself, but the rock beneath him gives way and he falls with a scream. Roberto De Niro holds her back as she reaches for the boy.)

Meryl Stryfe: Tonis, no!

(Vash the Stampede runs through the town as it falls apart.)

Vash the Stampede: Why here? Why now? Why do it, Nai? Why?!

(As William Conrad’s truck drives away from Jeneora Rock, the town crumbles behind them, a giant black cloud engulfing the town as it is destroyed.)

Nebraska	Are you the boss?!
Nebraska	Take this!
Vash	Nai?
Vash	Damn!
Nebraska	Where’d he go?!
Vash	Run, Nebraska!
Vash	Someone, Nebraska needs help!
Vash	Don’t die on me.
Vash	Stop, Nai!
Vash	Stop!
Conrad	There.
Rosa	You’re not taking our plant!
Rosa	Do you hear me?!
Conrad	You should step aside.
Conrad	You have no chance in a fight.
Knives	Oh, you decided to show up, Doctor.
Knives	Good timing. Go and recover the other one.
Knives	I’ll handle this.
Rosa	Not on my watch!
Woman 2-A	Rosa!
Knives	Here you are…
Vash	Nai!
Vash	Get away from there!
Vash	Put the plant down!
Knives	Whose side are you on?
Meryl	Are you sure it’s this way?
Roberto	Don’t lose your step. I don’t want to die in a splat.
Meryl	Like I said, this is no time for your‚Äî
Meryl	Tonis? What are you doing here?
Tonis	Mom said to hide…
Meryl	So she’s still in town.
Meryl	Is that…
Vash	The plant…
Knives	You never change.
Knives	Still a daydreamer full of empty words.
Vash	Stop!
Knives	Just stand back and watch.
Knives	Watch them all perish.
Vash	I’ll say it again… Put the plant down!
Knives	You’d shoot me?
Knives	Your own big brother?
Knives	In the past, God rained fire from the sky,
Knives	destroying the city of depraved fools.
Vash	Don’t do it…
Knives	To fix the world once and for all,
Knives	I’m moving ahead.
Knives	To bring everything back to even.
Vash	The whole town?
Vash	Rosa, run!
Elendira	Hurry.
Vash	Hurry!
Vash	Why, Nai?!
Meryl	Tonis!
Vash	Why… Why?!
Vash	Why, Nai?!

Get Out Of This Town

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(Roberto De Niro grunts as he helps Meryl Stryfe out from between the debris she’s stuck under. They’re both dusty and dirty.)

Roberto De Niro: Hey, you’re tougher than I thought. You might look like total hell, but you’re a lucky one. Congrats, if you wanna be a good journalist, dumb luck is a necessity.

(Meryl Stryfe coughs as Roberto De Niro talks. She gasps when she catches sight of Vash the Stampede, Rosa, and Tonis in the distance. She runs across the field of debris towards them.)

Meryl Stryfe: Hey, Vash! Rosa!

(She comes to a stop beside Vash the Stampede and her face falls. Townspeople are in various states of injury and despair around her, people sobbing in pain and over the dead bodies of loved ones. A bloody and bandaged Gosef sits next to an equally bloody and bandaged Nebraska who is missing his left arm. Rosa kneels on the ground, cadling Tonis in her arms. He’s missing his left arm.)

Meryl Stryfe: Poor little guy.

Rosa: They took everything. Our plant, our people, our town. Our luck’s run out.

(As Rosa speaks, she doesn’t look up.)

Vash the Stampede: Rosa…

Rosa: He’s your brother, right? You share blood with that monster?

(Vash the Stampede gasps quietly.)

Vash the Stampede: I promise, I’m gonna bring that plant back to you! Whatever it takes, I’ll do it!

Rosa: Get outta my sight. And get the hell outta my town. If you hadn’t stumbled your way into the diner, this disaster never would’ve happened. You would be wise not to show your face here again, Humanoid Typhoon.

(Vash sighs and lifts his bag, dusting it off before slinging it over his shoulder and walking away. Meryl Stryfe gasps while Roberto De Niro settles himself on a rock to watch them. Panting and stumbling, Meryl Stryfe runs after Vash the Stampede.)

Meryl Stryfe: Hey, Vash. Vash! Wait up! Come on!

(Vash the Stampede sees something in the sand and stops, dropping his bag. At his feet is Tonis’s worm cage. The worms inside glow a bright green. Behind him, Meryl Stryfe comes to a stop and watches him. The worms from the cage fly past her up into the night sky.)

Meryl Stryfe: Are you okay? That was a lot just now.

(Vash the Stampede hums in response and smiles sadly.)

Meryl Stryfe: I don’t get it. How can you just smile?

(Vash the Stampede picks up his bag again.)

Vash the Stampede: Easy. Because I don’t deserve to cry.

(Vash the Stampede starts walking into the desert.)

Meryl Stryfe: Where are you going?

Vash the Stampede: East.

Meryl Stryfe: East, where?

(From where he watches Meryl Stryfe and Vash the Stampede, Roberto De Niro lights a cigarette.)

Vash the Stampede: About as far as it gets, to the third city, JuLai. That’s where I’ll find him.

The Stars α (Ending Credits) sequence plays.

Roberto	Good job. You’re a tough one.
Roberto	Can’t say you’re looking good, but you lucked out.
Roberto	That, too, is a talent all good journalists need.
Meryl	Vash! Rosa!
Meryl	Tonis…
Rosa	They took everything. The plant, the people, the town…
Rosa	There’s no way we can survive now.
Vash	Rosa…
Rosa	That monster is your brother, right?
Vash	I promise I’ll get your plant back!
Vash	No matter how long it takes…
Rosa	Go away.
Rosa	Get out of this town right now.
Rosa	If you hadn’t come here, none of this would have happened.
Rosa	Don’t you ever show your face here again…
Rosa	Humanoid Typhoon.
Meryl	Vash!
Meryl	Vash!
Meryl	Vash!
Meryl	Vash!
Meryl	How?
Meryl	How, after all they said to you…
Meryl	How can you smile like that?
Vash	I don’t deserve to cry.
Meryl	Where are you going?
Vash	East.
Meryl	East?
Vash	Far east, to JuLai, the third city.
Vash	That’s where he is.

End Credits Concept Art

Concept art by Tajima Koji, at the end of "Bright Light, Shine Through the Darkness". A Western-style location in No Man's Land with the sign Macaroni City. — Concept art by Tajima Koji, at the end of “Bright Light, Shine Through the Darkness”. A Western-style location in No Man’s Land with the sign Macaroni City.