YAY! New chapter!! Thank you all for reveiwing to me! I love them very much!! I hope there are people out there who are actually still reading this fic. I really like this. And now things have turned for the worse: Devi's being altered and Vash and the gang are heading to a new town! Will Vash ever see Devi again, or is she lost forever? And its become worse for me! Don't fret everyone, I've been grounded from the comp for some time and God only knows when I'll be able to be on more often. Wish me luck in these trying times.

Well, I do not own Trigun, though, as usual, I wish I did. I do own the series on DVD and the kuroneko plushie...if that's enough.

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Chapter 16: Forgotten

Vash set Devi's bag next to him as he sat down at the bar with a beer in front of him. He already explained to Meryl and Milly that he was worried about Devi because she didn't come back at all last night. Meryl huffed away, seemingly unworried about Devi at all and said that Devi was big enough to take care of herself. Milly decided to leave Vash alone and went to the market to get some food and pudding. He just wanted to be by himself before they left for the next town.

"Hey, what are you doing here moping around?"

Vash looked over his shoulder to see that it was a man with short, unruly black hair and is wearing a priest outfit. It was a very familiar man to Vash, it was Nicholas D. Wolfwood.

Vash smiled a sad smile. "Wolfwood, haven't seen you in a while."

Wolfwood smiled a big one as he sat down next to Vash, setting his cross next to him. "Yeah, well, that still doesn't answer my question."

Laughing nervously, Vash put a hand behind his head and sweatdropped. "Oh yeah. Well, the girls and I were about to head out to the next town."

"The girls are here too? Wow, you've lost your touch."

They both laughing this time as the bartender brought Wolfwood a beer that he didn't even order yet. Wolfwood took a sip out of the beer, then took notice of the bag at Vash's feet. He knew that sure wasn't Vash's actual bag.

Wolfwood nodded toward the bag. "Whose bag is that, Vash? I know you aren't one to buy new bags."

"Uh....it's a friend of mine that asked me to watch it for her as she was out on an errand...yeah."

Wolfwood wasn't convinced. "Yeah, right."

"Mr. Priest, is that you?"

Vash and Wolfwood turned to see Milly enter with two bags of groceries. Wolfwood raised a hand to wave hi. "Hey, Big Girl!"

Milly set the groceries on a nearby table and stood in front of them, a huge smile on her face as always. "What brings you here, Mr. Priest?"

Wolfwood shrugged. "I was just wondering and I came in and saw Vash sitting here. He looked a bit bummed, so I joined him."

"Yeah, well, a friend of his didn't come back last night and now he's worried about her."

"HER!?" Wolfwood shouted. "Vash, you didn't say that the pack belonged to a girl!"

Vash laughed nervously and put a hand behind his head. "Well, that information kinda slipped I guess. You know how I get when I'm drinking."

"Not really, but I know how Big Girl gets when she drinks," Wolfwood answered, sending a playful wink to a blushing Milly. Then he took another swig from his glass.

"Aw, not what I really wanted to hear," Meryl said from the stairs.

Vash swiveled in his chair. "Done with the report? Can we leave now?"

Meryl held up a small rectangular package. "Yes, I just have to mail this. I'll meet you guys out in the car."

Vash and Wolfwood chugged down their drinks and paid for them almost sychronously. The girls looked at them weird as they done this. Then the guys swirled in their chairs to face the girls.

"So where are we heading to?" Vash asked anxiously.

*****

Devi woke up in the most uncomfortable position she could ever get into. She was woken up by someone banging on the bars of her cell. Devi rolled over and glared at whoever was making such noise and disturbing her sleep. It was the rodent-girl, Pixy, with bright eyes and an equally bright smile on your face.

"Good, you're awake now. I'm going to get Lowie-sama."

Pixy galloped off down the hall as Devi stood and began her stretch routine. She was just finishing and had an urge to do a few tumbles and she did. What Devi didn't know that one of the hybrids from yesterday was watching her. This one was different from the one named Alex, but he looked fairly alike. His hair and fur were slightly darker than Alex's, almost a tawny color, and long enough to be pulled back into a short ponytail. His eyes are a dark, cat-like brown and look almost caring. He has a white shirt on top and a pair of dark blue jeans that cover part of his boots. This long tail softly curled so it would not drag on the ground.

"Hello. You are quite agile for only being partially altered."

Devi gave this cat-man an almost flirtly smile. She found this one to be quite cute despite the alterations. "Well, I have been working on it for sometime, years to be exact."

He blinked. "So you do actually speak. I was beginning to think that you were mute, you didn't speak at all yesterday."

Devi's smile disappated and she turned around. "Its just habit of me to not speak in front of the scientists, most of the time if I did, they'd discipline me."

"Oh, say do you have a name? I know they call you by a number, but I heard of you escaping and I was also curious about its like out there."

Cocking her head to the one side, Devi turned to face this guy. He was quite different from the others, especially that cat-girl who called her human. "Well, my name is Devi, what about yours?"

"Jason, I was in this room just last night."

She nodded. "Ah, I remember, are you related to Alex or something, you two look alike."

Jason nodded, almost as though he was embarrassed. "Well, we are twin brothers."

"That would do it."

Just then, Dr. Lowcheski entered the room. "Ah, good morning, Jason. Seeing if 5201 was awake now, huh?"

"Uh...yeah, I was doing just that."

Dr. Lowcheski opened the door to Devi's cell and handcuffed her. "Now we're off to finish what we started with you, 5201."

Devi looked over her shoulder to see Jason give her a small wave of his pawed hand. She smiled back at him before leaving the room. Devi knew that was about to happen to her, they were going to finish the alterations to her. She bowed her head down, she didn't want that to happen, Vash wouldn't know if it was really her or not. Devi was afraid that Vash wouldn't care for like he did before she left. She was also afraid of how she was going to get herself out of this mess. Nothing was going right for her.

Before she knew it, they've reached the lab that they were going to finish the alterations in. Dr. Lowcheski uncuffed her and before she had they chance to react and escape, one of the nearby doctors stuck a needle in her. The serom in the needle was actually a very strong tranquilizer. Devi was out cold in a matter of moments.

The doctors took that opportunity to strip Devi and set her in a large capsule. They then stuck tubes in various areas and one behind her neck, like they did when she was only an infant. The DNA serom would enter into her through those tubes and are programmed to alter her DNA. Then the doctors sealed the capsule and filled it with a protien nutrient mix, capable of sustaining her for several months, which is all that they needed to complete this.

Then one of the final doctors set the time Devi would be in the capsule and they left her be, sealing the room so no one can bother with their experiment.

*****

Vash was bored out of his mind with this ride. Wolfwood was sitting next to him and was getting quite annoyed with his complaints. Milly and Meryl were sitting in the front seat, Meryl driving, and they were quite content with talking to themselves. They were giggling at some joke one of them said. It actually has been a while, a long while, since Meryl giggled or laughed for that matter. Vash stopped complaining and watched Meryl. This was quite a different side of her that Vash never gets to see everyday. Most of the time she was bashing him upside the head because of something stupid that he's done.

He yawned. "How much longer until we are at the next town?"

"Not soon enough with your whining," Wolfwood answered, then wapped him upside the head.

"Will yoiu two shut up," Meryl ordered from the driver's seat, "Trust me, we'll be at the next town by sunset."

"Praise the lord," Wolfwood responded. "The sooner we're at the town, the sooner I can get away from you, Needle-noggin."

"More like the sooner we reach town," Vash added, "the sooner we get to drink all the beer we want!"

They both laughed, but Vash's laughter died rather quickly. He was sensed something. Something strange and weak at the same time. The general direction was blurry and he couldn't pinpoint the exact spot it was coming from. And, all in all, it reminded it of someone familiar.

'Devi....is that you?'

*****

Inside the tranquil Devi, Devi was alert as a cat on the prowl. She could sense everything, but not in detail. Devi seemed...connected with all of the plants on this desert planet, all were crying in pain of some sort. All of the plants were...dying. She could feel their energy being used by the humans of this planet to power their homes. There was one that moved about and felt very near and familiar to her.

Vash...

Devi could also feel the humans' whereabouts. It was strange to feel the humans, their pain, their energy, their love, their sorrow, everything. It almost overpowered her to feel such things as these. She was also able to find where there were people who were having fights with others and people who love one another, but are afraid to show it.Three of these humans were moving with Vash, two of them felt very familiar.

Milly, Meryl...who's the third person?

Then Devi felt a something very close. It was the hybrids, all seven of them. Each one was different from one another. Three or four had some feline DNA in them while another had rodent DNA. A few of their DNA signatures even matched with the plants. Including hers.

'Wait, if the plants are able to send me what they are feeling and have DNA signatures...wouldn't that mean that they are...living?'

Something coursed through her veins and knocked her out futher into the unconscious state that she's in.