Disclaimer: Give me a break.
Yay! Two different chapters to two different stories are up! Yes, I'm very sick. I live in the snow and it's quite sad. You'll notice soon enough that my immune system is broken and I'm always sick. ^_^ Anyway I got a review a little while back that asked 'Who was Hikki?' lol I know who Simple And Clean is by but my friends just call her Hikki. It's by Utada Hikaru but yeah. We like calling her "Hikki" lol. grin Don't ask me why.
Engel: Sacrifice
Chapter Twenty
November City
"There's a silence surrounding me
I can't seem to think straight
I'll sit in the corner
Where no one can bother me
I think I should speak now
(Why won't you talk to me?)
I can't seem to speak now
(You never talk to me)
My words won't come out right
(What are you thinking?)
I feel like I'm drowning"
-Pink Floyd (Lyrics from Keep Talking)
Meryl's eyes fluttered open as she groaned and looked up. Vash had her perched onto his back. Blushing furiously, she began to pound violently on his back.
"What the hell do you think that you're doing!?" She shouted as she pushed herself away from him.
Vash stumbled forward and turned towards her, looking almost hurt. But the expression quickly vanished as BDN stopped by Meryl's side.
"Still filled with spunk," BDN commented. "Even after that big falling out at the jail cell."
"Huh?" Meryl's eyes focused on BDN. "You're okay!" She smiled. "Demonte and I were worried about you."
"Someone poisoned the food." BDN said.
"So we had guessed." Meryl responded.
"Demonte had the right idea when it came to that food business." BDN laughed. "I'll have to listen to him more often."
"What is this place anyway?" Meryl asked. "Where are the others? Are they okay? Do you know why they took you guys?"
"Slow down girl," BDN smiled. "I'm afraid we can't answer your questions right now, but maybe someone else can."
"Huh?" Meryl's face became puzzled. "Such as whom?"
"Celestia." Vash spoke.
"Celestia!?" Meryl staggered backwards. "What are you talking about? I doubt Celestia wouldn't be in on this." She said with skepticism.
"Believe what you want," Vash shrugged. "When I woke up in the cell about three or four rooms away from here, I overheard her and our kidnappers talking. Supposedly, this has to do with some kind of debt she owes them."
"Oh, really?" Meryl folded her arms over her chest.
"You sure, Vash?" BDN questioned.
"Positive." He answered.
"Then why didn't you bother to try to save her? You always go out of your way to be the hero, Vash." Meryl eyed him suspiciously.
"Because that's when I saw YOU running down the corridor across from me." Vash replied just as intimating as she had. "And I followed you."
Footsteps trailed down the hall and resounded in the trio's ears.
"Quiet!" BDN hissed, reaching for his holster. "We aren't alone."
The footsteps ceased and tension resided within the trio.
"Hey!" Came a familiar voice. "Is anyone down here?"
Meryl sighed heavily. "It's just Celestia." Meryl's voice rose. "Celestia, it's me, Meryl! Who else is with you!?"
"Just Demonte," She answered. "You?"
"Vash and BDN!" Meryl responded.
"BDN!?" Meryl heard Demonte call out and the footsteps quickened into a run.
Demonte stopped as he looked on ahead. "Well I'll be damned," He smiled. "It is you."
"Who else were you expecting?" BDN chuckled.
"We found you at the inn, bleeding very badly," Meryl explained. "Demonte healed you."
"Healed me?" BDN grinned. "Wow, Dem, you have a heart after all!"
Demonte frowned. "Shut up."
"All right," Meryl broke between them. "We have more important matters at hand. We need to find Jessica and Milly and then find out where those tremors came from."
"They're probably in the jail cells west of here," Vash speculated. "When I escaped from my own cell, I wandered around for a while, so I know my way around here fairly well."
"Was that before or after you found Celestia?" Meryl asked.
"Before. You didn't think that they would put us altogether, did you?" Vash told her.
"Well whatever," BDN said. "Let's just find them and get out of here. While I'm itching for a fight, I don't think that it's a wise thing to encounter our kidnappers. Did you guys feel those tremors earlier?"
"Those were from a two-headed dark dragon," Demonte said. "Celestia and I took care of it."
"Well, that's pretty amazing," BDN bellowed with laughter.
"It was a demon, wasn't it?" Vash asked, strangely calm.
"Yeah, it was a 'Forbidden Beast'." Demonte responded.
"And the kidnappers, they were human, right? Did you kill them?"
Celestia and Demonte fidgeted.
"Vash," Meryl cut in. "Nobody died. It's all okay now."
Vash sulked as he straightened his back. "I wish to prevent death if I can," He muttered. "No one deserves to die, no matter how evil."
Demonte turned, and retreated down the hall.
"Here, they are," Vash pointed to the jail cells. "Let's start looking."
Milly and Jessica were found in the cells at the very end of the hall, unconscious. BDN and Vash blasted the doors off of the hinges with their weapons and Vash turned to Meryl. "Speaking of which, here." He handed her the Taurus.
"Thanks," She said, shoving it back into her holster. "This gun is important to me; I don't want to lose it." BDN entered the cell and put a finger to each of the girls' wrists.
"They're breathing," He said. "But the drug must not have worn off yet. It will soon enough."
"Let's get back above ground," Vash said and turned to Celestia. "I think that aside from getting the sand steamer from the Mayor, we have other THINGS to discuss…"
Celestia shrunk backwards.
"Hey," Demonte came to her defense. "It will all be explained, Vash. Don't you worry…"
BDN hoisted Milly onto his back as Vash reached down for Jessica, and said nothing.
Back above the ground, Meryl glanced around the deserted town. "This town must've been deserted from the start," She commented. "And those men must've taken over after all the people vanished."
"Well I don't give a hoo-haw about that," BDN shifted his weight and adjusted Milly on his back. "Let's just get back to the inn. I'm just as curious as to know why all of that took place down there."
Celestia bit her lip.
Back within the Inn, Milly and Jessica were placed on the beds in Demonte's room as everyone gathered around Celestia.
"I'll tell you what you want to know," Demonte started, but ceased as Celestia put a hand to his shoulder.
"I'll do it." She said softly and turned to face her peers. "Three months ago, I came to the town of December where Bernardelli offered to help me get set up and I bribed the Chief to let me pay the Society back at another time."
"Bernardelli!?" Meryl gasped. "I used to work there…!"
"When it came time for me to pay them back, I didn't have the money and the Chief offered to let the entire ordeal go if I slept with him."
Meryl's face scrunched up with sadness as disbelief poured over her.
"I refused," Celestia continued. "And he threatened to get me back. I was attacked a few months after that by twenty of his lackeys and that's where I met Demonte," She bobbed her head in his direction. "He saved me from them and I asked if I could follow him until I got to November. He agreed and that's when I met all of you."
"And what happened here?" BDN asked. "Was this Bernardelli too?"
"I had no idea that Senica was the headquarters of Bernardelli AND the Chief. Everyone in this town must've been associated with Bernardelli and like Meryl said, the town is indeed deserted except for them. When I was spotted in this town, an order was made for me to be captured. That's where the food came in. I must admit that I had doubts myself about the food, like Demonte, but brushed them away. They only involved you because you were my companions…" Celestia lowered her head. "I'm sorry."
"And after that?" Vash asked. "What happened to the Chief?"
"Gone," Demonte cut in. "He escaped with his lackeys. I'm not sure if the guy I met was even the Head Honcho."
"I don't know…" Celestia responded. "He applied himself to the position but I couldn't get a reading on him. He knows how to hide himself well and I haven't seen the Chief in a long while."
"Well," BDN chewed on his bottom lip. "That explains everything…Except where the hell they got that Forbidden Beast…"
"Search me…" Celestia shrugged.
Milly and Jessica stirred from their beds. The attention of the others was drawn from Celestia to the two girls.
"And about time." BDN's lips twisted into a smile. "You okay, ladies?"
The two looked up, somewhat confused, and glanced around the bedroom.
"What…happened?" Jessica blinked. "I remember being in the dining room and then…"
"Passing out…" Milly finished.
Their comrades laughed. "Thank God you missed it," Meryl smiled.
"Now," BDN grinned maliciously, "About getting that sand steamer…"
"How did it go?" Vash jumped off of the stairs as BDN entered through the doorway of the inn.
"Pretty good as far as I'd say." BDN cracked his knuckles. "After all, the guy IS still alive."
"What did the Mayor say about the sand steamer?" Meryl asked, leaning against the hotel clerk's counter.
"Well, since all of his buddies ditched town and he's the only one left…" BDN flashed a white paper in the faces of his companions. "He had no choice but to abide to my demands."
"You didn't have to threaten him too much, right?" Jessica asked, swinging her legs back and forth upon her perch on the counter.
"Nah," BDN waved a hand. "Only a little." Vash stared long and hard at him. "Oh all right, MAYBE I had to pull ol' Betsy out just for a minute or two…" BDN patted his holster. "But we got the pass for the sand steamer, right? This'll be a cinch. We'll be in Roklen in no time flat."
"Oh?" Meryl tilted her head slightly, crossing her arms. "And who do you expect will play the role of the engineer?"
"Simple!" BDN bellowed ecstatically. "ME of course!"
"HUH!?" Came everyone's sudden reply.
"Sure, don't worry about it," BDN smiled one of his 'looks to kill' smiles as he boasted on. "I've got the manpower, the skill, and the good looks."
Meryl facefaulted, dropping her head into her hands. "WHY!?" She cried out as her words became absorbed into her palms.
BDN attempted to rile up the sand steamer as the others climbed in.
"Let's see," He said, rubbing his chin absentmindedly. "Kaite showed me how to use this overly-technical piece of s—"
"Kaite?" Vash asked with interest as he set footing into the room.
"Hmm?" BDN turned and welcomed his friend. "Yeah, that kid all right."
"Where have you seen him around?" Vash asked. "He should be at least in his late teens."
"He's working with everything now," BDN said as he pulled the lever. The sand steamer began to stir and then slowly came alive. "All right!" BDN cheered as he turned back to Vash. "Hey what's wrong?"
Vash lifted his melancholy face and it dissolved quickly as he held a false smile. "Nothing, just thinking."
BDN leaned his weight against the backseat of the Captain's chair. "Let me guess. You're thinking about those four years when you went missing, am I right?"
"Well," Vash grinned. "Guess you pinned me."
BDN shook his head. "I'm not gonna ask what kept you Vash. You probably had your reasons, as we all do, but to dwell on the past now…it ain't easy, nor is it worth it. To ask yourself what might have been if you had charted a different course…you see that you should've charted the impossible, even if in reality you really couldn't, your mind begins to believe that you could've. The point is that you're here now and all past grudges and feelings should be left in the past, where they belong. You think about Kaite and how he was just a little kid the last time you saw him, and here you think of him of an adult…" BDN shrugged. "Well almost. He still has an attitude that really irritates me."
Vash held himself in BDN's words. Then he thought of Wolfwood, his long departed friend. "You know, I used to know someone who had said the same thing to me." Vash's voice saddened, and BDN stared at him, sympathetically. "He had the weight of the world on his shoulders, trying to define good and bad. And in the end he died. I want to believe that…just before he died, he really did find what he was looking for."
"And what would that be, Vash the Stampede?"
Vash's face lifted, his eyes glistening with heartfelt tears as a smile cracked from his lips. "A place to belong."
The train was moving shortly after as the fog began to set in. It was still early in the day, just barely breaking the afternoon, but the sun refused to shine, except of what it could through the mist. The sand steamer proved to be very small, and there was only enough room to fit a dining room in the back of the steamer, a kitchen, a bar, a couple of first-class cabins, and restrooms for both genders.
"You know there was a day that I would kill for the sun to go away and never come back," BDN said over the intercom. "Now it's always so damned dreary out. Guess you should be careful for what you wish for."
"No one asked to be put here on this desert planet," Demonte's voice rose so that the intercom could catch it.
"True," BDN agreed. "But that still didn't stop me from wanting the sun to go away. I can't tell you how much I regret wishing that now."
Vash shifted uneasily in the dining room with his other companions.
"Shouldn't you be concentrating on driving the sand steamer?" Meryl asked.
"I am, I am," BDN said hastily. "'I'm just lonely up here. Anyone want to come up and talk with me?" BDN could be heard chuckling on the other end of the intercom. "Perhaps the lovely Jessica or the glamorous Milly? Or maybe the astounding Celestia?"
The girls giggled at the flattery as Meryl pursed her lips together bitterly. "And what does that make me?"
"The old bag." BDN responded.
"WHAT!?" Meryl nearly knocked over the table.
Demonte rolled his eyes at the adolescent behavior, but a glint of laughter was rising in his hidden eyes. He lowered his head, his hood mimicking his movements, to keep from anyone noticing.
The three girls ran out of the room, heading for the bridge, and Meryl stomped unhappily after. "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU BDN, I'LL…!" Meryl had already left.
"It's good to have those guys," Vash said after a moment of silence. "The tension around here is so thick, I don't think I could bear much more unhappy news."
"I suppose to some extent, I'll agree." Demonte said as he reached for a bottle of whiskey. "You drink?"
"Sure, why not?" Vash held out his glass as Demonte unscrewed the cap and poured the alcohol for Vash.
Demonte turned and poured for himself and set the bottle back on the table. "I told BDN to stop at November City." Demonte said, taking a swig.
"Why?" Vash asked, sipping off of his own drink.
"When Celestia and I first met, she asked me to take her to November City. She was doing it to get away from Bernardelli." Demonte shrugged. "So I've kept my word and brought her here. She should be safe now."
"But the Boss of Bernardelli…" Vash protested.
"He experienced somewhat of an unfortunate end." Demonte admitted. "Even though Celestia didn't know much about the man, I'm pretty sure that it was the Chief. I'm sorry. I know you don't like to hear about death."
Vash was silent for a while, his eyes diverted to the mahogany wood of the table. "No," He said finally. "I don't." Vash pried his eyes away from the table and stared at Demonte. "How do you feel about her leaving?"
"I'm…not quite sure how to feel. I suppose at the beginning of this all, I really couldn't give a damn. I never grew up feeling very much of anything. Actually, most of my childhood is a blur to me, except of what my Guardian has told me. Supposedly, my parents never really cared about whether or not I was alive. I think sometimes I can see those visions of my parents and their cruelty, but most of it is hazy, so I've gone by what my Guardian has said."
"Sometimes, it's better to find out the truth for yourself," Vash said. "And not listen to what others say. Because…how can you believe that what they say is real?"
Demonte paused. "Wow, I didn't expect that from you, Vash. You've always seem to be the trusting sort."
"No, I didn't mean to word it like that," Vash sliced his hand through the air, as though to clear his words. "What I mean is that…well…I had a friend who always believed in what his mentor taught him. When my friend found that what he had learned was wrong, he was killed. I believe that somewhere, before he died, he found the truth…but it was too late for him to make amends for the countless deaths that he had sewn into his quilt of bloodshed." Vash poured himself another drink. "I just don't want to see the same thing happen to you."
"Don't worry," Demonte assured. "It won't."
"Then how do you feel about her leaving?"
"I…I don't know," Demonte rose from his chair. "I guess…sad."
"Don't guess. How do you feel?"
"With my fingers," Demonte said with fetishism as he headed for the door.
"You're barricading yourself again," Vash warned. "We're just trying to help you."
Demonte stood at the door for a moment before nodding. "I know."
"Here we are, November City girls." BDN pulled the brakes to the sand steamer.
"Why are we here? Aren't we supposed to be going to Roklen?" Jessica asked as she hung onto the back of BDN's chair.
"Dem asked me to make a stop here." BDN answered.
Celestia shifted uncomfortably.
"Good job BDN," Demonte said as he entered the bridge. "We're alive and we all didn't die in some horrible and yet expected accident."
"Hey!" BDN glared at the cloaked man. "I'm a good driver."
"I wouldn't say so," Meryl said.
"Aww, Meryl, come on!" BDN grinned. "It wasn't THAT bad of a ride over here. I think I did a brilliant job. Quite flashy and––"
"A pain in the butt is ALL you were, Brilliant Dynamites Neon." Meryl scoffed. "You should be happy that I'm letting you get away with it."
"Yes, Ma'am." BDN said.
Meryl hopped up from her seat. "Well, if we've made a complete stop, then I'll see around about finding us an inn."
"Oh, and make sure they don't serve breakfast!" BDN called over his shoulder.
"Speak for yourself!" Meryl shouted back. "YOU'RE the one who ate everyone else's food!"
"Oh…" BDN paused. "That's right, huh?"
Meryl's groan could be heard from down the hall.
Demonte stepped outside, stretching. November was small, he observed. Much smaller than he had realized when they had pulled in. It was nearing sundown, he noted, although it was too hard to tell with the fog. Not many people would be out and around at this hour.
Then a sinking feeling bubbled up inside of his stomach.
"Ashon…" He said. "I have to go see Stan." He didn't want to. Money didn't even matter now. No…This was something different.
Several hours later, the seven had settled down at an inn, sharing two separate rooms. The men were to sleep downstairs while the women were fortunate enough to have a room upstairs. BDN offered to hunt for food at any open general store and Milly volunteered to go with him.
Jessica was spending her time with Vash as Demonte and Celestia had wandered off without notice.
"They'll be back soon…" Meryl told herself. Stepping into the bathroom of the women's domain, she slipped the black trench coat from her body, leaving her in a black tank top and dark corduroy pants.
Soon disposing of the rest of her clothing, she drew herself a bath and sat down in the tub. Leaning against the wall of the tub, she closed her eyes as the water continued to run.
"We're almost at Roklen," She thought miserably. "If it's true that Knives is behind this…"
She didn't want to think about that.
"And Vash…after this is over with, where will he go? What will he do? Surely, I can't quit all I've been doing just to follow him around again…"
Meryl slid further down into the water.
"He'll leave again, just like he always does, and he won't come back. And Knives…I…"
Earth to Meryl! You're letting unhappy thoughts cross your mind again.
Meryl hadn't realized that she had drifted off to sleep…or that the water was still running.
"Wolfwood…What should I do?" Meryl found herself asking the dead preacher. "As much as I hate to admit it, things were so much better when you were around…"
And…
And…
Meryl could feel her body being jerked from out of the water. Coughing and sputtering, she opened her eyes and looked around.
There was no one.
Meryl's attention soon drifted to the water that had begun to overflow over the sides of the tub.
"Oh no!" Meryl groaned as she shut off the water and unplugged the tub. She watched the water that had leaked over the sides of the tub and had turned the bathroom into a nice little swimming pool.
Wrapping a towel around her body, Meryl stood up and stepped out of the tub. She stopped in the puddle of water and looked around.
"Just who pulled me out of the water?" She asked. 'Had I almost drowned?'
From in the shadows, lurked a dark haired man in a crimson cloak. A wicked grin cracked from his face as his blue eyes pierced through the darkness.
'Sorry Princess…I don't want you to die…' The figure continued to smiled and then became transparent within the walls of the bathroom. '…yet…'
And then he disappeared.
Awww man…I hate this chapter lol. I fixed it up while I was sick…just like how I wrote Hunting…while I was sick. Oh well I guess…It's a boring chapter but since we already had a couple of action filled ones, I thought I would let this one slide…for now. Anyway, please R&R (With kind words please. I don't think it's too much to ask) and now I'm off to be melancholy somewhere else…and I'll update like in another two and a half months…Well actually I won't but I don't think that it's wise to post another chapter while I'm sick. It's pointless to read cause it sucks and I don't like wasting my readers' time. So yeah. I'm gonna go lay down.
BTW the dude at the end is someone you should all know well. Try and guess if you want. Oh and I also forgot…Is there anyone I haven't introduced yet that I've mentioned or brought into the story thus far? I'm too sick to remember. Lemme know if there is.
BLD