Hey all,

So, I bet you all thought this story was dead, didn't you? Have faith, over a year between updates means absolutely nothing. It only reflects on how busy I've been… busy and full of writer's block. However, the latter annoyance seems to be receding… finally. Hopefully this story will pick back up to every-other-week updates very soon. Finals are in two-ish weeks, so after that I'll be free to write when I want again.

I've been procrastinating a lot lately by watching more anime than I should, and I have a few recommendations. Gankutsuou still, of course, because it is just so stinkin pretty. I also recently saw and fell in love with Gungrave. It's Trigun's little brother, and it's awesome. The relationship between Brandon and Harry somewhat reminds me of Aion and Chrno. It's cool, watch it. The same goes for Tehxnolyze, which is pretty to look at and to think about. Finally, if you at all enjoy completely senseless violence, sex jokes, and chaos, watch Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-Chan. The entire series is two hours long, and it is excellent for a study break.

With that being said, this next chapter deviates a bit from the direction the story was headed in as of last chapter. This is a flashback-dream sequence type thing, and its point is to help set up the mood and explain things in the next chapter. Don't worry, next chapter is where the lemon is coming in.

HUGS TO ALL REVIEWERS WHO HAVE STUCK WITH THIS!

Enjoy!

SR

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CRACK!!!!!!!

Chrno winced and puffed out a breath, it was all he could really do anymore. Screaming and writhing against the bloody chains was a waste of energy, and judging by the growing sense of detachment enveloping his mind he really needed to conserve his energy right now.

CRACK!!!!!!!

It was disturbing how familiar he was becoming with death and the feeling of approaching it. It seemed like every day now, sometimes multiple times in the same hour, he would catch glimpses of death peeking at him from the edges of his blurred vision and waving morbidly.

CRACK!!!!!!!

The demon grunted, squirming slightly as a line of blood trickled down his face after overflowing from one of his saturated ears. The one benefit to having his ears filled with his own blood was that he could hardly hear the insults and threats constantly thrown at him. This allowed him to somewhat ignore his surroundings and slip into the recesses of his mind. Thus, while part of him was always conscious and registering the abuses of the day, most of him was hidden away, absorbed in memories. The inside of his head was the only real retreat in this hell-hole, and he knew that if he couldn't have these mental escapes, he would lose it.

CRACK!!!!!!!

Chrno forced his bleary eyes open for a few moments, a bit surprised because he had hardly even felt that one. However, the reason that he had become so numb quickly became apparent, for all the color and sharpness had drained from his vision; and what he could see was rapidly fading down a long tunnel into blackness. Ah, he thought with a mental smile that barely registered on his face, time to die again.

His eyes slid shut, body relaxing completely as all the muted noises that he could hear slowly died down and left him completely alone in his mind. Vaguely, he registered another crack of the whip as its barbed fangs tore into his already shredded back and wings. It didn't bother him though, because as he descended further into himself things started to brighten up.

In an instant he was out in the middle of an open field. The air was warm and smelled of clover, a gentle breeze blew through his intact wings, and the sounds of familiar laughter filled his ears. A pure smile grew on his face, running as wide as possible. He looked up at the sky, perfectly blue and speckled with cottony white clouds. This place was beautiful. If he had to pick anywhere in the world that he'd like to be, this would be it.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, the demon turned and looked down into a pair of eyes mirroring the sky in their hue, but housing a unique and lively sparkle all their own. Their owner pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear and grinned.

Chrno's heart melted. He held out a hand and she took it, leading him across the field to a cheerful red checkered picnic blanket laid out with a huge and tasty looking lunch. As they approached the blanket a light stream of laughter floated over to the demon's pointed ears. He squeezed Rosette's hand gently and turned his head to look across the field in the direction of the mirthful sounds. There, at the other side of the meadow, Joshua and Azmaria appeared to be playing tag; racing back and forth like puppies chasing butterflies. Rosette giggled and called out, raising her hand into the warm air and waving at the cavorting pair. They paused briefly in their game to wave back before resuming the chase, racing into and out of the woods as their whims lead them. Rosette peeked back over her shoulder at the demon and tugged on his hand, grinning and urging him onward. They ran the rest of the way to the blanket and landed on it in a giggling heap.

Hours passed. They ate, talked, touched, watched the sky… It was perfect. As the day wore into afternoon Chrno put his arm around Rosette's waist, and she simply laughed and laid her head on his shoulder. He was so happy… it was all he could think about as he rested his head on top of hers, inhaling in the sweet scent of her silky hair. He'd never been more at peace in his life…

SMACK!!!!!

Chrno groaned and opened his bleary eyes, just in time to visualize a large fist before it slammed into his nose again.

"I said wake up, you useless sack o' guts!"

Growling low after being forcefully uprooted from his happy place, Chrno slid his eyes open again and glared at his tormenter, a terrifyingly large feathered demon with a deformed, constantly drooling mouth. The purple haired demon hissed and wrinkled up his smashed nose, knowing that the red gore coating the bird demon in front of him was composed of little bits of his back and wings from the earlier whipping he'd received.

The bird demon sneered, not difficult for him to do as his melted mouth was formed into an almost constant frown already. "Fought we'd actually let you go this time, did ya?" He paused, raising one of his bear-like mitts up to brush away the line of green-flecked spittle dripping down his chin. "You're not allowed to die yet. You still got lotsa sins ta pay fo'."

Chrno glared at the torturer more intently, bitterly thinking that the brute in front of him had been ordered to stop just in time yet again. He'd been so close to escaping this place permanently… no helping it now. Discretely, the sinner flexed the muscles in his back and stretched his wings to gauge how much they'd healed while he was unconscious. No pain was registering anywhere, and that meant the beatings would resume soon. Curse it.

"Ey!" Chrno sank a fang into his lip to keep from crying out as a searing pain shot through his ear. He lifted his head to relieve the pain slightly and found himself face to disfigured face with the foul-smelling bird demon. With a small stab of irritation, Chrno noted that the other demon had used two of its talons to pierce his ear and yank his face upwards, which explained the pain. Oh, what he would have done to the impudent fool if he wasn't chained in place…

"Who'zat gurl you been dreamin about?" The inquiry immediately got Chrno's attention. His face must have betrayed his surprise, as the bird demon's lips soon split into a pathetic excuse for a grin; an air of superiority riding his features.

"Wot, didn't fink a lower level like me could read ya, your fuckin majesty?" His words left a track of foul, phlegmy saliva across Chrno's face, and the higher ranking demon frowned in disgust. This only served to egg the bird on, and he gave another tug on Chrno's injured ear, grinning at the low growl that rumbled its way through his victim's chest.

"Where's ya grand ol' freedom now, eh? Ya kill 'undreds o Pandemonium's finest, my dear brother among 'em, and look at wat came out o' it. Chained up ta my whippin' post." The bird's dull, grey eyes lit up slightly and he chuckled, again wiping his bottom lip with the back of a hand. "If dat ain't justice for ya, I dunno what is."

Chrno smoldered for a bit, meeting the dullard's eyes with a steadily hardening gaze. The low-level brute was starting to piss him off. First, the insolent scum had spent the better part of today shearing the top layers of skin and muscle off his back and wings, an extremely painful experience that had almost killed him…again. Second, he had somehow managed to pick up on the unconscious dream that Chrno cherished and went out of his way to hide. Third, he was currently yanking him along by the ear. The bird must have been at least four full ranks below the position that Chrno had before he left Pandemonium, and the fact that he dared to toy with the higher ranking demon did not sit well at all.

"An' here I fought ya might'a actu'lly kicked da bucket dis time." Apparently the bird wasn't done mouthing off yet. Chrno's patience was wearing thinner and thinner with each word that spilled out of his disgusting mouth. "So's I come down ta smack ya about a bit, ya know? Make good an sure ya was still twitchin'… and wat do I find?" The bloody-feathered bird tightened his grip on Chrno's ear and leaned in so that he was just a few inches from the other demon's nose. "You're fuckin' dreamin about little 'uman gurlies. I mean, I knew ya was messed up before, but nuffin like that." Chrno felt his eyes start to glaze over with gold as the torturer struck a nerve. Who was this wretched ingrate to judge him? Who was he to even think about Rosette? If he so much as mentioned her name he'd regret it for the rest of his very short life…

"I mean, even if you get out o' here," That infuriating grin rolled over the bird's malformed lips again, "And ya won't. It's not like she's a waitin for ya. Fuck, she might even be dead already." Chrno was seething. Waves of anger rolled through his body causing a few muscles to spasm along the way, begging him to strike out and silence the feathered form before him.

"Yeah, dead and rotted. Getting' all et up by wurms." The bird chuckled and Chrno snarled, fighting the urge to snap through the chains and beat his malformed skull in. "Even if you're really lucky and your little sweetheart is up there when ya get loose, you know that 'ventually she's gonna die and you're gonna live. Forever, and ever. Aaaaaaaaaall alone." With that, the bird tipped his head back and indulged in a hearty laugh, spraying rank spittle everywhere and flaunting his enjoyment in the more powerful demon's enraged face.

Chrno was beyond anger. He could hardly even see straight. This demon had tortured his flesh, invaded his privacy, and spoken ill of his Rosette; not to mention hit upon a few of the stronger demon's secret fears that he didn't know how to deal with yet. As far as the sinner was concerned, that completely voided his right to live.

Slipping into pure instinct, Chrno trained his ears on the other demon's throat, listening to the sluggish pulsing of blood through his vital arteries and veins. The bird's frame teetered back and forth with each racking breath, and the higher ranking demon quickly picked up on the pattern, carefully timing his strike. On the foul bird's next exhalation he came just within range, and the sinner struck. With a frightening roar, he lunged forward, straining his battered flesh against the grip of the chains, and sank his teeth deep into the bird's throat.

The stricken demon's delighted laughter immediately turned into a choked gurgle, and quickly to a sputter as Chrno's fangs met in the middle of his neck. His taloned hands swiftly rose to the site of the injury, trying to beat the other demon off, but failing miserably. Chrno simply shut his eyes and held on, rage numbing the pain of the scratches he received in attempted retribution. The struggle was short lived, the bird's blows quickly losing their sting and his sputtering quickly giving way to a juicy rasping as his lungs struggled to draw in a bloodless breath of air.

Chrno waited, instinctively maintaining his hold until all the bird could do was jerk weakly against his teeth. Finally, the purple haired demon separated from his captor with a single, violent tug. The bird swayed drunkenly, pathetically grasping at his severed throat as he fought to maintain his footing. His grey eyes rolled as things started to go out of focus, coming to rest with a surprised and accusatory stare on the demon who had taken his life. With one last wheezing gurgle, the bird went limp and collapsed, resting morbidly in a pool of his own blood as the last breath of life flew from him.

Lifting his lip in disgust, Chrno spat out the lump of flesh in his mouth and glared coldly down at the bird demon's body. No matter how hard he tried to calm himself down, he just couldn't stop growling. The other demon had unknowingly hit a very raw nerve, and had paid for it with his pitiable excuse for a life. As the gold began to fade from the whites of his eyes, and the alarmed shouts of the other guards began to reach his ears, the sinner found that his mind only wanted to focus on one thing.

Even if I make it out of here…

Even if she's alive and wants to see me…

She'll die.

I'll be alone again…

Again…

"No… Rosette…"

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So, there it is. Like I said at the beginning, the point of this chapter will make more sense once I get the next chapter up. Which should be within the next month. Really.

Please review, and have a happy day!

SR