Disclaimer: Come on, you know the drill. I didn't own Trigun last time so I still don't own it now.
A/N: I've received a handful of e-mails from people who are confused with some of the characters in the story. While that's perfectly normal, I've decided to post a character list of the people that I've used so far down at the bottom of this chapter. When new characters are mentioned or introduced, they will be added as well. But if you guys have ANY other concerns or questions, I encourage you to contact me. I'm not an ogre, I promise. ;___; See the tears?
Engel: Sacrifice
Chapter Twelve
Temptation
"Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun
Along the Long Road and on down the Causeway
Do they still meet there by the cut?
There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before time took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay"
-Pink Floyd (Lyrics from Division Bell)
"Hey!" Vash stood up straight. "What do you think that you're doing!?"
"Tonis!" Demonte stood his ground as he armed himself with his own gun. "Leave him alone."
"Tonis?" Vash turned from Demonte to the figure in front of him. "Inepril City…?" Flashbacks flooded back to him. "I remember now…You were asking your mother for a real gun once before…"
"And I finally got one," Tonis sneered. "As you can see."
"But you were so young then…and even still, now!" Vash said in disbelief. How could this dark figure who stood holding him at gunpoint now be the same sweet young boy from Inepril seven years ago? It reminded him of Bete…no, Zazie the Beast. Tonis…he looked the same way that Zazie had. How could this happen? "Why are you doing this?"
"I was offered fame and fortune. I've taken the guns that I've always wanted and put them to some good use." Tonis smiled.
"But you're only a young adult!" Vash protested.
"So what!?" Tonis snapped. "Regardless of my age, 'I' am the one who is holding you at gunpoint at this very second!"
Vash said nothing as he watched Tonis cock his gun and tug on the trigger. "So Vash, how did it feel to take my mother's life?"
"What?" Vash breathed in disbelief.
"You bastard! Don't play stupid with me!" Vash could see Tonis' eyes narrow, even in the night. "That day…Four years ago…You killed my mother!"
"Tonis, I–I would never–"
"That's right, more of your lies." Tonis' arm tensed. "But that's okay because I will have the pleasure of killing you. Say goodnight…BOTH of you…"
Demonte quickly dove over the side of the cliff and Tonis halted his attack. Demonte spun in a half circle and struck Tonis in the side of the head with his elbow. He fell, and Demonte motioned to Vash to move.
"Come on you moron! Don't just stand there!" Demonte yelled. Vash hesitated but followed after Demonte into the fog. Tonis clutched his temples, grunting and cursing as he attempted to stand.
"Damn you!" Tonis screamed. "I'll get you for that you bastards!"
"It's not nice to hide," Descartes laughed as he sought for the two refugees he had chased into the fog. Growing weary of the chase, he drew his boomerang and held it up to shield his face. The glint from the boomerang brightened the atmosphere just a little.
Ingway withdrew back behind the boulder that he had been using to spy on his enemy with and, for the meantime, had been acting as a hiding place. He turned and nudged his partner, whispering softly, "I see him."
"Where?" Came Celestia's voice.
"Just over yonder, not far from us. If we're gonna get to higher ground, now would be the time."
"What do you mean higher ground? The boulders?"
"Exactly, but maybe a little more than a boulder." Then an idea hit him. "Hey, you're a psychic, can you sense any cliffs around here? Not too big, but enough so that we can get the first jump on this guy."
"I don't know…Let me try," Celestia closed her eyes. "Damn fog keeps clouding my concentration," She grunted and scrunched her eyes closed.
Ingway turned, listening for footsteps. Impatience began to set into his bones and he slowly began to shake with each pounding footstep that came closer.
"Right," Celestia opened her eyes. "Follow me, and hurry." She broke into an immediate run and Ingway hurried after.
Descartes jerked his body to the side and frowned. His frown immediately turned into a hideous grin as he caught sight of his prey. He cocked his arm backwards and sent the razor sharp boomerang flying from his hand. It cut through the rocks with ease and was still determined to reach Ingway and Celestia.
Celestia stopped abruptly, almost causing Ingway to run into the back of her, and she turned around, sensing the danger. "Hit the ground!" She shouted as she dove onto her belly and covered her head.
Puzzled, Ingway turned and horror fed through his body. Celestia reached up and grabbed the back of Ingway's black coat. She pulled roughly and he fell on top of her just as the boomerang whizzed by.
Sighing, Celestia glared at him. "Next time when I tell you to duck, DUCK."
"Come out come out wherever you are!" Sang Descartes as he advanced forward.
"Run!" Celestia pushed Ingway off of her and rocked herself back and used momentum to swing herself up. "And keep low because the boomerang is coming back this way."
Ingway nodded and mimicked her movements. Celestia ran ahead, keeping her mind clear as she sought for the cliff. She turned left into another rock formation and then right, as Ingway struggled to keep up with her.
"Do you know where you're going!?" Ingway asked, breathing hard.
"Hey, who's the psychic here, me or you!?"
"…Good point."
"Great. Now shut up and keep up!"
From around the other side, nothing could be heard except for the steam being released from the back of Gofsef's head. The ground shook violently and three pairs of eyes shone in the night from behind a crevasse of rocks.
"Geez, I thought that those guys were in jail!" BDN said, shaking his head.
"They were," Meryl explained. "All of them, actually, but I suppose that someone helped them escape."
Milly smiled. "This reminds me of the time when Mr. Vash caught these guys and saved the town of Inepril!"
Meryl frowned as her fingernails dug into the lining of her gloves. "This is no time for recollections, Milly! We have to pray that the others are okay and take down the Nebraska Family ourselves!"
"I would like to make this flashy, but I've never been fond of fighting robots." BDN smirked. "It really cramps my style as there's really nothing that you can fight them with."
Milly turned her head to BDN. "We could always do what Mr. Vash did," She suggested and Meryl groaned. "What? It could work…"
"All right," Meryl said, taking over the conversation. "We'll circle him and then engage in gunfire. Milly, you take left, BDN, you take right, and I'll take front."
"What do you want us to do from there, Meryl?" Milly asked, patting her stun gun.
"Distract him, I'll take care of the rest."
BDN laughed. "Henai, you never fail to impress me. You're just going to take him out like that, huh?"
"Our lives are on the line," Meryl told him. "Now move out!"
The heat raged on and the pace quickened as Celestia and Ingway neared the cliff. Celestia smiled and she nodded to the large mountain formation in front of them. "Up there!"
Ingway's jaw dropped. "Isn't it a bit steep?"
"Now is not the time to be picky!" Celestia argued. "Besides, it's not too big and we'll be able to hide and shoot from a decent range."
"But it's still steep," Ingway muttered as the two stopped and Celestia swung herself up onto the first rock and began to climb higher. Ingway looked back to where Descartes' figure was slowly creeping up the mountain path and sighed. He followed Celestia's movements and scrambled up the small cliff mound.
Ingway seized a sturdy rock protruding out of many other smaller pebbles and pulled his weight up to the next rock until he finally was able to jerk himself into a comfortable position and roll over onto the flatter surface of the rock. Celestia came only a few seconds later and crawled over to the cliff's ledge.
"Shhh! I see him, I see him."
"Where?" Ingway rolled over and followed her gaze. Just as his eyes spotted the dark figure maneuvering its way to the cliff, the boomerang came whizzing by, cutting nearby rocks into two and vibrating the ground.
"Crap!" Celestia cried, holding her hands over her ears as she ducked lower to the rock's surface.
"I thought that you said that we'd be safe here!" Ingway growled as he held his arms over his head.
"I think I forgot to mention that my psychic readings aren't always reliable."
Ingway opened his mouth to groan, but just as he did the boomerang had circled back and cut their rock in half. Ingway jerked his head towards Celestia's screams as half of the rock plummeted lower to the ground, taking Celestia with it.
"Hold on," Demonte held a bullet between his teeth as he and Vash stayed crouching behind a rock. Demonte was busy reloading his gun. "Little brat is more persistent than I thought."
"Hey," Vash put a hand on Demonte's gun. "Don't kill him, I know the kid."
"I'll bet he ain't saying the same thing about you." Demonte looked at him. "I'll try not to kill him," He said as he stood up.
"T-Try!?" Vash stared at him, dumbfounded. "How can you say that!?"
"Just watch out for the kid, okay?" Demonte peeked around the rock. Nothing but wind and howls in the deadly night. "Do you have your gun loaded?"
"Yeah," Vash sighed. "I was really hoping I wouldn't have to use it again after my battle with Knives."
"Well, tough. Them's the breaks."
Demonte cocked his gun, turned and jumped out into the clearing, waiting for the enemy to show. Anticipation ate inside of him, and his arm began to grow unsteady. "Where did that sneaky rat go off to…?"
Then a bullet rang in his ears, nearly singeing his face. He ducked behind the rock and pulled Vash down towards the ground. "He's here, be quiet!" Demonte hissed.
"Me? YOU'RE the one moving all over the place!" Vash retorted.
Demonte clamped a free hand over Vash's mouth and listened for footsteps escaping onto the desert plains. "If we're gonna do this right, we're going to have to circle him. Okay?" Demonte waited for Vash to nod his head and pulled his hand away from Vash's mouth. "Good. Now here's the plan. I'll act as a decoy and get him to chase me. You follow behind him and shoot, all right?"
Vash seemed hesitant, but nodded again. Demonte looked at him sternly. "On the count of three. One…two…three!" Demonte jumped up and began to run. His heels clicked softly against the granite as his legs plundered ahead. Bullets whizzed by him, making the attacker seem closer than he really was. Tonis had picked up the bait.
Meryl's heart raced as she waited for the perfect time to make a move. What was taking Milly and BDN so long to make it to their designated posts? Should she have instructed them differently? What if the Nebraska Family already discovered them and…
"No! No! Earth to Meryl!" Meryl fought with herself. "Think positively here! Nothing good ever comes from…"
"…Negativity?" Meryl looked up. The Nebraska Family was hovering above her, darkening the entire area. "Surprised you, didn't we?" The Professor laughed. "Well, I guess that that can only be the expected reaction from someone so ignorant and weak such as you."
"Shut up!" Meryl jumped to her feet and drew her Taurus. "I'm not ignorant, nor weak!" An ulcer was coming on. She had almost wished that Vash were here now. Key word: ALMOST. Where had Milly and BDN gone?
"Really?" The Professor laughed. "Then where's your little clan? Surely you haven't abandoned them to meet their dooms, eh?"
Meryl paused, but stood her ground. She was certain that Milly and BDN would be here to back her up soon.
"I would never abandon anyone!" She said, aiming her Taurus unsteadily at the Professor.
This amused the Professor. "You really think that THAT thing will be enough to stop the likes of us? We've already won! Why don't you just sit down with your head between your legs and submit to defeat already!?"
"Never!" Meryl leaned forward and held her finger on the trigger. She couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger and her struggle to do so made the Professor laugh even more.
"Oh, what? You want to pull a Vash now? Become nice and soft and goody-goody?" Meryl gasped and her body grew numb. "Don't think that I don't know you. I remember you from back in Inepril." Suddenly, two large cannons emerged from Gofsef's back and swung over his shoulders so that the barrels were aiming towards the ground. "And I guess that you could say that we've upped our stakes a bit, too."
A stream of bullets hit the ground and Meryl could feel the heat coming from each bullet. She jumped and dive-rolled out of harm's way. Spinning on one foot, Meryl drew her aim to the guns on the massive man's back and pulled the trigger on the gun. Much to her surprise, the bullet held no effect to the gun as the bullet bounced off the shell of the cannon.
"Are you trying to dispatch our cannons with your pathetic little straw of spit wads? Ha! You won't even scratch the paint on it!" Meryl breathed deeply. She knew what had to be done, but if she took the risk…then…then…
Ingway cleared the smoke from his eyes and looked down. Celestia was nowhere to be seen. Fear overtook him and he glanced back up. Descartes was no further than ten feet from the rock mound. Ingway grunted and held a hand to his holster.
"I think that we just evened the odds, don't you think?" Descartes smiled. "Say goodnight, partner." Descartes let his boomerang fly once more and it divided the rock mound in half. Ingway rolled and slid down onto a collapsing rock until his feet had reached the bottom. He withdrew his gun and shot at Descartes' shoulder. Miraculously, Descartes remained unharmed.
"These," Descartes pointed to the metal plates on his shoulders and knees. "Will keep stray bullets where they belong."
A whistling noise grew louder behind the startled Ingway and he turned, only to meet the eyes of the boomerang heading for him. Ingway had no time to move or to deflect the blow. All he could do was brace himself for the impact.
And then a shot rang out. And the boomerang never hit its intended target. Ingway opened his eyes to see smoke pouring from the end of the barrel. Then he saw its user.
"Celestia!" He wheezed as he caught his breath. "You're alive…!"
Celestia did not answer. Instead she kept her eyes peeled on the boomerang she had thrown off course with her gun. The metal blade continued to spin past Descartes and he turned to watch it. Celestia took this open opportunity and pulled the trigger again, sending a bullet to Descartes' back.
"GAAAHHHH!" He wailed, teetering forward but still remained standing.
And did something unexpected.
Turning, he held his hand up to show the two. Grimacing from the pain, he said, "Seven years ago when I encountered Vash the Stampede, I lost my right arm because of him. Now, I will show you how I coped."
Smirking, he held his hand out and pointed it at Celestia. The skin on his fingers began to peel back, revealing a large and dangerous Gatling Gun. Celestia and Ingway stepped backwards, astonished. Descartes laughed and held the bottom of his gun-arm as bullets rained from the gun and fled towards the two.
Ingway rolled to the left as Celestia rolled to the right. Ingway slid, and groped for his gun. Celestia pushed herself to her feet and hid behind a rock, reloading her revolver. Ingway took offense and fired two shots at the heavy man.
Descartes deflected the bullets with his gun-arm and returned the fire. Ingway was forced to pull back and clung to the back of a nearby rock. Bullets pounded hard into the rock, and for Ingway's sake, he hoped that the rock could withstand the pummeling.
And then another shot rang out, and a large body dropped to the ground. Ingway could sense the danger to be gone, and he peeked out from behind the rock. He grinned from ear to ear as he saw not Descartes standing there, but Celestia, her gun held to the back of Descartes' head. Descartes had fallen face-first into the dirt and Celestia leaned forward, growling.
"You've lost," She spat. "Now get the hell out of here."
Descartes' breath warmed the ground and he swallowed his heart back into his chest. "How did you do that? You escaped to the back of me and shot me. But there was no way around me. So what the hell did you do?"
Celestia paused, and then smirked. "Hmph, you of all people should know that pride is a sin."
"Then maybe we'll play the cards a little differently next time." Descartes swung over onto his back and used his momentum to kick up to his feet and rushed past Ingway. "Don't think you've won!" He called over his shoulder. "But I did enjoy the warm-up…"
"Wait," Ingway started after him. "Are you sure it's okay to let him go like this?"
Celestia shrugged. "We've already beaten him." She turned. "Besides, we have other important matters to attend to now."
The electricity encircled Meryl's arm as she held her Taurus with the other hand. The Professor stared her down.
"Oh, what's this I see?" He mocked. "A little hocus-pocus, right?"
Sweat poured down the sides of Meryl's face as her breathing quickened. Her hard glassy eyes stayed on the Nebraska Family.
And then she covered her face with her glowing arm.
Suddenly, the Professor wasn't laughing anymore.
"So? You think that by casting a little spell on us, you'll win? Then get a load of this!" The Professor slammed his arm downwards and slapped his thigh. "Gofsef, time for Plan B!"
The monster roared and he held both arms in front of his chest. Meryl glanced up, her hair swaying backwards, as though an act of force was pushing it back. Spikes emerged from Gofsef's arms, and he kneeled down to the ground. The two cannons on his back began to take in energy and soon two large, circular, balls of light clung to the end of each of the barrels of the guns.
Meryl's arm, still held in front of her face, acted as a shield from the blinding light. The light grew dim slightly and Meryl looked up, not taking her arm away from her face.
"With this super deluxe Ray of Destruction, I will be able to eliminate all life-force that stands in my way. You should be happy that you could go down in such a blaze of glory."
Meryl began to shake, but did not give in. Slowly she took her other hand and held it in front of her glowing hand. The whistling of the Destruction Ray ceased, and all grew silent for the moment.
Then Meryl breathed in slowly, as all hell broke loose. The cannons exploded, encircling the area and devouring the land. The ground began to disintegrate rapidly, and the sky was momentarily alit by the glow of the cannons.
Meryl's feet began to slide backwards, but she implanted her weight into the ground and ducked her head in between her hands. The fierce wind rippled past her, scarring her face mildly. Using all of her strength, she forced her illuminated arm far out in front of her, electricity cackling around it and the wind abruptly mellowed, leaving a soft, cool, breeze in the atmosphere.
The Professor watched, astounded, at the sight before him. A barrier had blocked his attack against her and the land. He looked down, clenching his hands into fists. The cannons had become dysfunctional.
"Grrr!" He pointed a striking finger at Meryl. "Damn you!"
But Meryl's attention was not on the outraged Professor, but on the power she beheld. The barrier of warm light that had soaked through the air, dissipating the wind, had begun to fade, but the dark glow encircling Meryl's arm only grew intensely.
The Professor narrowed his eyes, curious as to see what this lass was up to. How was it that she could single-handedly stop his Ray of Destruction AND successfully dispatch the cannons as well? There could only be one answer, but was it true?
"So tell me," The Professor said coolly. "What's the reason that you wish to oppose your death? Pulling cheap strings ain't gonna work forever, you know." When she wouldn't answer, the Professor shrugged. "Suit yourself. Maybe it's better to die this way," He snapped his fingers and in Gofsef's crouched form, the spikes that had emerged from his arms earlier began to glow and explode into bright light, just as the Ray of Destruction had earlier.
"So there's only one dirty trick left to play," The Professor laughed, exposing the two teeth hanging out of the front of his mouth. "And that's the game of suicide."
The ground erupted, like dynamite and firecrackers, as flames spurted in every which way. Meryl looked up, slightly, and then clenched her fist.
Like in slow motion, heartbeats became minutes in between each thump and the bodies of both Meryl and the Professor became numb. The electricity hovering around Meryl's hand burst and caressed the lucent night sky. It cancelled out the Professor's own suicide attempt with dynamites and even the Professor had to shield his eyes.
Then came the wild howling of Gofsef and the Professor. Shockwaves were sent up and down their bodies as loose gravel plummeted up from below. Then, everything became white.
Meryl's body gave way and she collapsed to the ground as the smoke cleared from the distance. Her breath was rough and the back of her throat hurt from the lack of air. She glanced up, and watched as the huge giant of a man, Gofsef Nebraska, collapsed to the ground, surges of electrical currents still continuing to run up and down his body.
The Professor could not think, could not feel, couldn't do anything. This surge of power, it was nothing like any normal brand of witchcraft.
No…
This was something much, much worse.
And if not for the cloud of smoke that began to fog the starless night, the Professor would have died himself.
For with that dark cloud, came salvation, and the Professor was carried off the battlefield and back to his haven. He looked up and watched as a shadowy figure began to weave its way into his vision.
"Did you dispose of them?" Spoke a heavy voice.
The Professor was at a loss for words.
And then Descartes hurried into the room.
Heh, heh. Lots of action in this chapter. And, GASP! Vash is responsible for Tonis' mother's death? Could it be!? And at least we got to witness Meryl's TRUE Forbidden Magicks for the first time!
Demonte: Which I'm not supposed to know about.
That's right…which is what Demonte's not supposed to know… Glares at Demonte Thanks a lot Demonte. You just ruined the story.
Demonte: Shrugging Anytime.
ANYWAY…As promised, the character list is down below. If you are one of the many people who are confused about who each character is (I'm serious. I had to re-watch Trigun MULTIPLE times just to get the characters), please scroll down below. Oh, and if you have any questions or concerns or information regarding the story…Cries PLEASE e-mail me! Oh, and as always, R&R please. ^_^
Character List:
Vash: Main Character in Trigun
Meryl: Main Character in Trigun
Milly: Main Character in Trigun
Knives: Main Character in Trigun
Rem: Main Character in Trigun (But she died)
Nicholas D. Wolfwood: Main Character in Trigun (But he died)
(Okay, sub-characters)
Cliff Schzzarre: First introduced in Chapter 3. He appeared in Trigun in Episode Two: Truth of Mistake. He was the man who monopolized all of the water.
Marianne Aura Cayzen: First mentioned in Chapter 3. She appeared in Trigun in Episode Two: Truth of Mistake as Cliff's guest and the sheriff sent out to arrest Cliff.
Stefany Bostalk: First appeared in Chapter 5. She appeared in Trigun in Episode Four: Love and Peace as the daughter of the rich Earl Bostalk. She was taken captive and Ingway and his men demanded a ransom from Earl for her safety.
Earl Bostalk: First mentioned in Chapter 5. He appeared in Trigun in Episode Four: Love and Peace. He was once known as Grim Reaper Bostalk who had killed countless people to get some land. He is a very wealthy man and Ingway is out to settle the score with him because he stole the land and killed his people.
Sheriff Stan: First mentioned in Chapter 6. He appeared in Trigun in Episode Four: Love and Peace. He hates Earl because he felt that he got cheated when Earl became rich and he was stuck as the sheriff. He hired a band of crazed mercenaries to save Stefany but had other plans when the mercenaries failed and he tried to kill Vash and the others.
Brilliant Dynamites Neon (BDN): First appeared in Chapter 6. He appeared in Trigun in Episode Seven (BDN) and Eight (And Between The Wasteland And The Sky). He attempted to highjack a sand steamer with Kaite's help and get the treasure locked inside. When he couldn't open the safe, he decided to crash the sand steamer into the Enora Precipice.
The man with the black trench coat and silver hair: He was first mentioned in Chapter 6. (He will later be introduced by full name in future chapters ^_^) He never made it into the manga or the anime, sadly, but he is a popular action figure. He is pure evil and his heritage is unknown…for now…
Beremy: First mentioned in Chapter 10. He appeared in Trigun in Episode Seven: (BDN) and Eight: (And Between The Wasteland And The Sky). He was one of BDN's henchmen when BDN attempted to take over the sand steamer.
Loose Ruth: First appeared in Chapter 8. He appeared in Trigun in Episode One: The $$60,000,000,000 Man. He was known as Constance Rifle and is a bounty hunter after Vash the Stampede. He and Descartes had fought against each other because they had thought the other to be Vash. Finally, they realized their mistake and joined forces to take Vash down.
Mysterious Guy With The Gotterer: First appeared in Chapter 8. This man is dead, but brought back to life to find Vash. He will be revealed in later chapters.
Steve: First mentioned in Prologue. He first appeared in Trigun in Episode Seventeen: Rem Saverem. He was a SEED member who hated Vash and Knives.
Descartes: First appeared in Chapter 11. He first appeared in Trigun in Episode One: The $$60,000,000,000 Man. He is very tall, has a green Mohawk and stubby legs. He was also after Vash's bounty. He wields a giant boomerang as well. He and Loose Ruth had fought against each other because they had thought the other to be Vash. Finally, they realized their mistake and joined forces to take Vash down.
The Nebraska Family (Professor and Gofsef): First appeared in Chapter 11. They appeared in Trigun in Episode Five: Hard Puncher. They broke out of jail and were called upon to take out Vash the Stampede in Inepril. When they got out of control, Vash stopped Gofsef with five bullets and then used the sixth to knock him out.
Ingway: First appeared in Chapter 9. He first appeared in Trigun in Episode Four: Love and Peace. Ingway is after Earl Bostalk for murdering his people and taking the land that his people had owned. He kidnaps Stefany and demands a ransom from Earl.
Jean and Marvin: First appeared in Chapter 9. They first appeared in Trigun in Episode Four: Love and Peace. They are friends of Ingway and help him against Earl Bostalk.
Badwick: First appeared in Chapter 11. He first appeared in Episode Fourteen: Little Arcadia. Badwick's family owned land blooming with Geo Plants and Morgan wanted the deed to the land. He tried to reason with his parents to hand over the deed, but they would not listen. In the end, he hands over the deed to City Hall only to find that the land was entitled to him.
Tonis: First appeared in Chapter 11. He first appeared in Trigun in Episode Five: Hard Puncher, Episode Six: Lost July, and Episode Seven: BDN. He was the boy that wanted his mother to buy him a real gun instead of the toy one that he had owned. Vash used his toy gun to fend off multiple enemies and Tonis even joined in at the end of Episode Five in Vash's LOVE AND PEACE rally.
See anything wrong? Something not quite clear? Etc…? Then let me know. Here, I'll make it easier for ya guys.
Blood_Lotus_Demonwalker@yahoo.com
There. ^_^
BLD