Disclaimer: Still don't own Trigun.
Yay! School's almost out! Then I can work on this story more, if anyone wants me to, anyway. Please let me know what you all think! The crew of Trigun will be reunited shortly, so please stay tuned.
Engel: Sacrifice
Chapter Six
The Man With The Black Coat
"The use of force, he was so tough
She'll soon submit, she's had enough
The march of fate, the broken will
Someone is lying very still
He has laughed and he has cried
He has fought and he has died
He's just the same as all the rest
He's not the worst, he's not the best"
-Pink Floyd (Lyrics from 'Yet Another Movie')
"Sempai," Milly yawned and climbed out of her tent. "It's dawn."
Meryl sat around the campfire, preparing breakfast.
"We'll have to eat quickly and then continue forward." She told her partner as she passed her a plate of eggs.
"But Meryl, where are we going? We aren't even sure where he went."
"Yeah…" Meryl agreed. "Although we don't know, I'm certain that his partner will know where he went."
"True," Milly said, picking at her eggs. "But she's still not awake."
Then a loud yawn rang resounded as Celestia emerged from her own tent, stretching her arms above her head. She halted and looked around. Blinking, she was held cemented to the ground.
"Who the heck are you guys?" She asked.
"I'm pleased to meet you," Meryl arose to shake her hand. "I'm Meryl Stryfe."
Celestia remained silent as Meryl pumped her hand a few times.
"Meryl Stryfe, ex-worker of the Bernardelli Insurance Society. Age 28. Grew up in…" Meryl jumped back, nearly tripping over the campfire.
"What the hell!?" She screamed, staring at Celestia. "What the hell are you!?"
Celestia stood still, dumbfounded, and then she broke into full fledge laughter. "You looked the same way that he did!" She burst out, cackling hysterically.
Meryl looked at her, confused. Then she grew angry.
"Hey! Just who are you anyway!? How do you know who I am and my occupation!?"
Celestia sobered up and smiled. "My name is Celestia Androke."
"That still doesn't say anything about how you know me." Meryl said, warily.
"Meryl!" Milly smiled and clasped her hands together. "She must be a psychic!" Celestia smiled and shook Milly's hand.
"Milly, that's the dumbest thing I've ever—"
"Milly Thompson, age 26. You worked as Meryl's partner in Bernardelli." Meryl's face paled.
"Y-You're…psychic!?" Meryl's jaw dropped.
"I'm sorry if I frightened you," Celestia smiled. "You see, usually I don't invade other peoples' privacy, but when I saw you without my partner, I got kind of scared. But now I realize that you know Demonte too."
"Yup," Meryl sighed extravagantly. "She's a psychic all right."
"Oh wow!" Milly's face lit up like a child at Christmas. "I've never met a psychic before! Isn't this exciting Meryl?"
"Thrilling," Meryl said and then an idea came to her mind. "Celestia, since our formal introductions have been kind of one-sided, and things have been cut short, do you think that you can help us?"
"I already know what you want," Celestia shifted her weight to her left leg as she held her tiny hands on her hips. "I sensed it from when you shook my hand."
"Good," Meryl smiled. "Then that saves the time of explaining everything." Sighing, she sat back down on the ground and resumed in eating her breakfast. "So," She said with a mouthful of food. "Where do you think that he is?"
Celestia didn't answer right away. Instead, she closed her eyes and sought deep within the subconscious thoughts of her male companion. "Well," She said, biting her bottom lip. "Yesterday we were headed for Cliff Schzzarre's place."
"Mr. Cliff?" Milly arose at the name. "That was the man who…"
"I know who he is, Milly," Meryl motioned her companion to sit. "He was the man who monopolized the water about seven years ago."
"That's him," Celestia agreed. Celestia opened her mouth to explain what Demonte was doing at a place like that, but her muscles tensed as feelings passed through her, sensing that Meryl and her partner had no clue as to who Demonte really was. She decided to leave it unsaid.
"Then that's our next destination," Meryl said, a little disappointed. "I was almost hoping that he would've taken up on our offer and went to the Eastern Ruins."
"But Meryl," Milly stopped her partner. "Don't you want to know why he's going to that man's place?" Milly could be smart sometimes.
"That's quite true…" Meryl looked up at Celestia. "Well, do you know anything about it?"
Celestia felt trapped. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "I don't know," She lied. "You'd have to ask him."
Meryl sighed. "I thought that you were his partner…"
"Not really," Celestia said quickly. "He's my bodyguard until I get to November. It's a long story actually."
Meryl began to pack her belongings. "Well off we go I guess. Milly, get your stuff, all right?"
Celestia watched as the two women extinguished the fire and began to pack up their tents and sleeping bags. "Hey, why are you two so interested in Demonte?"
"You don't know?" Meryl asked as she stuffed her sleeping bag into her duffel bag. "He can use Forbidden Magicks. That's a pretty big deal if you ask me. Anyway, we need his help since he can use such powers."
"It's now our own self-proclaimed mission that we find him and bring him back to Sanction!" Milly smiled as she picked up her sleeping bag, her green trench coat hanging open loosely in front of her.
Celestia paused. Vibes had stung within her fiercely. Something within these two that made her feel uneasy. There was going to be a confrontation soon…
Demonte stopped. The fog enveloped the atmosphere, but he could not deny its exterior appearance. This was the entrance to Cliff Schzzarre's domain. He paused, hesitating whether or not it would be appropriate to just barge in. So he knocked lightly, just barely rapping against the wood.
It opened slightly, and two brown eyes peered out from behind the crack.
"Who are you?" Came a raspy voice.
Demonte tugged on the hood of his cloak and nodded to himself. This was Cliff all right.
"Cliff," He said, withdrawing with a bundle of letters in his hand. "It's me, Demonte."
"Demonte?" The door opened just a crack further. "Well, it took you long enough to get here." Cliff was a short man, with a huge nose and a short, stubble of a moustache. He was dressed in one of his fine business suits and his hair, flecked with a little gray, was slicked back.
"Sorry," Demonte said, apologetically. "I ran into a mishap over in Felnarl."
"Eh?" Cliff's eyebrow rose. "What mishap?"
"Oversized beasts went rampant in the town and took over. Nothing that I couldn't handle though."
"Well, if that's all that delayed you…"
"I'm sorry," He said again.
Cliff waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. The important thing is that you showed up. Now, come inside and tell me what you've found…"
Demonte stepped inside, his mind convincing him that he was on an elevator. He watched as Cliff tapped numerous buttons on a digital pad and the elevator abruptly began to descend into Cliff's underground mansion.
"So, what's that in your hand?" Cliff gestured to the letters.
"Oh," Demonte suddenly remembered the bundle and handed them to Cliff. "These are the letters I intercepted in Granus."
Cliff looked them over, eyes diverting from left to right. Finally, he nodded. "Good job Demonte. So they're planning an uprising, are they? Well, we'll show them." Finally, the elevator came to a complete halt.
"Where are we, Mr. Cliff?" Demonte looked around.
"Demonte," Cliff led him into a large room. "Welcome to my laboratory."
The room was filled with fancy hi-tech equipment that astonished even Demonte.
"This is all…"
"Lost Technology…" Cliff finished for him. "Exactly."
"But," Demonte continued to stare in complete awe. "How did you come to acquire all of this?"
"Oh, we all have our secrets," Cliff laughed.
"Just like the water incident, right?"
Cliff frowned. "Don't bring that up."
Demonte looked away from Cliff and noticed the large plasma screen displayed in the middle of the room. It was currently turned off, but it kept Demonte's curiosity nonetheless.
"What's that for?" Demonte pointed to it.
The smile returned to Cliff's face. "That, Demonte, allows me to track people from any location. You see, I have created a certain mechanism that has taken on the shape of a bird, so that people won't get suspicious. I command it to go wherever I want and it goes there."
"So in other words, it helps you spy on your enemies?"
"You're a bright boy."
Demonte scratched his chin with his gloved fingers. "This would be a perfect way to find out what Granus is planning."
"Most definitely," Cliff agreed. "This will teach those bastards to lock me up in jail, especially that damned Marianne."
"Well," Demonte gestured to the letters. "With those, you can spy on them in the exact location with the same timing as when they plan to go on stage. We'll be able to crash their party and they won't expect it." Demonte's eyes shifted back to Cliff's. "Rohgsworn will be pleased."
Cliff chuckled and reached into his breast pocket for a cigar. "Well, the end is almost near, Demonte. Next month, we'll have those Alchemists in our possession. Granus will be finished." He let the last word slip with a puff off of his cigar.
Then Demonte thought of something. "Mr. Cliff," Cliff looked up. "Has Rohgsworn told you why he's doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"Why he's after Granus?"
Cliff looked startled for a moment, and then laughed. "Demonte, our leader has his reasons, I'm sure. He's never wronged me, even when I was put in jail for monopolizing the water. I've been in this Mafia for 7 years. Rohgsworn has always been there. ALWAYS."
"So you DON'T know why he's planning this?"
"Of course I do."
Demonte felt a surge of irritation run through him. "Why am I the only one who doesn't know what the hell this is all about!?"
"Easy, easy," Cliff smiled and puffed off of his cigar. "You'll find out soon enough. It's just not your time yet."
"I'm a member of this damn Mafia too!" Demonte protested. "And yet I know the LEAST about what's going on here!"
Cliff didn't flinch. Instead, he took Demonte by the arm and led him into another part of his mansion. "Demonte, you are the most important part in this mission. You can't let one little thing get to you…"
"One LITTLE THING!?" Demonte could feel his blood boil.
"Listen, the less you know, the better. If you just stick to the mission, then that's all you need to know."
Demonte bit his lip.
"The next thing that you need to do now…" Cliff reached for something in one of his drawers. His body was blocking Demonte's view, making it impossible for Demonte see what was being pulled out. But when he finally did turn around, Demonte recognized it as a map. "…is to go to Roklen. Wait for the first Tuesday to come and contact us when you get there. When you do, wait for the Alchemists to get to wherever the hell they're setting up their experiment. Kill everyone, except the Alchemists."
Demonte felt himself nod and he took the map that Cliff had handed him.
"That map will lead you to the new region." Cliff explained.
"It's going to take months to walk there. It's still 2,800 iles away from here." Demonte stated, rolling the map up.
"Catch a thomas." Cliff suggested.
Demonte blinked. What?
"Catch a thomas? Yeah, I probably could IF they hadn't become demons four years ago."
Cliff laughed. "Demonte with your skill? You could catch more than just a thomas."
"You're just trying to flatter me."
Cliff smiled and discarded his cigar. "Go visit Stan in Ashon, next to November. I'm certain that he'll have some business for you to take care of."
"Like I already don't have enough."
Cliff smiled. "Use the map I gave you. It'll come in handy."
Demonte unfolded the map and looked it over thoroughly. Then he remembered something. "You owe me money."
"Actually, that's why I need you to go see Stan."
Demonte didn't like where this was headed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Stan has the money. He wants you to go see him and I knew that you'd probably ignore going by there so…"
"So, to make sure that I would, you gave him my money." Demonte sighed, irritated.
"I knew that you would do anything for money so that's why I gave it to him. You want your money? Go see Stan."
"Damn you," Demonte whispered.
"You can get angry later, Demonte. But now is not the time. Time, actually, is something that we don't have enough of." Cliff smiled. "But in the meantime, I will send little watchdogs to Roklen. Granus will not get away, that I promise you."
Demonte stuffed the map into his cloak as he walked in the opposite direction of Cliff's underground mansion. His next destination was Ashon so that his money could be claimed. He hated detours, especially when they involved business. He trudged forward, the sand engulfing him and his distant footprints becoming invisible.
He arrived in Orleans City at nightfall. The fog had settled in and so he decided to settle down at an inn. He asked for a room near the front and threw his bag down on the bed once he opened the door. His eyes were reddened by the dust storm and his muscles tired from walking, so he decided to treat himself to a beer.
The bar was not far, only a minute away, but he hurried anyhow to get away from the cold. Heat consumed his body once he stepped through the door and he sighed heavily, leaning fully against the door. It felt good to be away from everything. He ordered a shot of bourbon at the counter, and was amazed that they even had alcohol left in this day and age.
The bar was surprisingly bustling with life and laughter replaced the cries of agonizing death that had lingered in Demonte's mind for a long while. He settled himself at a table in the far back of the room, where he could enjoy his drink in peace. But his serenity did not last long. Two gruff hands were slammed upon the table and Demonte looked up.
An enormous man towered over Demonte, his shadow looming over him as it gave off a frightfully agitated aura.
"Yes, can I help you?" Demonte asked his voice low and calm.
The man reeked of alcohol, so there was no mistaking that he was indeed drunk. The man's eyes were hidden by a shadow and his murky brown hair was pulled back into a braid. His attire of clothing, which included a Cimmerian trench coat, seemed to darken the atmosphere even more than the man's shadow did. Although Demonte felt a bit weary of the man, he attempted not to look intimidated.
"Can I help you?" Demonte repeated again, this time a little more persistent.
"Hey newbie," The voice hissed as he leaned closer to Demonte's face. "You look brilliantly arcane from all the way over there. I figured that I'd come over and introduce myself personally." He cajoled sinisterly.
"You're drunk," Demonte went back to drinking his bourbon. "Go away."
"Oh!" The man bellowed and stood up, turning to face the audience in the bar. "So Mr. Newbie here thinks he's too good to join us!" The drunk turned to look back at Demonte, his slant eyes shown in full regalia this time. "Then we'll settle it our way." Cracking his knuckles, the man pointed out the door. "You and me, outside. It'll be brilliant."
Demonte blinked, astonished. "You're going to fight me? Why?"
"You bastard, don't give me that. You're the asshole that robbed the Mayor's House last night." When Demonte didn't speak up, the drunk man continued. "Are you too shy to speak up and admit your crime, punk?"
"Actually, I'm unsure of what you're talking about."
"Don't lie to me asshole!" The drunken man raged as he kicked over Demonte's table, sending the bourbon crashing to the ground. Demonte stayed still in his chair, and barely glanced up at the man. "There was a robbery last night and the Mayor was KILLED! There were also valuable possessions stolen and word has it that a dark figure that looked like you was prowling around last night!"
"I didn't do it." Demonte said, anger residing in his voice. "I just arrived in town tonight."
"Bullcrap." The man spat out. "Prove you didn't do it. Fight me."
"What will that prove!?" Demonte rose from his chair, seething.
"If I don't wind up breaking all of your bones, I'll believe you. If you can't beat me, then I'll kill you. I've always found that fighting solves problems. So, you game?"
Demonte shook his head. This man had to be in some drunken stupor. Even his logic didn't make sense. "If I must. But I'll tell you now," Demonte withdrew his gun and loaded it. "I'm not a newbie."
"Actually kid, we're fighting with our bare hands. We wanna make this flashy."
Demonte hesitantly put his gun away as he tried to absorb the words. "All right," He said, licking his lips. "It's your fight."
Demonte followed the man outside and they stood across from each other in the dusty road.
"Brilliant," The man said, chuckling. "Just brilliant."
Demonte held his breath. Was this guy for real?
"I wish you luck, kid," The man held his fists up, ready to fight. "You'll be needing it."
Then the drunken man charged forward and leapt high into the air. He brought a fist down towards Demonte, but his body only hit only ground. "What!?" He coughed, spitting up dirt and gravel. Using his hands to push himself off of the ground, he turned and was amazed as he saw Demonte on the opposite side of him. "How the hell did you do that?" The wind ruffled Demonte's cloak lightly as he kept his head lowered.
"Come get me," Demonte whispered, his words carried away by the breeze.
The drunk jumped to his feet and lashed out at Demonte, sending a flying back kick in his direction. He was caught off guard as Demonte grabbed the outstretched leg, twisted it, and flipped the drunk on his backside. The man coughed, the wind knocked out of his lungs, and he looked up at Demonte…
…And saw his luminous eyes.
"You're…" The drunk's face scrunched up and he grunted as he was sent flying by Demonte's front kick. He rolled over and jumped to his feet, clutching his injured side. "You're a bastard. A hard-core bastard. Where did you learn how to fight like that?"
"Around," Demonte replied.
The drunken man chuckled. "Why don't you just stand there and let me hit you then!?" The drunk lurched forward and threw a combination of punches to Demonte's face, who dodged the blows swiftly. The drunk growled as his fists ripped through air, never catching his target. "Stop moving!" The drunk shouted.
He was rewarded with an uppercut to the bottom of his chin, clamping his tongue in between his teeth. Then Demonte dropped to the ground and caught the drunk behind his ankle and swept him off of his feet with his leg.
The drunk finally gave in as he put a hand to his mouth and watched as blood poured from the tip of his tongue. "I give," The drunk said, smiling. "Brilliant."
"Have I proved my innocence yet?" Demonte asked helping the man to his feet, surprising the drunk by this man's actions.
"If you were the criminal, you would've shot me," The drunk laughed. "Brilliant. My name is Brilliant Dynamites Neon. Or, you can call me BDN for short. It's your choice."
"I've heard of you," Demonte nodded. "You're the leader of the Bad Lad Gang."
"USED to be," BDN laughed. "I'm retired now. At least from that." He patted Demonte on the back and led him back inside the bar. "Come on, I'll buy you another bourbon. Sorry about the accusation by the way."
"Don't worry about it," Demonte assured.
BDN ordered two bourbons and the two sat back at the table that BDN had kicked over earlier. "So, what's your name?"
"Hmm?" Demonte was snapped back to reality as BDN's voice reached his ears. "Oh, it's Demonte."
"That's a pretty powerful name," BDN laughed as he leaned back in the chair and sipped off of his own bourbon. "Well Demonte, like I said before, the Mayor was killed here in town just last night by an assassin who looked exactly like you. He was wearing a brilliant looking trench coat with red eyes and silver hair. By the way, do you mind if I ask you to take off that hood? You're scaring the hell outta me wearing that thing. It makes me feel like I'm talking to death himself."
"I'm sorry," Demonte said, looking down. "But I'd prefer not to take it off."
BDN shrugged, a little disappointed. "Well, we all have secrets. Anyway, when I saw you, I thought that you were the convict, so you can see why I overreacted…"
"Absolutely."
"But to be blunt and right to the point, I want your help."
Demonte nearly choked on his drink. "Excuse me?"
"Please," BDN said, more seriously this time. "I'm asking you to help me. The world is suffering from so much garbage as it is; I can't stand to watch the people suffer any longer."
"What do you want me to do about it?" Demonte asked, suddenly becoming leery of this man. Demonte was not very sociable, and helping others just wasn't his style, unless it was convenient.
"I believe that the killer is still in this town," BDN relaxed slightly. "He couldn't have escaped within the last twenty-four hours because of the storm. Frankly stranger, it's damn brilliant that you made it here alive yourself."
"Thanks," Demonte said. "Continue. Where do you think that he's hiding out?"
"Not sure," BDN sighed. "I came here on business myself, so I don't know the layout of this town. But I was here long enough to know about the murder."
"That doesn't quite help me, you know." Demonte set his glass down upon the table. "Besides, how is it going to benefit me?"
"You?" BDN's eyes widened. "Why does it have to benefit you? Why don't you just do it to benefit these people? Next time, that bastard might get a woman, or a child!"
A child? Like him…as a child?
"All right," Demonte nodded. "But if it takes any longer than tomorrow morning, I'm outta here. I'm on business too, you know."
"Absolutely," BDN's teeth shined with a glimmering smile. "Thanks Dem."
Demonte rolled his eyes, despising the nickname. "Let's just get out there now before he decides to bail out of town."
Then a gust of wind flew in, and three figures stood in the doorway, cocking their snipers.
***
Hmm…Black coat, silver hair, red eyes…sounds familiar. Too bad that he was never included in the manga or the series, but he's a pretty popular Trigun action figure. Can you guess who it is?
As always, please R&R. Comments, critiques (Nice ones), etc (But no flames please).
BLD