Disclaimer: Still don't own Trigun.

Engel: Sacrifice

Chapter Four

Henai

"To be afraid is a natural human emotion because humans believe that there is something to fear. However, if they look hard enough they will find that there isn't anything to fear. There never was."

-Author Unknown

"Who the hell are you!?" One of the few remaining men turned his aim from Celestia's limp body to the intruder. It was a woman with raven colored hair. Black sunglasses hid the stranger's eyes from the world as she emerged into the open with her own gun, a Taurus Raging Thirty, aimed back at the man who stood her down.

But she answered with no words; instead she pulled the trigger, leaving four holes in the man as they ripped through the back of his shirt. As his carcass hit the ground not a moment later, the woman inserted another round of bullets into her eight-shot revolver.

The five remaining men flinched, but did not give up their ground. Even the dark beasts behind the men were ready to attack if necessary.

"I don't understand what motivates you to commence hostility," A man gritted his teeth. "You're outnumbered. But you're welcome to try and stop us if you'd like."

The woman paused, lowering her gun. Sighing, she shook her head and kept the firearm aimed towards the ground.

"Just no skill," She said bluntly.

A surge of electricity streaked up and down the woman's arm and through her gun. A dark aura of energy engulfed her, blowing her hair back slightly. "Blood Ripper," She murmured, as the wind became violent, lacerating the sky. The illuminance of the blast became too much to bear for her opponents as they shielded their eyes. Tilting her head backwards, her energy unleashed itself from her body. The men could feel its sufficient power as it stirred the planet and fell like a wave onto them. They were hurled backwards and the monsters dissipated into nothing as the surge of lightning desecrated all that had been left. The remaining buildings that had not been purged into flames had been abolished by the dark power unleashed into the sky.

The town stood still, and dead men, along with their monsters, lay mutilated at the base of the old buildings. The woman paused, bringing the Taurus to her chest. Another monster screeched powerfully and the woman spun on her heel. It was, by far, the largest monster she had seen in Felnarl. She recognized it as the legendary three-headed Hellhound, Cerberus.

The woman held her gun steadily, aiming the Taurus at her foe. She suddenly halted, following its movements with her eyes. Then gunfire rang in her ears. Someone else was here as well?

Hoping that the young girl that had been injured in the attack would remain stable for the time being, the raven-haired woman fled down the street to where the sounds of bullets had been the loudest. Above her, the Cerberus ceased all movement momentarily, and turned its attention towards the animate silhouette in the street.

The woman stalled. The Cerberus had sensed her presence, and she knew it. She kept her breathing minimal, trying not to attract too much suspicion from the large beast. But the Cerberus did not give up so easily. With one huge swipe of his hand, he scooped up the remains of the buildings, searching for his prey. Debris fell from the cracks between his fingers, raining onto the burning buildings below. Then the three heads bickered and fought with each other, obviously debating who was going to get the human if found.

Knowing that sooner or later her resistance would fall with the city's decadence, the woman changed directions and fled down another street. The Cerberus, catching her movement this time, leapt high into the sky and landed behind her. Without hesitation, the beast immediately began to track her footsteps down yet another street. The gunfire had stopped, the woman noticed. She only hoped that the young fighter was all right.

Then her escape route failed her as she became blocked by massive rubble piling up so high, that she thought that it could touch the heavens above. Spinning around, the woman's eyes beheld the Cerberus as it strode forward, its three heads leaning down towards her.

"Damn…" She muttered, and held her gun out towards the Cerberus. Like before, electric currents were sent up and down her arm, engulfing the gun with a lambent power. "Get out of my way," She warned the beast.

But the Cerberus only snarled and bared its large fangs at the woman. She laughed. "Am I supposed to be intimidated by a vicious Hellhound?"

"How dare you mock us!" The beast spoke with its mind into hers, its voice raspy and broken. "You of all people, a wielder of Forbidden Magicks!"

"These people had nothing to do with this…" She growled back, the aura around her beginning to intensify. "Why are you not at your post?"

"We were sent here for the humans of this desert planet. We were told not to leave until every light had been extinguished!"

"Your Master…" The woman tightened the grip on her gun. "Your Master told you to do this?"

"Exactly!" The beast cackled hideously. "We, who are sojourn on this damned planet, are the hunters of the humans who drain the very life from the world! After the humans perish, our Master will be free to mold this planet into our new home!"

"What makes you think that you'll get that far?" The woman smiled and held the gun above her head. "Game over, guys…"

A bright light enveloped the city, sending raging fire into all different directions. The Cerberus gazed behind its massive body, the heads in a state of befuddlement, as it was caught by surprise when a heavy storm of flames heaved itself upon the large beast. The uproar of it all was truly magnificent.

The woman looked up, horrified, as the beast collapsed to the ground, smashing the remains of the buildings as the fire continued to devour the Cerberus. She jumped backwards as the flames leapt out at her, her own power dying away from her arm. It howled and twitched, rolling over on its stomach, hoping to expunge the flames. But the flames were strong and the beast was no match for it. Finally, the Cerberus' body fell limp, dead, and the woman continued to watch as the creature was sent up into flames, the charred flesh hanging heavy in the air.

The scenery cleared, and the sky seemed to lighten just a little. Curious as to know who it was that had killed the large beast, the woman gazed over the large body of the once renowned beast and caught a glimpse of a cloaked figure, the hood hanging loosely over his head. A gun was held occupant in his hand, which was smoking from its last encounter. The woman stepped around the beast, her eyes glued onto the man. Demonte merely stared back.

"Was that…you…who did that?" She dared to ask.

He avoided her question. "Where's the woman you saved earlier?"

"So you knew about that…" She looked him over, and realized that he was no ordinary gunman. He was a gunman from an elusive clan. "You can use Forbidden Magicks?" She asked, hoping to get some kind of answer out of him.

"Where's the woman?" He asked again.

She sighed. "The girl you're looking for is down the street. She's injured, although I don't know how bad off she is."

Demonte finally held some emotion to his words. "You didn't check!?" He turned and jogged down the road.

"I was being chased by the Cerberus! If I had stayed in that spot, the beast would've eaten BOTH of us!" She shook her head, exhausted, and started after him. "I was doing it to protect her!" He remained silent. "Would you at LEAST say something?" She asked, irritation seeping into her voice.

Demonte finally stopped at a fork in the road and looked down both streets. He turned back to the mysterious woman and waited for her to catch up to him. "Take me to her."

"If I do," The woman smiled as a window of opportunity opened to her. "then you must tell me who you are."

Demonte grunted. He hated being caught up in situations like these. He hoped that this woman wasn't a psychic who could blackmail him too.

"Fine," He said quickly. "I'll tell you everything you want to know. Now take me to her."

The woman stepped in front of him and took the lead down the left road. Not far down the road, Demonte spotted Celestia, lying face-first on the ground. His pace hastened and he fell to her side, turned her over, and examined her wounds.

"Yeah, she's hurt pretty badly," He said and pulled off his gloves. Holding his fingertips above her chest, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

A hollow white light mesmerized in his hands and floated downward into Celestia's body. The raven-haired woman was bewildered as she watched the luminous power incorporate itself from the cloaked man's fingertips. It seeped into Celestia, and cloaked her in a blanket of warm light. Her wounds began to stitch themselves back together and her skin was mended a moment later. After the light had vanished completely, the woman turned to Demonte.

"How did you do that?" She asked. "Even humans with Forbidden Magicks cannot do something like that!"

"…I don't know," He mumbled, barely above audibility. "I discovered that I could do it when I was a small child. I think…yes, I found a dog that had been injured and I was scared that it was going to die. All of a sudden, a dazzling light appeared before me and the dog was healed." Demonte lowered his head. "I don't know what it is. But that's all I know. Even through my foggy memory, I know that situation well."

"That's insane," She said, shaking her head. "Purely insane."

Her eyes followed the cloaked man as he scooped Celestia up into his arms and turned to walk in the opposite direction from where the woman stood.

"I guess that we won't be going to see Schzzarre today," He said, peering into the darkening sky. "We'll have to go tomorrow."

"Schzzarre…?" The woman's eyes narrowed. She knew she heard that name before…but where? "Hey, where are you going now?" She asked.

"I don't know," He said plainly. "But we'll have to find shelter soon; it's getting dark."

"Wait," The woman broke into a run and halted Demonte in his tracks. She wasn't about to let her newfound weapon get away THAT easily. "The citizens of Felnarl evacuated to higher ground when this all happened." She continued once she noticed that she had caught this man's interest. "It's a small town a few iles away from here. We can make it before it gets completely dark. I'll lead you there and then you can tell me all about yourself."

"Why do you care to know?" He asked.

"Hmmm," She started, sarcastically, "You just took down the most monstrous beast with Forbidden Magicks, so, yes, an uncanny individual I might say. And since we seem to be in the same boat with each other, I think we should try to find out as much as we can."

"What boat?"

"Well, you DO want to know what the creatures were that overran this town earlier, right?"

"It doesn't particularly matter to me," Demonte shrugged.

"Well, I would normally say the same thing, but…" The woman's voice fell to a whisper. "I would personally like to find out why the hell you have the ability to use Forbidden Magicks."

Demonte bit his lip and turned towards the town's exit.

"Whatever. Guide us out of town and to somewhere safe and MAYBE we'll talk…"

"Well," The woman shrugged. "It's a start."

Peering out of a secluded window, a brunette woman held a closed hand to her chest. It was nearing nightfall. That meant that the time was approaching quickly for her to show up for her part-time job in the town. Her mission was to protect the refugees from Felnarl and it was her job to secure the small town of Sanction, the name coming from the will to help anyone with anything. It was important for that, she knew, because these times were so hard.

The fog infiltrated her room, and she shivered as she closed the window. Turning to grab her stun gun, the woman closed the opening in her green trench coat and walked out of her room.

"I can't take anymore," Demonte panted as continued to climb the mountain upwards. "I can't see a damn thing in front of me and this woman I'm carrying must weigh 200 pounds!"

"How rude," The woman leading the way commented over her shoulder. "You should never mock a woman's weight. She doesn't even look 120, much less 200!"

"Well it doesn't matter. Couldn't you have found an EASIER route to get to this town you're taking us to?"

"The town was built at the top of this mountain for a special reason. The mountainside protects the city from being invaded so easily. It would take the enemy at least a few days to make it uphill, especially if they're wearing heavy garments. It's a great place for refugees to take cover."

"What's the name of it?"

"Sanction," She said plainly.

"Sanction? Never heard of it." Demonte had a hard time keeping up with the woman as the fog continued to surround him. "I don't understand how you can manage in this fog. I never travel at night, unless it's exceptionally important."

"I'm a traveler."

"I am too, but I find it impossible to travel in night fog." Then he changed the subject. "Why are you helping us anyway?"

"One, I feel sorry for that girl there. It must be a pain in the ass traveling with a guy like you."

"Gee thanks," Was his reply.

"Two, I'm headed there anyway and I might as well take the remaining refugees with me."

"And…?"

"Three, you interest me."

"I hope you don't mean that in the way I'm thinking of."

"Shut up, it's not like that at all. Your powers, I mean, and your occupation. In fact, you haven't even given me your name yet."

"Same with you."

"Well, what's her name?" The woman pointed to the girl Demonte was carrying.

"Oh her? That's Celestia. I'm sure she'll give you a more proper introduction once she regains consciousness."

"That's a pretty name, and she's a pretty girl, too. Is she your girlfriend?"

Demonte laughed. "Hardly!"

"Really? Then why are you two traveling together?"

"She came into some problems back in December with some guys and I helped her out. She then clung onto me like fish to water."

"Fish…" The woman breathed. "That's not something you hear everyday, considering how scarce they are."

"Water especially. I don't think that there's much left."

"No, even more so now because of the Dark Ages."

Silence surrounded them and then Demonte looked up. "Hey, how much further?"

"About five minutes if we keep at the pace we're going." The woman said, trudging up the mountain pass. "Don't worry, we'll find a place to get Celestia and then we'll talk. Unless, of course, you have supplies that you need to purchase first. We can always talk afterwards."

"It doesn't matter," Demonte heaved as he shifted his shoulders to fit the weight he was holding.

"All right, then we'll figure it out when we get there."

"How late do all the shops stay open?"

"It's a town that never sleeps," She replied. "All for the protection of the refugees, inhabitants, et cetera…"

"Well isn't that just sweet of them?" He sighed.

He glanced upwards, the town barely coming into view due to the heavy fog. He could just make it out by the bright lights illuminating the foggy sky. Music reached his ears and laughter made his heart ache. Laughter…

"It seems to be a cheery little place," He observed.

"It's hard in the Dark Ages," The woman said. "They have to keep up their spirits. If they don't who will?"

"Good point," Demonte said and then spotted a large wooden barricade around the small city. "Looks like they've even gotten the defense. A huge 50 foot wall around the town, eh?"

"It's one of their defenses. It's actually a wealthy little place, one of the last wealthy cities left."

"What do they do, steal?"

"No, actually, their Governess is pretty wealthy, I hear. I've never met her. She inherited everything from her dead father. They also know how to manage their money. They'll help Felnarl get back on its feet."

As they approached the gates, Demonte caught a small glimpse of the mysterious woman as her figure flickered in and out of the light from inside the city. Her short black hair seemed tangled and ruffled due to the night's events from earlier.

She knocked on the door firmly and waited for a reply. Soon, one came.

"Who's there!?" Came a weary voice from inside.

"Henai," The woman replied.

"Henai…" The word was chewed upon a bit by the receiving end. "Anyone else there with you?"

"A woman and a young man." The woman called 'Henai' replied.

"Are you sure that they're trustworthy?" The man from the other side questioned.

"Positive," Henai answered. "Hey, why are you getting so suspicious all of a sudden? The residents of Felnarl just came here a little while ago."

"It's just for protection, Henai. What are your companions' names?"

Henai turned to look at Demonte. "The woman's name is Celestia," She replied and then waited for Demonte's answer.

"My name is Demonte."

"Demonte," Henai turned her head back to the wooden door. "Celestia and Demonte."

"All right, Henai, we believe you. We'll let them in."

The large gate crept open and Henai motioned Demonte to come inside. The city was amazingly beautiful, Demonte had noted. Lights and music and laughing people. This city almost made him forget that there ever was a 'Dark Age'.

"Come on, you'll have time for sightseeing later," Henai told him.

"You never told me that you're a known resident here," Demonte said.

"I also didn't tell you that I was the one who told the civilians of the upcoming danger and sent them here."

"What?" Demonte asked, puzzled. "You already knew of the danger before it came to pass?" Then Demonte pondered for a moment. "No wonder I didn't see any dead bodies there…" Gee, he REALLY hoped that this woman wasn't another psychic. One was enough.

"Don't worry about the small details, Demonte. If you worry too much, you'll become an old man." Demonte followed Henai to a small building, north of town.

The building was fairly small, far too small to be an inn. But it amazed him that the interior was commodious and voluminous. Inside was a large bar with few rooms in the back for sleeping. Both men and women were enjoying themselves as they sang and danced and drank merrily.

"It's grand, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Demonte's attention was snapped back to Henai.

"These people, they don't have a care in the world. Outside of Sanction, their lives are lost, lonely, and miserable. But here, people are happy, friendly, and above all, are willing to help anyone in need. It makes a lot of other towns envious you know…"

Demonte finally noticed the woman in full regalia. Her black trench coat nearly swept across the stone cold floor and her black gloves and boots were a nice addition to the coat as well as the mysterious dark sunglasses held up by her small nose. She was a petite woman, he observed, but it was amazing that she packed such firepower.

"Well, Demonte, let's say we get your friend to a room and I'll show you around town. I suppose that there's plenty of time for talk."

"Talk is cheap anyway," Demonte shrugged. "Sounds like a plan."

"All right then, follow me."

Henai opened the door to a small bedroom with a single window, a small wooden desk with a lamp, and a soft bed. After situating Celestia, Demonte turned and stretched, relieved to have been released from carrying such a big burden.

"Where to first, oh gracious leader?" Demonte rolled his neck from side to side and then glanced back at Henai.

"First, let's introduce you to the Governess of this place."

"What for?"

"Just to see what she thinks about all of this."

"I thought that you said we were going to talk later."

"Well, what else did you have in mind?"

"First, I want a beer. Just a nice, cold, beer. Then, I need to shop for supplies and I wouldn't mind a look around this place. We'll talk to her afterwards."

Henai crossed her arms over her chest. "First you're indecisive and then you reject the first suggestion I make. All right, a beer it is. But you have to agree to see her."

"All right, all right. I will. How do you plan on getting in to see her anyway? I thought that you two have never met."

"We haven't, but now is as good a time as any."

"All right. Beer first, sightseeing next, and THEN we'll meet up with her."

Henai laughed and nodded. "Boy looking at you before and then looking at you now, I wouldn't have guessed you to be the same person."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"Nevermind, come on." She smiled and took him by the arm, guiding him to the bar.

Demonte's feelings proved to be incomprehensible. Seeing people so joyous as this, he had never experienced it before, even before the Dark Ages. His watchful gaze beheld the people that sang on the stage, and it made him feel so warm inside. Their songs were filled with light and love. He almost wanted to join them. And the people dancing, and laughing. Their laughter rang so loud in Demonte's mind and the dancing was so extensive and lively. Such unexplained human emotions. How could they throw problems away such as the Dark Ages? For the first time, he actually enjoyed his beer, instead of drinking it to forget his problems.

And the music that played in the streets. Now THAT was something, Demonte had thought to himself. Strangely, he had felt the soles of his feet move to the beat of the music. He had never done that before. The heart of the songs had been met with lutes, drums and saxophones. Was this a parade? Demonte felt, at ease, for once. It was so hard to place the emotion. He never wanted to leave this place, go back to the Hell's Mafia, and confront Granus. No, he wanted to stay here.

Henai shook his shoulder lightly and turned to look ahead. Demonte followed her gaze—to the Governess' home.

"This is it," She smiled. "I've never been here, but out of respect, you have to remove that hood."

Demonte suddenly felt uncomfortable and the joyous thoughts bouncing around in his mind were replaced with weariness and etched anger.

"What about your sunglasses?" He asked.

"I'm on it," She smiled.

"I'm not exactly comfortable with taking my hood off here," He said.

"Why? Are you hiding something from someone or…" Henai laughed. "Are you a stud under that hood and just don't want girls to know?"

"No, seriously," Demonte wasn't joking anymore. "I'm not taking my hood off."

"What's the big deal?" Henai asked.

"Just," Demonte gave up and turned, ready to walk back to the inn alone. "Nevermind. Forget about it."

A hand as quick as a whip snapped out and coiled around Demonte's arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" Suddenly, Henai wasn't joking around either. "You can't go anywhere yet."

"Dammit!" He yelled, "Let me go!"

She was surprisingly strong. "You're not going anywhere. Not until we met the Governess. Now take…off…that…hood…"

"Screw you," He growled.

She punched him and he grabbed his nose, blood dripping down between his fingers. She withdrew her gun and held it to his head. "Move. NOW." She ordered.

Checkmate. Damn.

Demonte glanced up at her unwillingly and assented to her demands. He plodded unhappily to the Governess' gates, before being stopped by two armored guards.

"You'd better take off that hood if you want us to clean up that bloody nose," Henai told him.

Was she belittling him?

She turned to look at the guards. "You'll have to excuse him." She said. "We're here to see the Governess."

"Do you have an appointment?" A vague, yet familiar, woman's voice questioned Henai.

"It's important," Henai assured. "We need to see her."

The guard turned to her partner, as if asking for consent before she agreed. Finally, she looked back at Henai and nodded. "You can pass. But may I ask for you two to take off your sunglasses and hood?"

"Most certainly," Henai said, reaching for her sunglasses. Demonte looked up, his eyes diverting towards Henai. He gasped. He was staring at an exact replica of himself.

The guard was even more taken aback as he was. She quickly removed her helmet and looked at Henai, her face paled as her brunette hair fell about her shoulders.

"M-Meryl…?" The woman choked out.

"Milly?" The woman called 'Meryl' blinked and then her face became resilient. "Well Milly, it's been a long time."

***

Any better? Slowly but surely everyone's coming back so, please be patient. I promise it won't be as slow in later chapters! R&R please! Love it, hate it (Just be nice please) or whatever.

BLD