Disclaimer: Don't own Trigun, just my main characters. I think that you guys know that up to this point.
A/N: By the way, we'll be getting off the introduction shortly and into the open. Meaning…yup, Trigun characters are coming back into action! BWAHAHA! Spe–AKING of which, two of them are in this story. Can you tell which ones they are? (Well of COURSE you should be able to identify the first person shortly, but…) Yeah, I know. Too much talking in the first few chapters. And I'll admit that there's still a little bit left. But let's put that behind us and look at the rest of the facts, shall we? ^_^
Engel: Sacrifice
Chapter Three
Reunions And Encounters On The Dark Path
"The name 'Humans' is only a branded name meant to categorize all of the human race. What we are, are individuals, given our own personal wills that aren't categorized into one, but differ from many. It is our choice to be the human, or to be the individual."
-Author Unknown
Two gloved fingers drummed against the wooden counter, impatiently. Behind a pair of yellow tinted glasses, two stern eyes, gleaming with a light sea-green color, observed the bar in silence. A black cloak was draped around the stranger's shoulders, although it remained open, exposing a red coat with many buttons down the middle. His goldenrod hair stood on end, but black hair protruded from the back, giving his hair two different colors.
The bar used to be so much more alive with volume and laughing eyes of those who were having a good time, he recalled. Even his own eyes used to sparkle with laughter like that. Yes, he could remember that. Suddenly, his eyes diverted to an open window that led to the dark world outside. The sky remained gray and the air so desolate that it left a bitter streak behind. If the people had despised this planet before, it must be Hell for all of them now.
"Sir, are you still here?" The stranger turned his face to the bartender standing behind the counter. "I've already told you, we haven't had beer since this crisis began. It's amazing that we're still open, but I suppose that this place is more like a haven for lost folk like yourself, no offense or anything…"
"None taken," The stranger replied. "But what's the point of going out there, do you think? The suns don't even appear in the sky anymore. How long has it been since you've seen a blue sky?"
The bartender peered outside. "It's too damn hard to tell. There's always fog out there. I can't even see what's two feet in front of my face much less a hundred feet."
"Hmph, good point." The stranger laughed and stretched. "But I guess that you're right. It's about time that I be getting back on the road anyhow." As the stranger turned to leave, the abrupt sound of the bartender's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Tell me stranger," The bartender leaned closer. "Just what kind of job does a guy like you have out in a place like that?"
"My job is to stay alive if I can." The stranger smiled. "These are hard times."
The bartender nodded his head and cleared his throat. "Well, it certainly hasn't gotten any better since that Vash the Stampede fellow disappeared four years ago."
"Yeah," The stranger used an index finger to push his glasses back onto his nose. Was that a twinge of pain in this stranger's voice? "I'll bet that knowing that he's gone makes the people relax even more."
"Well I wouldn't know," The bartender said. "Although I knew what that guy was all about, I don't think I would've minded meeting him. I'm like that, you know. People say I'll wind up getting myself killed, going after dangerous crap like that, but I've always wanted to get out and see the world," The bartender scratched his unshaven chin as he continued to stare out his window. "Course, guess that that's not going to happen anytime soon. Oh well, maybe in the next life." And he went back to cleaning dishes.
The stranger sighed and turned to the doors. The next life? When would that be?
A voluminous diversion in the streets caught the blonde stranger's attention as a large crowd of people circled around a young woman and a man in a dark cloak, his face hidden by the loose cloth over his head.
"Hey, watch where the hell you're going!" The cloaked man shouted at a passer in the street as he covered the young girl with his body.
"You want to start something, asshole!?" The man the duo had apparently bumped into trudged closer, cutting in between the space between the cloaked man and himself. Withdrawing a .44 from inside of his cloak, the hooded man shoved the barrel into the man's gut.
"Yeah," He seethed. "I do."
"Dem, let's just go, please?" The woman next to the cloaked man tugged on his arm as she tried her best to reason with him. "It was an accident. It was more of my fault for bumping into him anyway."
But the man called, 'Dem' would not listen as his hostile demeanor continued.
"Listen you stupid bastard," Dem hissed. "When people are walking in the road, you're supposed to watch WHERE you're walking so that you DON'T run into them, all right?"
"Dem stop it!" The girl tugged harder on Dem's unmoving arm. The tension in his muscles did not slacken, but instead tightened, as did the finger on the trigger.
The taller man looked down upon Dem, not knowing what to expect. The man's arms shook as anticipation swarmed his body.
"Wait," The blonde stranger cut into the middle of the circle and put a gloved hand on Dem's gun. "You don't want to shoot him, Mister. It was an honest mistake. Please, don't act so hastily."
"Then," Dem paused. "I should shoot you!" Dem turned sharply, sending his gun into the blonde stranger's chest. "Stay out of it, buster. This man owes us an apology."
"Dem it was MY fault!" The woman cried. "Stop this madness!"
The blonde stranger slowly held his hands up. "You'd better listen to the woman, Mister. This can be resolved without the use of a gun."
"Dem…" The woman reached for the gun.
"Dammit Celestia," Dem shook Celestia's hand from the gun. "Stay out of this!"
"But it was an honest mistake," She said, her eyes concerned and frightened. "Please, let's just get to where we need to go, all right?"
Dem finally assented to his companion's pleas and dropped the gun. He chewed on his bottom lip and nodded. "Let's go Celestia."
Sighing with relief, Celestia trotted after her moving partner, leaving the crowd behind. The blonde stranger watched as they disappeared from view, and then a shiver was sent up his spine. He could sense that cloaked man's vibes. He knew that he remembered him from somewhere…a long time ago.
Refocusing his thoughts back onto what he had planned of doing before the fight had caught his attention, the red stranger padded the opposite way the duo had gone, hoping to find another saloon with at least some alcohol to offer.
"Demonte you didn't have to go and cause such a huge scene dammit!" Celestia shouted, following only a few steps behind her companion. "I already told you that it was my fault!"
"And now it's over with." Her partner responded.
"It WOULDN'T have been if that gentleman hadn't stopped you! I could feel it within you. You were going to shoot that man!"
"Well maybe he deserved it."
Celestia rolled her eyes. "Nevermind, I'm not getting through to you." Silence. "Where are we going now?"
"Ever heard of 'Cliff Schzzarre'? He's Rohgsworn's best partner in business. Couple of years ago, he was busted for monopolizing the water for selfish reasons by a sheriff named 'Marianne'.
"Wow, I mean sure I've heard about it, but I never knew why."
"I thought you were a psychic."
"I read minds, not the future, Dem. Anyway, what kind of business do we have with this 'Schzzarre' guy? I could've sworn that he would've been locked away for his crimes or something."
"Rohgsworn bailed him out. Now he's living here in Dankin, continuing the Mafia's work undercover."
"Well, what an unlawful life."
"Just keep your mouth shut while we're talking to him. This is my business and I need the money he's paying me."
"How much?"
"$$350,000…"
"Damn! No wonder the friggin' world is bankrupt! Hell's Mafia has all of the money on this planet!"
"No, only about 2/3. The Mafia itself makes its earnings by stealing from cities."
"Let me guess, and Granus is your next target."
"Granus is not only working on a way to stop the Dark Ages, but they're bound and determined to keep it a secret, too. That's why they've invented weapons to keep out trespassers like ourselves."
"How?"
"They've perfected the means of making guns that use Forbidden Magicks."
Celestia stifled a gasp. "Are you serious!?"
"What good would lying do me now?"
"Geez, I knew that they were smart, but not that smart!"
"From the information that I've gathered, there's a group of Alchemists, called the Half Eagle."
"Half Eagle?"
"It means five."
"Wow, so there's five Alchemists? What do you plan to do?"
"I'm planning to take all five into custody, hand them over to Rohgsworn, and discard them as the Mafia pleases."
"Well that doesn't sound all too fair."
"This world is give and take. Of course it's not fair." Demonte stopped abruptly in his tracks and peered up into the gray sky. "Don't you understand? Look at this fog. If it weren't for my experience on the Southern Plains, we'd be lost, just like any other poor soul who'd try to venture out here. Just remember, Celestia, why this fog is even here."
"I know, I know. It's tough, so I guess that you DO have a point. But what does Granus have to do with anything with the Mafia?"
"I'm not sure. Rohgsworn has made it clear that he has no intention of telling me until a later notice. However, I can only speculate that this is a result of a business deal, or money."
"Hmmm, yes, money is a good thought. And so is control."
"But it's useless to question that guy about anything. He won't spill anything. That's what makes him an excellent businessman. He doesn't pawn for drugs or any crap like that. He's out for the big bucks, and that, of course, means power as well."
"Hmmm," Celestia pondered. "I wonder if he'd be good at poker then."
Demonte turned his head slightly, feeling almost irritated.
"Who cares how he is at poker?" Demonte sighed and tilted his head off to the side, brushing against his shoulder lightly.
"Well, I was just thinking…"Celestia sighed, finding her words to be as stale as bread. This guy was just lacking a humor bone. "Nevermind," She finally finished. "So what's your business with Cliff?"
"I have some things to drop off, some things that I think may be of some use to him."
"Are you talking about those letters in your pockets?"
"Dammit," Demonte snapped. "Will you just stop reading my mind please? It's so damn irritating."
"Sorry," She rolled her eyes and chewed on her bottom lip. "What do they say anyway?"
"I intercepted these letters in Granus, and I'll tell you, it was no picnic."
"Are they about…"
"The location of the next project and weapons that are being shipped out? That's right. That's why I know where they're meeting and when. My mission is to head out to Roklen City and stop the ongoing project."
"I still think your Boss is full of crap. It would be in everybody's best interest to get the hell off this planet or to stop the Dark Ages. Why is your Boss so adamant about keeping everyone here and having to suffer? If they can stop the Dark Ages, why not let them?"
"You're asking the wrong person," Demonte's eyes strayed ahead on the path. "I just follow orders…that's all."
"So, what exactly are we looking for?"
"To find Schzzarre?"
"Yeah,"
"He's underground," Demonte said dryly. "Cliff wanted to make the exterior of his hideout seem quite small, but the interior itself is extravagant. For being an underground domain, he can see a lot of the outside world. My job for being here is to have him set up some tracking devices out in Roklen so that we can trace Granus and their men."
"Fun," Celestia sighed. "How long will that take?"
"Long enough. Don't worry about time, we need the job done right the first time. But…"
"But what?" Celestia asked.
"I haven't exactly been there in a few years. This was just a spontaneous turn of events that he just came out of the blue and asked me to come by and see him back in Pierce."
"So in other words, you don't remember where his underground location is, am I right?"
"It's not that I don't know WHERE it is, it's just…"
"Here," Celestia grabbed Demonte's arm. "I can peer into your subconscious thoughts and find the location."
"What?" Demonte wasn't too comfortable with someone reading his thoughts, but his brain convinced him that if he kept walls up around the rest of his thoughts, he would be okay. "But I thought that you couldn't see visualized thoughts…"
"Well, not exactly. I can't exactly see them, but I can hear sounds, like what you heard when you last visited him. I use those sounds to trace locations." Demonte's face peered at her, worried. "Stop being so stiff, Dem, I won't read anything else, I promise."
Demonte nodded reluctantly. "All right."
"Okay," Celestia smiled. I want you to concentrate all of your thoughts on when you were last here, even if you can't remember where exactly he lives, I want you to concentrate hard, okay?"
"All right," Demonte closed his eyes and Celestia clasped onto his hand gingerly.
"I hear…" Celestia closed her eyes tightly, and searched through her companion's mind. "A large hole filling with sand and tunnels escaping in different directions under the sandy earth. Hmm…This is odd…"
"What are you hearing?" Demonte asked, still keeping his eyes closed.
"Hey, don't talk," Celestia scolded. "It throws the whole thing off balance if you do."
"Sorry," Demonte muttered.
"I'm visualizing a small gray house from the description I can hear in your mind. The small house wouldn't even be noticeable to a passing traveler; it only looks like an outhouse or something. But I can tell that there is something more to this outhouse…I'm sensing…an entire mansion underground. You didn't tell me that he was so technically advanced…"
'What?' Demonte thought to himself. 'Did you honestly think that he was going to remain above ground where he is one of the most wanted criminals alive?'
"No!" Celestia snapped. "I just didn't think that he'd go to all of the trouble to build a mansion, that's all!"
Demonte was taken aback. Then he remembered her special gift. He knew that he would have to be more careful when saying things to himself.
Celestia remained silent for a few minutes more before nodding and releasing herself from Demonte.
"All right, I know where it is."
"Really? Where?" Demonte was impressed.
"About 20 yarz ahead. It's own coordination should be about 35 degrees North and 50 degrees East. From the sounds and conversations I heard from you and Cliff, all we have to look for is this gray looking outhouse."
"Very funny," Demonte rolled his eyes.
She laughed. "I know. But that's what I got from your thoughts."
"Boy, you can tell all of that just from noises?"
"Cool, huh?" Celestia laughed. "Come on, you pinhead, let's go."
30 iles east of Dankin sat the quiet town of Felnarl, which had been reconstructed some years after the incident with illegal explosives. The streets were bare and desolate, nothing like what they had used to be, bustling and busy.
A woman with short raven hair leaned against the building of the inn she was currently staying in. Her eyes glanced up and down the dirt roads, almost hoping to see a passer coming by.
But nothing.
The sky darkened and she shivered against the chill of the wind. Wrapping her arms around herself, she looked up into the cloudless stratosphere, which remained foggy and gray. A silent breeze brushed against her hair and her black trench coat.
Her face was obviously dirtied with adventure from the past. It had also aged mildly, showing her late twenty years in her violet eyes. The young woman held a gloved hand to the sky, as though she were waiting to catch a falling object from above.
She bit her lip.
"It's coming…" She whispered, her voice hard and raspy.
All at once, the sky disappeared and Hell struck the town from above.
"Wait, Demonte," Celestia became cemented to the ground as she held out a guarding arm to keep her companion from advancing any further. "The sky…"
Demonte looked up. "You're right. It's become strangely dark."
Celestia jerked her head around and gasped.
"Dem I can feel it! A stampede of black scorpions…coming from the sky!"
Demonte shifted his weight to one leg and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head with disbelief.
"Celestia, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Dammit Demonte!" Celestia lunged forward and grabbed Demonte by the collar of his cloak. "Something bad is going to happen…Something strong…" Celestia turned her head south. "Something so terrible that it might wind up out of control." Without another word, Celestia dashed back the way they had came, leaving Demonte in a state of confusion.
"Celestia!" He called out to her. "Where the hell do you think you're going!?"
"I'm going to Felnarl!" She called over her shoulder, the young silhouette disappearing over the hill.
"Damn," Demonte sighed and started after her. "What about Schzzarre!?" He became reluctant to follow this woman. After all, he was on an important mission. He knew that he didn't have time to be chasing after 'scorpions' as Celestia had called them.
"Forget about him!" Celestia took in a large gulp of air; her heart pounding against her chest as her long legs carried her to Felnarl. "We'll come back later."
"I still don't understand!" Demonte pushed himself harder so that he could catch up to her pace. "Why the hell are we going to Felnarl?"
"I can't explain now," She huffed. "But I swear…you'll find out soon enough."
Demonte forced a chuckle. "Is this one of your psychic readings or something?"
"…Yes…"
"Then I guess I'll have to take your word on it."
Large monsters had infiltrated the town once Celestia and Demonte had arrived. They stared up, as a large serpent towered over them, its tongue rattling like the tail behind it.
"Oh damn," Demonte breathed as his eyes became glued in terror at the black creature. "How the hell did they manage to get so damn big!?"
"The better question is…" Celestia felt her heart stop in her chest. "What are these things?"
The snake tilted its head and then lunged for the duo.
"Run!" Demonte grasped Celestia's arm and pulled her behind a large abandoned building as the snake crashed face-first into the ground, the earth below it erupting and sending dust into the sky.
"Oh man, these things aren't normal!" Demonte watched as a variety of oversized serpents, cockatrice, and dragons tore the town of Felnarl apart. Demonte turned his head away as a candescent blast sent a nearby domicile up into flames.
"Oh, God help us…" Cries of the murdered planet and flares tearing away at the city resounded in Celestia's ears as the Cimmerian sky glowered upon the world.
"Guess you weren't lying after all," Demonte stared down at his female companion and sighed. "Were these the black scorpions you were talking about?" Celestia nodded. "Then I guess that there's no choice…" He arose and reached for his black revolver.
"W-Where are you going?" Celestia watched in horror as the cloaked man emerged into the broad opening.
"It's like you said before," Demonte said, loading his six-shooter hand. "We'll have to take care of them."
"W-Wait!" She called after him as he stepped forward, meeting eye to eye with a large obscure cockatrice, its body blocking his movement.
"Well, well, well," Demonte sneered at the huge beast hovering above him. "Won't this be fun?"
"Demonte no!" Celestia grasped his shoulder, desperate to pull him back, until she felt a cold metal gun rest against her forehead. She held her head up, the cold eyes of her companion surfacing through the darkness within his cloak, as he held his black revolver to her forehead.
"Stay out of this," He commanded her. "No amateurs this time."
Celetia's mouth quivered. A—Amateur? How dare he. HOW dare he…! Her eyes darkened as she turned away from him.
"Fine," She forced through pursed lips. She fled down the street, turning into an open alley, her face burning with rage. How dare he treat her like an…an…AMATEUR! She was much better than that, and she knew it.
Turning her head back to the entrance of the alleyway, Celestia withdrew her Calibre Revolver, the gun holding six shots. So much for an amateur.
Gunfire erupted into the sky as Celestia ducked out of the alley, a giant serpent foreseeing her arrival. Aiming her gun steadily, Celestia pulled the trigger, pounding four lead bullets into its head. She shrieked as it collapsed at her feet, the earth quaking below her.
The giant monsters surged forward, and then retreated as gunfire continued to detonate into the sky. Celestia was amazed. Was Demonte doing this all by himself? But…she knew that he couldn't manage by himself. She had to help him.
Her determination soon fell inadequate as ten cloaked men emerged from both sides of the street and surrounded Celestia, armed with rifles and snipers. Behind them were many of the large monsters that had been performing the assault on the town. Buildings around her were engulfed in flames, and Celestia found nowhere to turn.
"The whole town has evacuated except for that bitch over there," One of the cloaked men nodded towards Celestia. She felt the sweat trail from her face, watching as all guns had been aimed in her near direction.
"She just came to the wrong place at the wrong time," another raider chuckled as he held his gun stable. "This is gonna be fun."
But Celestia did not give into the intimidating words of the man. Instead, she turned on her opponents and shot a man twice, using up the last of her bullets. She bit her bottom lip. This wasn't good.
"Just lay down and die you bitch!" Another man shouted as he cocked his gun and pulled the trigger. Celestia dodged the first few raging bullets, but as the others began to chime in, she took numerous shots to the legs, arms, and upper torso.
Celestia's mind was racing. She was weak? She was…going to die? Was it really true that psychics couldn't predict their own future? Was she an…amateur? How could Demonte be right?
Her knees buckled out from under her and her mind told her that her front had already connected with the cold ground. Maybe…it wasn't so bad…dying this way…
Although it was quite faint, Celestia was sure that she could hear gunfire flaring in the background. Then one, two, three men went down. Had Demonte come? Was he really going to see her like this?
Then there were the cries of monsters. This was all happening too fast. And Celestia could do nothing but assent to the darkness that embraced her with warm comfort.
Ahaha! Action at last! Finally, things start heating up. And EVERYONE is coming back. Well, lol, almost. I hope I'm doing well so far. If I'm not, please, let me know. I'm already 20 chapters into this fic, I would like to know if my writing is anything to be desired. Constructive criticism from all you good folks out there! Please. I'm really trying you know. ^_^ '
BLD