Devil Child
Summary: Still hanging in Chicago waiting to be taken to San Francisco, Rosette and Chrno take a look around only to find a large crater with sounds of a baby crying within it. Meet Mommy Rosette and Daddy Chrno.
Disclaimer: Demon Seed doesn't own Chrno Crusade's wacky yet lovable characters. D.S is not too sure who owns Aiden, but for now he'll say he does unless Hybrid Daemon claims her. He does own Kylik though.
WARNINGS: Violence, blood, partial nudity, language and parenthood
Devil Child: Chapter 7 "Auras"
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It had only been four days since they came back, but that didn't matter because the first thing Rosette did after breakfast was quickly head over to the Elder's house to check up on Aiden. She could hardly sleep those last four nights because she was too busy worrying about the hatchling, though she was with Chrno.
Once she reached the house, she saw that the Elder was nowhere in sight (thank the Higher Being), and looked around for Chrno. It didn't take long to find him in his room on all fours looking underneath his bed. That wasn't a good sign, but she decided to play it cool as a devilish smile played on her face.
"Good morning Chrno!" She said in a singsong manner, causing the Devil to hit his head underneath his bed and stand up cursing along the way. He turned to see Rosette and paled.
"Ro-Rosette!" He almost shouted. "What are you doing here!"
Rosette smiled. "Checking up on you and Aiden, silly! Where is she? Did she sleep okay? She wasn't too much too handle, was she?" Asked the worried nun.
"She was okay, and she slept fine, but..." Chrno bit his lower lip and his small pointy ears seemed to droop a bit. Rosette blinked.
"Chrno?"
"What?"
"I…lost her..."
"WHAT?"
Chrno cringed. "How did you lose her? How could you lose her?" Shouted Rosette, her heart beating fast from sheer panic.
"I-I don't know!" Explained Chrno. "It's not like I did it on purpose! I set her on my bed and left to help the Elder with something, and when I came back, she was gone!" The two looked around, and then split up to opposite sides of the room to look some more.
"Where could she have gone too?" Rosette asked, moving junk to the side.
"I don't know, but she couldn't have gotten far if she crawled." Suggested Chrno.
Rosette stood up. "Crawled?" She turned to look at Chrno as he looked at her, and then they heard it: a small happy giggling coming from downstairs. Rosette and Chrno's eyes widened.
"AIDEN!" The two took off and raced down the stairs. Rosette almost crashed into Chrno as he abruptly stopped in front of Azmaria, a giggling Aiden in her arms.
The Apostle smiled. "You should keep an closer eye on her, you know," She said. "She's started crawling now."
Rosette's face broke into a relieved smile and held out her arms to hold the hatchling. Azmaria nodded and handed Rosette the hatchling, and Chrno petted Aiden's hair as Rosette passed by.
"You little punk," Rosette cooed to the devil baby. "You gave us a heart attack by crawling away." She smiled at Chrno. "Can't believe it...barely a week old and she's crawling already. Guess that means we definitely have to keep a closer eye on her, since she can move around now."
Chrno smiled and said, "Like I mentioned before, Devil babies are far different from human babies." Rosette nodded and sensed that Aiden was hungry. She looked at Chrno. The older Devil shed of his coat and handed it to his Contractor.
"Better feed her upstairs. I don't want the Elder coming in to see you nursing her." Rosette nodded and headed upstairs. Chrno watched her, and then saw a movement from the corner of his eyes. He turned to see Azmaria yawning. "Didn't get enough sleep? Was Rosette snoring too loudly?" He teased.
Azmaria just smiled and shook her head. "No, Rosette hardly slept last night because of her worry for Aiden. I just feel like I'm being drained or something, that's all." She pondered. "Maybe it is just the lack of sleep."
Chrno studied the young Apostle and frowned slightly. Azmaria saw this and blinked in concern. "Chrno? Something wrong?"
The older Devil snapped out of his pondering and shook his head. "No, not yet anyways...Azmaria, did you feel anything strange last night?" He asked.
The Apostle blinked and slowly nodded her head. "Yes I did. I felt a very strong demonic aura, and I didn't want to tell Rosette because she was already worrying about Aiden, so..." She looked at Chrno worriedly. "Should I have told somebody?"
"No, I don't think so. It wasn't really a threat, so I don't think there was anything to worry about." He flashed a reassuring smile to his young friend. "Try and get a little more sleep; it looks like you need it." Azmaria stopped in mid-yawn and blushed a bit.
"I'll see you later on, then?" She asked. Chrno nodded. Azmaria gave a happy smile and took off to do her chores.
Chrno watched her go, and started back in deep thought again, but snapped out of it when he heard creaking coming down the stairs. He turned to see Rosette coming down with Aiden in her arms, yawning as well.
"You would be tired from being up late at night worrying about a devil hatchling when she was with a devil." He said with a smile. Rosette blushed from embarrassment.
"Sorry, I'm not used to sleeping without her by my side." She said. "I felt kind of lonely." She yawned once more. Chrno gave her a worry look. Rosette caught it and smiled. "Ah, I'm okay. Just tired all of a sudden."
"Same with Azmaria..." Muttered Chrno.
"What's that?"
"Nothing. You should get going or Sister Kate is going to get angry soon." Suggested Chrno. Rosette whined like a little child.
"Aw, but I want to stay here with you and Aiden..." She smiled at the happily mewing offspring, who giggled in delight of being in her "mother's" arms.
Chrno gave Rosette a stern look. "If you stay here, Sister Kate is either going to find you herself, or send somebody else to find you, say...Father Remington?"
"Oh applesauce! Fine. I'll go, but I won't stay there for long." She growled, handing Aiden to Chrno.
"Kruu..." Aiden mewed.
Rosette gave Aiden a quick kiss on her forehead and waved at Chrno before using the same hand to cover her mouth as she yawned again. "I'll see you later."
Chrno waved good-bye as Aiden made a sound that seemed she was saying good-bye as well, and then it hit him. Red crimson eyes widened as he felt something latching onto his aura, sucking on it slowly, and soon started feeling tired before whatever was feeding on his aura disappeared.
Aiden giggled.
Chrno looked down at her. Ah, so you're at that stage already, he thought, heading up to his room. Great, now is Rosette not only feeding you but your feeding off her aura, too. Shame on you, Aiden.
Aiden blinked her large, ruby red eyes as if hearing Chrno's thought. "Bah?"
The older Devil smiled and shook his head. "Try and not to leech off of Rosette too much, okay, Aiden? She's going through enough already."
Aiden just blinked and kicked her feet into the air as Chrno set her down. Once she was on the floor, she took off crawling, which had Chrno chasing after her in a matter of seconds.
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"Vhat? She is crawling already?" Satella asked, bouncing the hatchling on her knees, while also beginning to feel tired.
Chrno nodded. "She's growing quickly. Aiden is not only nursing from Rosette, but also taking bits of hers and our aura as well."
Satella blinked, and then stopped bouncing Aiden. The hatchling gave a curious sound wondering why she stopped. "What do you mean?"
"Usually, Devil hatchlings that are least a three months old begin to feed off the aura of their Caretaker, and, since Aiden sees us as her Caretakers, she is therefore slightly feeding off our auras," Chrno explained.
"That explains why I feel so tired all of a sudden." She looked at the blinking Aiden.
"Bah?"
A big smile plastered on Satella's face. "Ooohh!" She cuddled the offspring to her, rubbing her cheeks against Aiden's chubby ones. Aiden giggled and let out a squeal of delight. Chrno couldn't help but smile.
"What is the point of her feeding off of our auras?" Asked Satella.
"It's how devils develop their powers as they grow older. Sometimes, they would take on bit of personality of their Caretaker." Explained Chrno.
The Jewel Witch smiled as she cooed at the baby. "Let's hope she doesn't have Rosette's temper," She prayed. Chrno chuckled. "How long will she continue to do this for?"
The older Devil shrugged. "I really don't know." He gave a sheepish look.
"At least six years for a regular devil hatchling." A voice said behind them.
The two looked up, startled, to see an old looking man with long gray hair in a braid and gray mustache smile at the two.
"Chef Michael." Chrno said with surprise. Satella blinked.
"The chef from the Hotel in Chicago?" She asked. Chrno nodded as he stood up to greet the older devil. The Chef devil grabbed the other devil in a bear hug as two other Devils appeared. Satella recognized them as Lily and Steve. She stood up to greet them while holding Aiden.
The little devil began to make curious sounds as Lily and Steve cooed and made soft crooning sounds at her. "Aye, let me hold the little one, ey?" Chef Michael asked. Satella looked at Chrno, who gave a slight nod and she gave Aiden to the older Devil.
"Aye, look at her. She's growing fine and beautifully, aren't ye, ya little pup." He poked her nose and Aiden let out a squeal.
"She's feeding off of our auras already." Supplied Chrno. The older Devil nodded.
"She's growing faster then a normal devil, isn't she Da?" Lily said, sniffing the hatchling. She smiled when Aiden tried to reach for her black hair.
Steve looked over his sister's shoulder, his dark green bangs getting in his red eyes. "Well, she is being raised by three humans and a devil, sister. So I'm sure she'll grow up differently then we did." He looked at his bangs and tried to blow them out of his eyes.
Lily just smiled.
Chef Michael handed Aiden back to Satella then beckoned Chrno to follow him, as Lily and Steve stayed with the Jewel Summoner to protect her from harm. In curiosity, Chrno followed the older Devil far out of reach from human ears.
"What is wrong?" He asked, seeing that the older Devil seem troubled.
"I've come to tell you that Lucifer is seeking her out," He said. Chrno blinked. So it was his aura that he felt last night, but why is he seeking Aiden out?
He voiced his thoughts out. "Why would he seek Aiden out for? She's merely a hatchling and nothing more."
"She's the last hatchling female conceived by Lady Pandaemonium, Chrno, meaning she's the new Queen. Has it ever occurred to you why she survived and none of the other hatchlings did?" He looked into the wide, blood red eyes of Chrno.
"New...Queen?" The violet-haired devil said weakly.
"Aye, and she has a twin, Chrno..."
"T-twin?"
"Yes," Chef Michael sighed and looked up at the clear sky. "When you Sinners had plotted to overthrow Pandaemonium for freedom, I think she had already split her soul into two beings...beings that ended up being twins..."
Chrno's eyes widened more, his heart racing like crazy. "Split...?" He said weakly.
Chef Michael gave a deep sigh and nodded. "Yes twins that were the only hatchlings to survive when the others did not, twins who might have Pandaemonium's soul within them, twins who could be powerful then Pandaemonuim and Lucifer put together..."
Chrno felt himself begin to panic, then he heard Aiden's soft whimper as she picked up his emotions. He looked at Chef Michael. "Is that why he wants her?" He asked. The older Devil just hung his head.
"I don't know why he wants her Chrno, but the Magdalene Order is not powerful enough to stop him from taking what he wants, so I suggest you keep your guard up and make sure your friends and Contractor are safe. Knowing Lucifer, he's very clever and has many tricks up his sleeves, since he was the first fallen Angel." Chrno nodded while licking his dry lips, and glance a sideways look to where Aiden was, her whimpering having lessened.
Chef Michael followed his glance and smiled. "She is a very beautiful pup though, Chrno, and she is very lucky to have you and your friends as her Guardians instead." He put a large hand on the violet-haired devil's small shoulder. "I'm not sure what to say of her twin, but don't worry about that, just keep your mind on Aiden and the protection of your friends." Chrno nodded and sighed heavily.
To think that the offspring was the new Queen Pandaemonuim and that she carries half the soul of Pandaemonuim...wait...carries her Soul? He looked at the gray hair Devil. "You said Aiden might carry half the Soul of Pandaemonuim, right?"
"Aye."
"But how is that possible, when her head was trying to grow a new body and act on it's own when I was still with Aion?"
Chef Michael pondered and stroked his beard. "Hmm…well, Pandaemonuim was a powerful She-Devil, all I know is that it was an empty shell." He looked up to see Satella heading over with Lily and Steve. "What is wrong?"
"Nothing," Satella answered before the other two could. "It's just that Aiden was whimpering a lot, so I think she wants Chrno back." The Jewel Summoner explained, handing Aiden to Chrno.
Aiden blinked and looked at her "father" with her ruby eyes and smiled a happy smile when she realized that she was in his arms. Chrno smiled, and then felt her leech on to his aura. He looked at Satella. "We have start heading towards the Order. I'm sure Rosette is waiting for our return." Satella nodded and they both said their good-byes to the other Devils as they took off.
Lily stood next to her father. "You told him?" She asked.
Chef Michael nodded. "Aye, but I'm sure they'll be okay until Aiden starts growing..."
"My, my Michael." A voice rang out. Lily and Steve whipped around, changing into their devil forms. Chef Michael only look up to see a young, beautiful man with long whitish-blonde hair, dressed in a white dress shirt, black pants and boots, and wearing a black trench coat, sitting on the edge of a building.
"Lucifer." He snarled. The Ancient Devil smiled at one of his sister's Generals.
"I see you're still alive." He said. "Of course, Pandaemonium could never have one of her own favorite Generals hunted down like a savage beast." Lily and Steve growled. Lucifer cast them a boring look. "Please do keep your offspring under control, Michael. They'll scare my nephew..."
Lily and Steve backed down as their father stepped out in front of them, cautiously. "Nephew?"
Lucifer only gave him a heart-melting smile that would have drove women insane with lust and desire. Then, Chef Michael saw him come out from behind the Ancient Devil. He appeared to be only four years old with pale blue hair, gold eyes and three red diamonds on his forehead, dressed in a long, white shirt that went down to his knees. He clutched Lucifer's arm close as he studied the three new Devils, then slowly backed up behind the blonde Devil.
"Who awe dey, Uncle Lu?" He spoke softly.
"Devil's who are trying to keep you from seeing your twin." Explain Lucifer. Kylik growled venomously, but was hushed by his Guardian.
"But don't worry love, they just made it more exciting to take back your twin." He grinned down at the exiled Devils.
Chef Michael frowned. "You're playing a dangerous game, Lucifer. You know damn well that once Aiden is grown up, she will fight what she is supposed to be and will tear this world apart," He growled. Lucifer only laughed.
"Silly Michael, it's not I who's going to go after her...It's Kylik, isn't that right, my boy?" He looked at the devil-child with his opal eyes that had changed from red eyes to dark-green eyes with blue around the pupil.
Kylik nodded. "Yes, I wanna bwing my sister back to me." He said determinedly. Lucifer chuckled and looked at the trio.
"See? Straight from the boy's mouth. Now, if you don't mind..." He stood up and picked up Kylik. "I have to be going to find someone to feed Kylik." Before Chef Michael could shout anything to Lucifer, he watched large black-feathered wings flap open and take off into the sky, gone within moments.
Lily and Steve had returned back to their human forms. The female devil looked at her father. "Chrno and his friends are in deep trouble, aren't they?" She asked.
Chef Michael just sighed. "Yes Lily...I'm afraid so..." Lily bit her lip and looked back up at the sky.
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Magdalene Order
Azmaria had greeted Chrno with a huge hug before running out to greet Satella. Rosette wasn't far behind the happy Apostle, and gave Chrno a hug while happily holding Aiden close to her. Chrno had excused himself to the Elder's house, and when Rosette gave him a curious look, he just explained that Aiden was now feeding off of their aura, but that she was feeding off of his the most.
"Oh, well that explains the tiredness." She said looking at the squealing, happy verbal baby. "Awwwwwwwwww!" She hugged the devil child to her. "I wuuuuuuuv youuuuu!" Chrno sweatdropped. I swear, the things that a baby can do to people, he thought. Knowing that Rosette will be partially safe within Magdalene walls, he retired to the Elder's house without telling anyone what Chef Michael had told him about Aiden and Lucifer.
"Ah, I see you have returned from your walk." The Elder greeted, noticing a tired Chrno walk in. "How was it?"
"Good," Chrno mumbled. "Aiden enjoyed it very much with Satella and I."
"Satella?" The Elder looked at him. "Is that the pretty brunette that was waiting for you?" Chrno nodded then notice a sly, perverted grin make its way onto the old man's face. "You think she'll let me fondle those luscious breast of hers?"
Chrno sweatdropped. "Only if you don't mind being sent flying into the air by her stone knight," He said, recalling how he was sent flying into the air when he accidentally fell face first against her breasts when had fallen ill.
"Oooooo, a feisty one eh?"
"Good-NIGHT Elder..." Chrno said making his way to his room.
"Oh? What about Aiden?"
"She's sleeping with Rosette and Azmaria just this once."
"Aw, lucky devil child, gets to see Rosette in her underwear..." Chrno just rolled his eyes and plopped on his bed once he reached it, mind full of things, but before he knew it; he was passed out and slept throughout the night only to be awakened in the morning by someone screaming loudly...
...And that screaming just so happened to belong to Rosette.
