Disclaimer: Still don't own Trigun. Wish I did. THEN it wouldn't be so hard to gather information for my story. Which brings me to my next point…

A/N: Like I've said before, I'm taking most of my information off the show Trigun (So that events seem most accurate). I have looked up some information about parts of the show (I didn't really take anything from the manga, seeing as how different it is from the show), but came up confused. Such as (of course) Vash's age. I have heard that at the beginning of the anime he was 131 and by the end he was 133. But then I've heard that by the end of the anime he was 131. Since I don't like posting false information (And making an ass out of myself) I was wondering if any of you good folk out there could help me cause (heh, heh) I DID try to get information from the show and it didn't add up. At all. Like how it was 130 years ago but then you have to remember that Vash and Knives were already a year of age from the SEED Ship and blah blah. Anyway it doesn't add up. If anyone could help me, I'd be most grateful and I'd even give you credit too. Also, that goes with any other info that you see that I have posted that is false (It should pretty much be accurate. I DID take good notes from the show, but you never know…) like if you guys know the ages (FOR SURE) of the others from the show (Milly and Meryl for example) please part your all-knowing information with me. And please let me know if you find any problems. Arigato ^_^

Engel: Sacrifice

Chapter Five

Forbidden Magicks

"People refuse change because they think it's too late. Can it just be that they don't want to try?"

-Author Unknown

"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."

"You…know each other?" Demonte asked, still keeping his hand over his bloody nose.

"Damn, it's a small world." 'Meryl' laughed and drew her friend into a hug. "Of course we know each other; we have a history together."

"I don't get this," Demonte sighed and pinched his bleeding nose.

"Oh, sorry about that," Meryl said, patting his back, and pointing to his nose. "Let's get you inside and we'll clean you up."

"I don't need your help," He shrugged her hand off his shoulder and walked past the two into the Governess' Manor.

"Who's that, Meryl?" Milly asked, turning to her friend.

"That's Demonte," She said nonchalantly, "Don't mind him."

Demonte slipped into the bathroom, aware of the stern glances he was getting from civilians inside the Manor. He looked up into the mirror, watching as the blood rolled down his face, over the curve in his lips, down his chin, and finally dropped into the sink. At least his nose wasn't broken.

Demonte locked the door before removing the hood of his cloak. He wiped the stream of blood from his nose with a paper towel and gazed at himself in the mirror. That woman…named Meryl…why did he feel like he was staring at his own reflection? When she took off her glasses…And why did she lie about her name? It just didn't come together.

Reaching for another paper towel for his nose, Demonte's mind began to race. His sister…no, wait, twins? Nah, his mother would've told him, wouldn't she? Or, maybe it was just him. A lot of people had black hair. But violet eyes too?

"Demonte, get a hold of yourself," He scolded as he shook his head and wiped away the never-ending blood. "Your sister could be dead for all you know. That doesn't mean that this woman could be her. No, not at all." If all else failed, he would place her as a distant cousin. But after all, his sister was most probably dead, just like the rest of his family.

Then a knock sounded at the door. "Demonte? Are you okay? I didn't break your nose, did I?"

"No," He said quickly and realized that the bleeding had ceased. "I'll be out in a minute."

A pause and then, "I'm sorry I hit you…"

"It's all right," He assured, hoping to get her to leave. "Don't worry about it."

"Well, I'll be in front of the Governess' door. Meet me there when you get cleaned up."

"Yeah, sure."

He relaxed when he heard footsteps moving away from the door. "Damn, persistent woman…" He looked up into his eyes, watching his reflection breathe heavily, just as he was.

His hair did look like that woman's…just a bit messy. And his facial features…Ah, DAMMIT! This was so pointless. It probably wasn't even her.

Demonte fingered the Band-Aid on the left side of his cheek. Sighing, he pulled his hood back over his head and reached for the doorknob. He hated being right, knowing what he did about his sister, which was next to nothing.

"I wonder what kind of person she is…" No, stop the wishful thinking.

He exited the room and found Meryl down the hall.

"Henai," He said as he approached her, "Or Meryl. Which is it?"

"I'll tell you in a minute."

"You lied," He pressured. "I'm not too fond of liars."

"I didn't lie." She smiled. "I just didn't tell you the whole truth."

He sighed. "What are we waiting for?"

"Milly is inside talking to the Governess. She'll let us know in a minute whether or not we'll be permitted to see her."

As if on cue, the door crept open and Milly poked her head through the crack. "The Governess says that she will speak to you in her study. Please meet her there."

"All right," Meryl agreed. "Just down the hall, right?"

"Down the hall and to the right."

Meryl nodded and gestured to Demonte. "Come on Demonte."

He watched her movements carefully as they trailed down the hall, turning sharply, and up the stairs. Maybe they had known each other in another life, perhaps? No, maybe he saw her at one of Rohgsworn's famous parties? Her? One of the Hell's Mafia's members? No way. An ex-lover? Puh-leeeze, he was still a virgin, not that that was a bad thing. He just never had the time to get seriously involved with anyone.

"Demonte," Meryl pulled him into a large room. "You really need to stop spacing out on me, bud."

The room was beautiful, not as luxurious as Cliff's old mansion, but beautiful nonetheless. Maybe it was the large window that stood out, capturing most of the scenery, or fog, to be exact. It would've been a lovely window if it had something to connect itself with. Fog was most certainly not lovely nor beautiful.

Meryl flopped onto a couch and looked at her companion.

"Why don't you take off that hood, Demonte?"

"I don't want to."

"Oh come on! I didn't mess your face up that bad, did I?"

"It's not that," He said, staring out the window. "I just don't feel comfortable with people looking at me."

"You're a man full of secrets…" She sighed. "You're going to have to, sooner or later…"

"What are you going to do, pull another gun stunt on me?"

"Geez, you're such a stick in the mud…" Meryl sighed and turned her head as the door opened, revealing Milly and a woman in a long turquoise gown that made Meryl shiver and her heart stop in her chest.

"Hello," Said the Governess. She took one look at Meryl and gasped. "You're…"

"I remember you…" Meryl said, standing up. Demonte turned and looked at the Governess.

"Wait, you're…" He started.

"Meryl," Milly clasped her hands together. "Remember that woman from the bar about seven years ago?"

"You're that wealthy woman…your father…" Meryl couldn't quite place it.

"Come, sit down," The Governess laughed and motioned her guests to sit. "It seems as though we have a lot to recollect, don't we?"

"We sure do," Meryl laughed. She looked up at Demonte. "Well, if you're not going to take your hood off, at LEAST come and sit on the couch," Meryl motioned a spot next to her.

Demonte was reluctant, but sat down anyway, but in a far away chair, separate from the others. Meryl seemed a bit disappointed.

"My name is Stefany Bostalk, Governess of Sanction."

"I knew it!" Meryl nearly jumped up. "Your father was…"

"Grim Reaper Bostalk…" Stefany lowered her head. "I know."

"I remember you now…" Meryl relaxed into her seat. "Milly, why didn't you tell me that she was the Governess?"

"I thought you knew." Milly shrugged.

"My father died about four years ago, when the Dark Ages started. He obtained some rare disease that made him quite ill and killed him. He left his money to me and requested that I fulfill his dying wish in building a town on the land that he had robbed from those good people all those years ago. Together, with many friends of my father, we built this town, Sanction. I decided to call it 'Sanction' to let everyone know that they were welcome here whenever and we would help them anyway possible. I think my father would've wanted it."

"Me too, Milady…" Milly smiled.

"Milly," Meryl turned to her friend. "You work for her?"

"Oh, just recently." Milly said. "I've had several other jobs before this, but I just took up this job about six months ago."

"Why have you gone through so many jobs?" Meryl asked, curiously.

"Money. They didn't have enough to pay me." Milly replied. "Just like this planet, it's drying up."

"Wait," Demonte held up his hands. "Tell me what the hell is going on here because I'm confused."

Meryl laughed. "All right, Demonte, I'll tell you what's going on."

"What? Did you forget that I was here or something?" Demonte asked, irritably.

"No," Meryl shook her head. "It's just that I haven't seen these guys in years. It's a reunion thing." Demonte rolled his eyes.

"Well Demonte," Milly began. "Meryl and I used to work together until about four years ago at an insurance agency. Our mission was to follow the infamous Vash the Stampede. Up until a few years ago, he was searching for his brother, who was wreaking havoc around the world. After he found him, Mr. Vash wandered off and was never heard from again. That's when the real trouble began."

"What? Are you serious!?" Demonte's eyes widened. "YOU both KNEW Vash the Stampede?"

"Yes," Meryl said with a hint of sadness residing in her voice. "After he disappeared without a trace, our world was sent straight to hell. The insurance agency shut down and Milly and I split up and went our own different ways. We haven't seen each other in three years, so, you can see why we're happy to see each other."

"Why didn't you write then?" Demonte asked, as though he had pointed out the most obvious mistake to them both.

"We were always on the road, there was never any time." Milly said. "Our stays were always short, sojourn, and then we'd be gone again."

"We just met Ms. Stefany on our travels with Vash," Meryl added.

"I see," Demonte mumbled. "Just off topic, why did those guys call you 'Henai' when we came in? Or is that your real name?"

"No," Meryl said and sighed, closing her tired eyes. "My real name is Meryl Stryfe. People just call me Henai in this village because of my heritage."

Ah-ha, Demonte thought. She has a heritage, of course she can't be related to me.

"Anyway, enough about us," Meryl said. "I want to ask you some questions, Demonte. That's why I brought you here." Meryl turned to look at Stefany. "Ms. Stefany, I was hoping that maybe you can help me since you seem to be so into the Forbidden Magicks."

"Yes," She agreed. "My father was a complete fanatic."

Demonte suddenly felt uncomfortable. Why was he the specimen of the day all of a sudden?

"First," Meryl started. "What's your full name?"

"Why the hell does it matter?" He asked defensively.

Meryl remained patient with him. "It was just a question. What's your full name?"

Demonte sighed. What was she up to?

"Demonte Kalabis. JUST Demonte Kalabis."

"Kalabis," Meryl nodded. "I don't recognize the last name."

"What's this for?" He asked, cautiously.

"You can use Forbidden Magicks, correct?" Meryl asked.

Demonte nodded.

"So I thought that you were a descendent from a family who could already use Forbidden Magicks."

"What's this about, Miss Stryfe?" Stefany asked, fascinated by the ongoing conversation.

"In Felnarl, I was being attacked by a large Cerberus. Demonte just happened to come along and he killed the beast with Forbidden Magicks."

Demonte bit his lip. This conversation was not looking favorable on his side.

"Really?" Stefany smiled. "Mr. Kalabis, I was wondering if you could by any chance help us?"

"With what?" A sharp pain extended from the pit of his stomach up to his head, creating a massive headache. More than anything now, he wanted to jump up and leave. Just run as far as he could. What were these girls up to?

"There has been some recent activity with a mob of people over in the East, near the ruins, I believe." Stefany said. "I'm worried that they might be headed this way."

"And those beasts that you saw aren't from this planet." Meryl explained. "Those men and the dark beasts are from another dimension, supposedly."

Really? Well that was saying a lot. Although Demonte had no idea what they were referring to when they mentioned another 'dimension'.

"They must be planning some kind of conspiracy." Stefany cut in. "With your powers, we were wondering if you could help us check it out."

Demonte knew damn well what it was. It was the Hell's Mafia.

"There has been a repeating pattern of town burnings and ruin raids." Meryl continued.

"Sorry," He muttered. "I'm already on a mission of my own," He stood up to leave. "But maybe we'll settle down and talk next time, okay?"

He quickly retreated from the room, not caring to see the expressions of these people. They were onto him.

"Well, at least they're not apart of the I.T.F. that's been giving the Mafia a hard time…" He sighed. "They just wanted to use me for some protest project. I have to get out of here."

He always had to leave. One place was never safe. Ever.

Demonte made his way back to the inn and gathered his belongings. "Sorry Celestia," He muttered under his breath. "I can't wait for you to wake up. Hope you get to November safely."

On the way out of town, he purchased a map. He traced back in his mind to the coordinates that Celestia had given him. 35, 50? Oh well, he would figure it out eventually. But either way, he had to get to Cliff Schzzarre.

"Did you find him?" Milly asked her companion as they exited from the inn.

"No, and all of his belongings are gone…" Meryl bit her lip and clenched a fist. "Dammit! Now he's gotten away!"

"Now, now, Meryl," Milly consoled her friend. "We'll find him. It'll be just like old times."

"But we can't leave the girl," Meryl gestured back to the door from which they had just exited.

"Leave it to me, Sempai!" Milly smiled. "I can carry her."

Meryl smiled. "Milly, I'm not your senior anymore. You can stop calling me that." Then her face grew emotionless. "It's a real shame that we can't use a thomas to find him. It would be so much faster than on foot…"

Milly opened the door and looked at the young woman. "So this is Celestia?"

"Yeah," Meryl said, rounding her gear up for their long journey.

"That was pretty rude of Demonte to just leave her here."

"She'll be awake by morning," Meryl said. "But Milly, are you sure that you want to carry her all that way?"

She watched as Milly pulled the young woman onto her back.

"It's no problem for me." Milly smiled.

That made Meryl smile too. "How can you be so calm and kind during all of this? It seems like you don't have a care in the world. Just like old times." Then another question struck Meryl. "Hey Milly, just whatever happened to your family?"

Milly's cheerful face dissipated into a frown and her eyes met the floor. Meryl instantly cursed herself for asking such a question.

"They were killed…on a raid in my hometown about three years ago, when all of the torching in the towns began…"

"I'm so sorry…I shouldn't have asked…Milly…"

There was a hiatus in the conversation for several minutes, which made Meryl feel even worse.

"No, Meryl. I've been feeling pretty good these days." Milly tilted her head up to see her friend. "Life is what you make it. Not all is bad."

"You're completely right," Meryl nodded.

"And now, Meryl," Milly stood up and advanced towards the door. "Let's go find Demonte."

Demonte shivered. He knew that it was a horrible idea to wander around in the dark. With FOG no less. But it was important. He HAD to find Cliff. The letters had to be delivered. He figured that Meryl and her friend would be on his trail shortly, which was enough for him to quicken his pace.

Coughing, Demonte reached into his pocket for the letters he was to deliver. They rested peacefully inside of his cloak. Breathing a sigh of relief, he continued on, jogging midway and then returning to a fast-paced walk.

A few minutes later into the darkness told him that he was lost. He growled. Demonte wasn't particularly fond of camping out in the middle of nowhere, especially with all of the extraterrestrial beasts hanging out all over the planet. Even Demonte had no clue as to what they were. But like Meryl had said, they were neither human nor animal.

He finally settled down near a mountain range and pitched up a tent from his bag that he had purchased back in Sanction. Starting up a small campfire, he pulled out a small can of food and placed it over the fire. Then withdrawing a canteen of water, he unscrewed the lid and sipped off of it, careful not to waste the last few precious drops of his water. It would be more useful for in the morning.

The fire cackled and the mountain range grew bright with the red and orange lighting from the fire. Feeling more secure with himself, Demonte lowered his hood, dropping it until it rested behind his shoulders and he began to draw circles in the dirt with his index finger out of boredom.

He still couldn't get the whole situation out of his mind. But as soon as he dropped the letters off to Cliff, the better off everything would be. Then from there, he could head to Roklen and dispose of Granus' plans, although it remained unclear as to why he was doing it. But he was a man who asked no questions. Questions led to murder in the Hell's Mafia.

The fog invited itself to Demonte's side and he once again became cold. Pulling a blanket from out of his bag, he wrapped it around himself from shoulder to shoulder and snuggled beneath it. He ran a hand through his dark hair and closed his eyes, listening as the canned food bubbled up lightly.

"Hmmm…" He said, tilting his head slightly so that it leaned on his shoulder just barely. "That woman…Meryl…She's a hard one to figure out…" He yawned and waited for his food to finish cooking.

Sleep overtook him a little while after he had finished eating and he curled up into a small ball. Removing his cloak from his body, he tossed it into a corner and pulled his boots off, throwing them into another. He discarded the gloves, tossing them over his shoulder. He was left remaining in a black turtleneck shirt and black pants. Yawning just a couple more times, he leaned back and let his mind drift. However, his dreams were not the peaceful things he had entirely hoped for.

Staring down at his hands…yes…his own hands…They were smaller now. Much smaller than his usual adult hands.

He was a child again.

"Demonte, the land is prosperous and fertile. When you inherit this land, my son, you must always remember that the world is alive, no matter what others may think. It is alive…"

This voice…was not father's…

And then he was a young man, harboring childhood secrets, wielding Forbidden Magicks and venturing the plains and highlands.

A stalky man, covered in darkness, almost invisible, withdrew a katana, and then he and the man began to fight. Like running fire, the man sped forward and beat him down. So much blood spilled. And as he looked up, the katana cut clean across the left side of his face.

He awoke in a cold sweat and at a loss of breath. Pulling the covers over his head, Demonte restrained himself from crying. Why did life have to be so damn hard? Why? Was it a mistake…that he was here? Was he only a puppet in the Mafia's games?

"God…please…" He refused to fall asleep again for the rest of the night.

Once again sleep deprived, Demonte trudged out into the fog, glancing every so often at the map and then back to his surroundings.

"Okay, so where am I?" He stared up into the colorless sky. "Nothing looks familiar," He sighed and stuffed the map back into his cloak. "Damn," He cursed and plodded forward.

***

I hope that this story isn't getting too boring. Too much talking -_-' but it'll get better once everyone starts coming back. (HUZZAH!) But I still wouldn't mind critiques (Nice ones please) about how to improve my story. Dunno if I mentioned it before, but this IS my first serious fic that I've written, so I'm always trying to find ways to make it better. And as always R&R please.

BLD