Chapter 21.
"Hey sleepyhead, come on!" Chrno called impatiently. Rosette was brought out of her thoughts by his loud voice. She grumbled something and followed him "I just hope you know where to go." She muttered.
Chrno smiled "Of course I do. It's not the first time I read a map. Besides, I am the Master." He said smugly. Rosette was able to hold herself back this time.
None of them noticed the three figures watching them from the other side of the street.
After about an hour Rosette was tired of walking "Let's find a place to eat Chrno." She pleaded. Chrno looked at her "Are you hungry?" he asked, then felt a strange feeling in his stomach "I think I am too..." they decided to find a nice place to eat, but they never got so far. They were stopped by three big men.
"Well well well... if it isn't our little pocket thief." Genai smirked "Found ya!"
Rosette gasped and spun around. Genai reached out and grabbed her wrist before she could get too far away though "CHRNO!" the two other men had already grabbed him though. One of them lift his fist and hit his neck, making the young Demon go unconscious. Rosette struggled like a lioness against Genai, but her fighting was for naught.
She tried to scream. Genai's hand flew up across her mouth and silenced her. She tried to kick out after him, though it didn't hurt him the least. He pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket and she knew immediately what that meant "No, not again!!!" then everything went black.
When she woke up hours after, she found herself back in the same room she had been in with Azmaria "Oh dammit!!!" She cursed and looked around. She sighed frustrated when she let her eyes scan the room "This simply can't be true... GAH I HATE IT!!"
A groan was heard from right next to her. She turned her head and saw her Demon "Chrno?" she sat up and looked at him "Are you okay?"
He opened his eyes and squinted at the bright light "Do I look alright?" He moaned and placed a palm over his eyes "I feel horrible."
She brushed some bangs out of his face "We had bad luck," she grumbled "We're back in Aion's castle..."
"At least we brought Az home before this could happen..." he mumbled "But this time I'll not be able to help you out though..." she nodded "I know... you're not invisible anymore." She sighed and lay back down so she faced him "What does he want with us? Azmaria isn't here, so he can't want to briber her father..."
Chrno shrugged and turned onto his side so he faced her as well "He must have hunted us around since he knew where to find us," he said "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect you." She shook her head "Don't worry about that..." she whispered "We'll make it out somehow... we managed to last time after all."
"You're right... I shouldn't be so pessimistic." He smiled. The door was opened and Genai stepped inside. Both sat up on the bad and glared at him "WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH US?" Rosette snarled.
"Aion wants to see you." Genai replied with a smirk and walked over to grab their arms and drag them out of the room. They ended in a big dark room. The whole room was bathed in a dull green light from a giant machine. Rosette had a bad feeling about this.
Aion stood next to the machine, the maid, whose name was Fiore or something stood right next to him. He smirked at her and her Demon. Chrno growled deeply at the man. Aion decided to ignore it though "Ah, welcome once again my dear." He said with a smile and moved towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him "Let me go you jerk!" she snarled and struggled out of his grasp. Genai again grasped her arm. Aion smiled at her "How nice of you to come... and I am very happy to see that you brought your little Demonic friend as well."
"How did you know that?" Rosette asked, making Aion chuckle "Fiore was able to see him." Aion said simply and stepped back over to the young maid that was Satella's sister. He stroked her black eye softly "She had a bad collision with a fist, that I think belong to you little thief."
Rosette narrowed her eyes "What do you want with us?"
"How good of you to ask... you see..." Aion began and kissed Fiore's black eye before he turned his attention back to the two guests "I have learned, that I don't have so much success anymore... I couldn't even finish my task in getting that Ricardo Hendricks industries," he faked a sad face as he told "But then my little lab cat gave me a brilliant idea."
A young woman in the age of about twenty emerged from one of the back rooms. She had short messy black hair and a pair of big round glasses on her nose. She wore an almost too big lab coat. Aion smiled at her "This is Shader," he introduced "She has invented this machine for me... she is a real genius. Shader, tell them what the machine can do."
Shader grinned "Yep," she said and stepped over to a blackboard "You see... this machine is a transformer," she explained "It can so to speak transform living beings by taking energy from another life form." She went over to two big glass tanks "This is where the life forms are being put into and this-"
"By other words-" Aion interrupted "A human can be changed in this machine."
Rosette shrank back a little "What are you going to do?" she asked insecurely. Chrno's eyes were burning into the white haired man's back as he admired the machine. Aion smirked over his shoulder at her "This baby is going to turn me into a Demon of course."
"WHAT?"
"It hasn't been tested yet though, so I need a volunteer for the first try..." Aion stepped over towards them "Genai, would you be so friendly to take a step into the left tank?" Genai swallowed harshly. Aion gave him the Do-it-or-I'll-make-you look. Genai nodded slightly and stepped towards the tanks and into the left one.
Aion looked thoughtful "We need a special ingredient don't we?" he smirked and pulled out a tattered old black book. Fiore had already started painting a pentagram on the stone floor with white chalk. When she was finished, she placed candles around it in a circle. She hurried away after that was done.
"Let us ask the Demon queen Lilith for one of her sons shall we?" Aion smirked, before beginning to mumble some inaudible words.
At first nothing happened, but then suddenly, the pentagram started glowing and smoke escaped the middle of it. The smoke slowly got the shape of a big figure with wings. A loud roar echoed through the room and the figure stretched it's long arms into the air. Shader hurried over to open the second tank and Aion made the Demon move inside before it was fully materialized. The Demon was not at all looking like Chrno; it had almost no human features at all. It's skin was black and slimy, it had no hair and two giant horns on either side of its head.
"Turn the thing on." Aion commanded, making Shader hurry over and push a red button. Genai and the Demon were engulfed by a dark smoke. Genai started to scream.
"Miasma..." Chrno whispered, but Rosette caught it. She wanted to ask what it was, but she was too caught up by what was happening. The smoke soon vanished. The demon was not more than a pile of dark ashes. Genai on the other hand lay lifeless on the ground of the tank. Something black lay draped over him.
Aion and the rest waited "Open the tank!" he ordered and Shader did what he said. The rest of the smoke flowed out over the floor like a mist.
Nothing happened for a few moments, but then suddenly the cowboy moved. He groaned weakly and got on all fours. The black on his back stretched out and appeared to be a pair of big black wings. On the sides of his head was a pair of horns the colours of burnt Sienna. He began to laugh "I feel so powerful..." he growled and laughed again. He had sharp fangs and his hands were sharp claws.
Aion smirked "It worked can I see... then it might be my turn now." he said and ordered Genai to put Chrno into the right tank. Chrno struggled and Rosette wanted to push the now Demon away from her friend. Genai brushed her away as if she was only a little fly. She landed in the arms of another man who held her in a firm grip "NO, CHRNO!!!!!!" she yelled.
Chrno was forcefully thrown into the right tank, while Aion entered the left. Shader waited for her signal. She pushed the red button as soon as Aion gave her a thumb up.
Rosette screamed for them to stop, but the black Miasma had already filled the tanks. Chrno screamed in pain. The pocket watch around Rosette's neck started glowing with a green faint light. She clutched the watch in her hands tightly until Shader turned the machine off.
Rosette kicked the man behind her, making him loose his grasp around her. She stormed over to the tank with Chrno inside and forced it open. The smoke escaped and emptied the tank. She crouched next to the limp figure inside of it. His body had turned all see-through again.
"CHRNO?" She yelled and pulled him up against him. He groaned weakly and opened his dulled eyes to look up at her "B-Blood..." he whispered longingly, his voice not more than a whisper. Rosette nodded and lift him up so he rest on her shoulder. He sunk his teeth into her skin and began to drink. His fangs were again the same size like when they met the first time "Take as much as you need..." she whispered to him, the tears she had sworn herself never to shed again flowed down her cheeks "I don't mind."
The smoke in the second tank flowed out of it too now. Rosette narrowed her eyes as Aion got to his feet and started to laugh "Thank you little Demon." Aion growled "Now I have your powers."
"Why didn't you just summon another Demon you could use?"
Aion smirked "Because, people are only able to summon low level Demons without a rank... your Demon isn't one of them." He flared his giant wings and felt his head with his hands. Two ebony horns sat on either side of it; his ears were long and tufted. His eyes were a deep violet colour and out of his neck emerged a long bony tail.
Aion ordered that the two were brought back to the room.
When they were there, Rosette placed Chrno on the bed. She sat next to him. She stroked his long hair "How do you feel?" she asked him worried. He smiled up at her "Better Rosette..." he whispered, closing his eyes "But I'm a little cold."
She lay down next to him and pulled the covers over them "Better?" He nodded and snuggled a little closer to her "Much." He smiled. She blushed as he wrapped an arm around her waist, but didn't move. Soon she felt his breath even out. He had fallen asleep, and they had a problem with a madman that was now Demonic.
"This just can't get any worse."
AN: Wasn't that a strange chapter? -.-
I hope you liked it... a little at least...
Until next chapter !!!