Disclaimer: Leave me alone…
A/N: This chapter was stretched. Why? Cause everything is planned out to happen at certain chapters. So this is a filler chapter. Nothing really happens in it. If you want, you can even skip it. Now if you're a V/M fan who likes the current tension between the two, then go ahead and read it or something. New characters that have actually come up in the series (therefore, they do NOT belong to me) are mentioned in the chapter. If the mentioning of some of these characters confuse you, let me know and I'll write up a description of them. I just don't want to do it now cause it's late and my notes (Yeah, all 61 pages of them) are huddled somewhere…scared…in a box in the corner of my room.
Demonte is caught in the corner of the room, huddling with the box in his lap.
BLD: What are you doing?
Demonte: (Giving BLD a dangerous look) So I hog all the attention, do I? Then why don't you just get RID of me? Ya know, sell me to one of those big buck-making manufacturers and you'll never have to see me or my attention-hogging ever again!
BLD: -_-'
Engel: Sacrifice
Chapter Twenty-One
Friends Never Say Goodbye
'I walk the streets alone
On feeble bones I ride
My sins are etched in stone
I've got no place to hide
Well, I was unshakable
In what I did believe
I feel so breakable
But have I been deceived?
You showed me your paradise
And your carnival of souls
But my heart keeps telling me
That ain't the place to go'
-Alice Cooper (Lyrics from 'Stolen Prayer')
Demonte observed his cards carefully and then looked back at Vash. "Hit me."
Vash turned over another card and Demonte nodded.
"I'll stay."
Vash grinned and then grabbed another card. "20," He said. "You?"
"21," Demonte folded the cards on the table. "I win."
"You guys are STILL playing Blackjack?" Jessica laughed as she walked into their room with a tray containing three cups full of coffee.
"Thanks," Demonte muttered as he reached for a cup and sipped off of it.
"There's nothing else to do until BDN gets back with our food." Vash pointed out.
"And Milly." Demonte added.
"Your deal." Vash gestured to the cards and Demonte shuffled them in his hand.
"Hey, where's Celestia at?" Jessica held the remaining coffee cup. "Her coffee will get cold if I don't find her."
"She went out for a walk." Demonte said as he dealt several cards out to Vash. "The name of the game is Poker."
"Oh," Jessica replied. "Well…will she be all right by herself?"
"Are you referring to Bernadelli?" Demonte asked as he observed his own hand and discarded three of the cards. "She'll be safe here. Don't worry about her."
The floor above the men's room began to vibrate as Demonte looked up.
"Looks like Meryl is out of the shower." Demonte reached for three cards as Vash discarded two of his. "Maybe she'll join us."
"If she does, I quit." Vash said, eyeing his cards. "I have no intention of playing with her."
"Vash!" Jessica scolded. "That's not very nice."
Vash grinned. "Hey, it's not like she'll play anyway. She hates card games, didn't you know?"
***
Meryl paused, eavesdropping from outside the men's room. Water dripped from the ends of her hair and rolled down the sides of her face, soaking her black tank top.
"That's right Vash," She whispered harshly to herself. "Don't let me spoil your fun." She stormed off down the hall to the laundry room, her black trench coat in one arm.
A short time later, BDN and Milly emerged through the door of the Inn, their arms stuffed with grocery bags.
"Aloha!" BDN greeted as he entered the men's room and dumped the bags onto the table where Demonte and Vash were playing. The cards became trapped underneath the weight of the bags while other cards tumbled from the table and onto the floor.
"Hey!" Vash bent down to pick up the cards. "We were playing in case you hadn't noticed!"
Demonte rolled his eyes and helped Vash pick up the cards.
"Nope, hadn't noticed." BDN laughed as he began unloading the bags. "Who's up for a midnight snack?"
"Oh, is THAT what you call it?" Demonte asked. "Considering that we never even got dinner. What took you two so long anyway?"
"We couldn't find an open store." Milly explained. "Most had either gone out of business or were closed for the evening."
"Such splendor." Demonte reached under the bags for the rest of the cards and handed them to Vash. "Guess our game's over."
"Well I'll be happy to play." BDN said. "What's the game?"
"Shouldn't you all be worrying about Roklen instead of playing stupid card games?" Meryl's figure haunted the doorway, as her dark glare remained focused on the three men.
"See? Told you she'd stink the whole room up." Vash shook his head.
"What did you say!?" Meryl flared.
"Now Mer," BDN grinned. "You know that he was just joking…"
"SURE he was." Meryl quickly turned on her heel and huffed out of the room. "If you guys want to waste your time with THAT scoundrel, then go ahead! I won't stop you!" Her voice carried down the hall and out the Inn door.
"Vash," Jessica turned to Vash. "You didn't have to go and say such horrible things to her…"
"Oh she'll get over it." Vash said, standing up. "But I'm starving! Who wants food?"
***
Celestia shuffled slowly back towards the Inn, her hair sweeping over her shoulders.
'I guess this is it…" She thought to herself. "Tomorrow, they're going to leave and I'll still be here…just like I wanted. I mean it's no big deal after all. I DID ask Demonte to just take me to November. I should be happy I'm leaving. No more Roklen, no more Alchemists, no more Hell's Mafia…'
"That's just it. I should be happy." Celestia said. Then her emotions got the best of her as her head drooped towards the ground. "But I'm not."
'I want to stay with them…HIM…I really do…But I don't have a reason to. They wouldn't want me to tag along with them without a reason to. They'll just say that it's too dangerous for me to handle…or something like that. After all, I couldn't even take down an Insurance Company. What hopes do I have of stopping the Roklen Alchemists?'
She hugged her body tightly and stood there, unmoving, in the road. She restrained herself from crying, but couldn't stop the muffled sniffles that had managed to escape. "I'm so confused…" She choked. "What should I do…?"
***
Meryl drug her feet outside, grasping a bottle of hard whiskey. Twisting the cap off, she proceeded to bring the bottle to her lips, and chug a hearty portion of the bottle. Wiping her mouth, she fell back onto the porch steps, her shoulders slumped over.
"Who the hell does that guy think he is?" Meryl grumbled. "And he says that I'M the heartless, cold, uncaring one."
She sighed heavily.
"So! Who wants to party!?" She could hear BDN all the way from the men's room. If they didn't quiet down, they would surely be spending the night on the streets.
Meryl sulked, and continued to wash her problems away with the bottle.
"Hey, where you going Dem?" BDN asked. The door opened behind Meryl.
"Out," Came the nonchalant, cold voice.
"All right," BDN said, walking back into the men's room. "Suit yourself."
Silence fell to the night and Demonte's unmoving presence made Meryl uneasy. Finally, much to her relief, he took a seat by her side.
"I figured I'd find you out here."
"Hmph…" Meryl turned her head away.
"You're not letting Vash get to you are you?"
"Why would I do a thing like that?" Meryl asked, bringing the bottle back up to her lips.
Before she could take her well-deserved swig, Demonte snatched the bottle out of her hands and drank from the bottle himself.
"Hey!" Meryl reached for the bottle, but Demonte kept it from her reach.
"Ladies such as yourself shouldn't be drowning their problems in alcohol, Meryl." Demonte held the bottle in front of her face tauntingly and then stood up. "I expected more from you than that." He finished off the bottle and licked his lips. "That was great whiskey. Here," He tossed the bottle back in her direction.
"Where are YOU going?" Meryl asked, holding the empty bottle in disgust.
"Out for a walk," He replied. "Please, try not to drink so much. I'd hate to have to carry a passed out grown woman back to her room."
"I am NOT an alcoholic, THANK you very much!"
"I never expected you to be a drinker, either." He replied and then disappeared into the night.
Meryl glanced down at the bottle and shook it. "He didn't have to drink ALL of it." She stood up and walked back inside of the inn.
***
Demonte quickened his pace, trudging through the sand. He was few iles away from the town, and the wind quickly covered up his footsteps. In the horizon he could make out some small lights, indicating that he was close to the small town of Ashon.
'At least the wind isn't so bad tonight,' Demonte thought to himself. 'I had feared that it would be worse.' He looked up, half-expecting to see a moon, but didn't feel let down when none came into view.
Demonte reached the deserted road minutes later, and reached for the map Cliff had given him. Unfolding it, he buried his face into it and used his Forbidden Magicks to light the area. Minutes later, he had spotted the large X at the end of town.
"So Stranger, what's a man such as yourself doing out at this time of night?" Demonte jumped, startled. He spun around immediately, catching the eyes of the figure in front of him.
The silhouette merely smiled, his pearly teeth reflecting against the light of Demonte's powers. "Welcome back Stranger."
Demonte breathed in happily, regaining his senses. "Dammit Stan, you scared me."
"So sorry, Demonte. I couldn't resist."
"Speaking of late night walks, what are you doing out here?"
Stan stepped out of the shadows, chewing on the end of a large cigar. "Waiting for you, what else?"
"How did you know I was here?" Demonte asked.
Stan looked around, cautiously. "The boy told me."
"Boy?"
"Neil."
Demonte's eyes widened. "He's here?"
"Yup," Stan blew a smoke ring through his nostrils. "He's finishing up his own business. He'll be gone by tomorrow."
"So he's staying with you?" Demonte asked.
"Currently, although he's not back at my place at the moment. But you've come to talk business, haven't you? Come on, I'll take you back to my personal domain. We'll discuss matters there." Stan slapped an arm over Demonte's shoulders and led him back to his residence.
***
"So what's the deal, Stan?" Demonte asked as Stan lit a candle in the middle of the room and set it down on a faded wooden table. "You don't even have electricity."
"Yeah," Stan said, sitting himself down in a chair. "Being ex-sheriff pays off, huh?"
"I'll take that as sarcasm."
"Well look around, Demonte. Three rooms: bathroom, front room with half a kitchen in it, and a bedroom. For crying out loud I don't even have a closet much less electricity."
Demonte nodded. "Sounds pretty rough."
"You don't know the half of it." Stan chuckled as he pulled his derby from his head. "But pretty soon, all will be ours and we'll be able to feast off the luxuries of this damned planet."
"What luxuries?" Demonte asked as he arose from his chair, and began to walk around the room.
"We'll rule the world in fear, m'boy. I'll finally get the fame I've been aching for all this time." Stan leaned back in his chair and propped his legs up on the table, careful not to hit the candle. "No more Granus, no more Alchemists, no more I.T.F., just us. ONLY us."
"Fame, Stan? Is that really all you're in for?" Demonte arched his back slightly, his eyes set on Stan.
"Hell yeah." Stan laughed. "Isn't that what most of us are in for?"
"What do you mean?" Demonte asked.
"Well, take Descartes and that fellow Loose Ruth for example. Those two are only in it for fame. Isn't that why they went after Vash all those years ago?"
"And I see that their aim still hasn't changed," Demonte fingered a picture frame of Orleans…before the Dark Ages.
"Nah, and that fellow Vash the Stampede is still alive. What a great reward for most of us. Between you and me, that's another reason I joined this Mafia."
"Because of Vash?"
"Bingo." Stan laughed. "I take it back. Fame AND Vash's head are the TWO MAIN reasons that these so-called 'members' of the Hell's Mafia are even here."
"I'm sure not all of them are in for it…" Demonte said. "I'm not after fame, nor Vash's head."
"Oh?" Stan was caught off guard with that remark. "That surprises me, Demonte. Being the greedy little bastard you've always been, I never expected a remark like that out of you."
"Things change, Stan." Demonte turned his head back to Stan. "Well? Isn't there anyone who isn't after Vash's head or fame?"
"Cliff Schzzarre," Stan started. "He's in it out of devotion. And the Nebraska Family. They're USELESS without Rohgsworn. He's the one who bailed them out in the first place."
"What about that boy? Neil?"
"Him?" Stan cleared his throat. "He's from May City. His mother and father were killed by bandits about four years ago. He's nearing 20 now, only a few years away from it. I think two or three." Stan shifted in his chair. "Then there's those two wanderers from the caravan. They're indebted to Rohgsworn. They couldn't leave Hell's Mafia if they even tried." He laughed. "You see what I mean, Demonte? Everyone's reasons, they're almost always the same. Nothing's different."
"So I see…" Demonte decided to change the subject. "Cliff said you had business for me. What was it?"
"Eh? Oh I had the kid take care of it yesterday. Just an assassination, that's all. No biggy, we do that all the time. And with all that you have going on with Granus, I wouldn't dare disturb your work. Who knows what Rohgsworn would do to me then."
"Then I just have one message for you: BE THERE when Granus comes. Roklen is going down."
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Stan waved him off. "Of course, no problem. I have it all taken care of so don't worry your little head."
"Is there anything else?" Demonte asked.
"Not at the moment. The kid's done everything. He'll be back real soon anyway."
"All right then," Demonte nodded. "Then my work here is done."
"Wait, don't you need to claim that money of yours?" Stan pointed out. "I mean, I'm sorry that I took care of all my business, but that money is still yours."
Demonte pondered for a moment, and then shook his head. "You know what Stan? You keep the money. Why don't you use it and put it towards fixing up this place. Like…say, electricity?" Demonte turned towards the door, and stepped outside.
Stan, in his bewildered state, watched Demonte leave, and then shook his head, chuckling. "You sneaky blasted thing. You really aren't a money-grubbing bastard anymore, are you?"
***
"Hey!" BDN beat on the door to the bathroom, waiting for a reply. "All right Vash, get out of the shower already! You've had it for WAY too long!"
Milly and Jessica began to crack up with laughter.
"The girls all got their turn in their room!" BDN stomped his foot. "This is injustice, you know that!? Hey! I'm warning you!"
"Oh put a sock in it, Brilliant," Celestia entered the room, cheerful and optimistic. "None us have gotten to bathe in a few days. Let us enjoy it for once."
"Yeah right!" BDN yelled over his shoulder. "I'll bet all the hot water is gone."
"Aw, Celestia," Jessica sighed. "You were gone for so long, your coffee got cold."
"…I'm sorry," Celestia smiled. "Thank you for the gesture though. I'll go warm it up." Jessica pointed to the glass on the table and Celestia picked it up gingerly.
Turning to exit the room, she began to walk down the hall and Milly shook her head.
"Mr. Vash told Mr. Neon that Celestia is staying here." Milly whispered so that BDN wouldn't hear.
"Hmm?" Jessica turned to Milly. "How did you find out?"
"Mr. Neon told me. It's quite sad. I don't want to see Celestia go." Milly frowned. "I've grown accustomed to this kind of lifestyle. It's a shame to have it end so suddenly. She's leaving, and soon we'll be in Roklen. After that, Mr. Vash will leave once he finds Mr. Knives. And Mr. Demonte will leave too…And then Meryl and…"
"Now Milly," Jessica soothed. "No one is going anywhere. Let's just wait and see what happens, shall we? Why, I'm certain that Vash won't leave again. And if we have to, we'll tie Celestia and Demonte down and make them stay!"
Milly smiled and nodded. "That's right! In the name of pudding, we'll force them to stay here!"
"Pudding!" Jessica laughed. "Now I want some."
"FINALLY!" BDN said as Vash exited the room, wearing a white shirt and baggy green pants.
Vash watched as BDN quickly hogged the bathroom and Vash shrugged. "What's his problem?"
***
From within the Inn's kitchen, Celestia was warming the coffee. She stood there, towering over it, letting her thoughts overwhelm her and take her back into a deep and depressed state.
Then the front door opened ever so softly from the back, and footsteps shuffled into the kitchen.
"I knew I smelled something good." It was Demonte.
"Ha! It's just coffee. And I knew it was you too."
"Well I don't smell THAT bad," Demonte chuckled. "If you could smell me coming in."
Celestia turned to face him. Her sad eyes were full of tears, but strangely; a smile still remained on her face.
"What's wrong?" Demonte asked, concerned.
"N-Nothing," She replied, turning back to the coffee.
Demonte sighed, feeling the good atmosphere disappear quickly. "You're leaving tomorrow."
"I know that."
"You should be happy. I mean, you're safe from Bernardelli and all of Hell's Mafia and Granus…"
"Yeah…I guess so…"
"You don't sound very happy."
"Well, it's just…" Celestia struggled with the words. She turned to look back at Demonte, who was waiting patiently for her answer. "I…mean…I…"
Suddenly, a large crash thundered through the floor and the two looked up.
"Geez, what the hell was that!?" Demonte asked.
"I-I think that was Meryl," Celestia told him. "Her presence is coming through to me quite strongly…"
"Meryl!? Crap!" Demonte bolted from the room without thought and Celestia gazed after him.
"Wait––" She sighed, defeated. "Never mind."
***
"Hey, Meryl?" Demonte rapped his hand against the door. It opened slowly under his touch and he pushed it open.
The room was dark.
"Meryl?" He called out to her. Then he feared the worst. "Either you're really drunk, playing a lousy game of hide-and-seek, or…you're not really Meryl at all…An intruder perhaps?" He reached for his gun, anticipating any kind of reaction within the room. "Hello?"
He felt a cool breeze ripple his cloak and he spotted an open window. "…Meryl?" Tension began to build inside of him. "You know this is a really rotten trick, if you're playing one."
Then he heard coughing and recurring sputtering. He turned his head in the direction of…the bathroom.
"Meryl?" He sighed. "You're drunk, aren't you?" He knocked on the bathroom door. "All right, the fun and games are over. Either you open the door or I'll bust it down."
"Hang on," He heard her mutter. The door was unlatched and opened. He looked down into her pale face and droopy eyelids. Her hair was mattered and she was wearing a long blue nightshirt.
"What happened to you?" He dared to ask.
She rubbed her eyes and turned off the light. "I slipped and fell down on the floor. Sorry if I woke you up." She brushed past him and walked to her bed.
"Nah, it didn't do anything to me. Celestia and I just thought that you hurt yourself. How did you fall?"
"Guess that whiskey got to me after all."
He sighed. "Don't tell me you decided to drink more…"
"No. Three swigs was enough, if not, TOO much, for me."
Demonte almost laughed. "A woman who can't hold her own. That's humorous."
"Well come over here and let me show you how humorous it is." She pulled the blankets over her head and flopped onto the pillow.
"You look like a wreck."
"I feel like one too. Good night."
Demonte slowly shut the door but did not exit. Instead he walked over to the bed and yanked the covers from off of her body.
"Dammit!" She screeched as she began to tug back. "What are you doing!?"
"Why do you let him get to you?" Demonte asked.
"Who!?" Meryl snapped.
"You know who. Vash. Why do you let him get to you?"
"I do NOT let Vash get to me. Now GIVE ME THE COVERS!" She leaned forward and with one swift hand movement, Demonte pushed her back onto the mattress.
"Liar. Tell ol' Demonte the truth."
"Grrr…" Meryl growled and sat back up. "I'm going to rip your heart out, Kalabis. I am NOT feeling good and I WANT to go to BED!"
"I'll bet the whiskey had something to do with it." Demonte joked.
Meryl lurched forward, tackling Demonte to the floor. He quickly released the covers and shielded his face with his arms as she began to swing at him.
"You asked for it! Now I'm going to kill you!" Taking his chances, Demonte grabbed Meryl by the shoulders and pulled her down to the floor. Twisting her arms behind her back, he grinned.
"I win. Well, now that that's settled and I declare victorious, do you wish to tell me what's REALLY on your mind?"
Meryl blew the loose strands from her face and looked away from Demonte. "It's nothing," She said.
Demonte knew that he was treading on thin ice, yet he still pressed. "Meryl," He said sternly. "I KNOW there's something on your mind. And as the tormentor of this group, I DEMAND to know what it is."
Finally, Meryl snapped.
"And why the hell is that!?" She forcefully tore herself from his grasp and pointed to the door. "Get out." She commanded.
Demonte stood there, unmoving.
"Are you waiting for a written invitation!?"
"What happened all those years ago between you two?" Demonte asked calmly. No one even noticed the opening door.
"NOTHING!" She spat. "Except that smug bastard up and left us and never came back!"
"I knew I heard a snake's voice somewhere in here." Vash stood in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest. "We heard the commotion from downstairs and I offered to check it out. You know the other guests are complaining about us."
"Ah, good!" Demonte grinned. "Now the party's all here."
Meryl's face glowered beneath the darkness of the room and Vash merely snorted.
"SNAKE, MR. VASH?" Meryl bellowed. "I'll show you a SNAKE." Meryl lunged forward, ready to pounce into the doorway. Demonte hopped to his feet and skillfully grabbed Meryl, restraining her from causing any REAL damage.
"I'll tear your head off MR. Vash!" Meryl shouted, wrestling against Demonte's body.
"Well, that's a start in today's session," Demonte said, pulling back on Meryl's shoulders.
"You know I get that a lot from jealous, pretty girls…" Meryl paused for the moment. "…but in your case, I'll make an exception with the prettiness part." Vash turned his head.
Meryl immediately began to thrash and jerk her body out of Demonte's grip.
"WHY I OUTTA––"
"Vash you're not helping!" Demonte shouted at him as he continued to hold Meryl against her will.
"Yeah well you're not much of a gentleman either, Mr. Hotshot!" Meryl countered. "Taking off and leaving your friends and brother behind!"
"I wouldn't be talking, Miss-All-Talk-And-No-Action-Because-I-Don't-Have-The-Guts-To-Back-Up-What-I-Threaten-People-With!" Vash's face began to darken dangerously.
"Knives was more of a gentleman than you'll ever be, Vash the Stampede!" Meryl retorted.
With that, Vash's back straightened and he stepped backwards. There was a long pause before Vash spoke again.
"I'm wiping my hands clean of this argument." Vash told her. "You're neither my friend nor companion. For the time being we are only allies. But once I do find Knives, I hope to never see you again."
"And that goes likewise as well!" Meryl ceased thrashing and watched as he left the room. She stood still for the moment, then bowed her head, sniffling, and Demonte watched as tears began to roll down her face.
"Meryl…" He started, quietly.
"Please…let me go…" She whispered.
He did so. She fled back towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
He stared after her for a long while, and finally sat backwards, landing on the edge of the bed.
"It's not your fault," He heard a voice enter the room. The sound of soft padding on the wooden floor was followed closely behind.
"I disagree." He told Celestia. "I shouldn't have tried to pry her about Vash."
"You were only trying to help, Demonte," Celestia joined him on the bedside. "And for that I'm sure she's grateful. It's just…this is an argument between the two that can only be solved…"
"…Between the two." Demonte finished. "I understand that, but I think I made it worse."
Celestia slowly reached forward and grabbed his hand.
"What…was it in the argument that made it worse?"
"The last two arguments that I've heard from them usually ended with something about his brother, Knives. Last time, Vash 'accused' her of running off with Knives and this time…" Demonte chuckled. "Meryl sort of deflated Vash's ego." He apparently didn't mind her holding his hand.
"Using Knives as an example?"
"Yeah."
Celestia grew silent.
"Things will get better," She assured after a moment. "You'll see…"
For everyone's sake, Demonte certainly hoped so.
***
BLD: Demonte…put the box down. NOW.
Demonte: Why don't you just sell me!? And then I'll never hog ANY of the attention EVER again! Why did you even create me!? TO HOG ATTENTION!? IS THAT MY ONLY PURPOSE!? WELL I HATE YOU!
BLD: Most people do. Now. Hand over the box.
Demonte snarls (My Lord…he has fangs…since when did I give him those?) and tosses the box of notes into the fire.
BLD: …
Demonte: You think you can play GOD with ME, EH!? Well now you CAN'T!
BLD: …But your entire character description was in there. Shouldn't you be vanishing right about now?
Demonte halts, and then breaks into hysterical sobs as he scuttles from the room.
BLD: sigh As usual, please R&R…without the usage of bad words please.
And until next time…which will hopefully be soon…I guess…
BLD