A/N: Hello! Sneko-chan here! It's a beautiful day here in Newfoundland, as opposed to yesterday when we were doused with a huge amount of rain. Well, I'm in shock. I'm writing a story that's now reached chapter 25. That's scary. I once drew a comic that was some two hundred pages long, but then I gave up. Bridges is about 140 pages right now, including Chapter 3, which I should be inking right not, instead of writing this. However, life if full of should have's and should be's so let just live n the moment for now and move ahead with New Time, New Place!
Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade
Chapter 25!
Golden's fingers had slowly crept their way to her mouth, and for that, she was grateful. At this rate, she would start screaming at the idiot before he even did his job, and even if he couldn't hear her, he would feel her fear, and that could hold him back.
She had no right to meddle in his life. No one did, yet they had hauled him around on strings since he was born, and they'd done the same to the girl. Golden turned. The girl. What was she doing now, while her friend was heedlessly ploughing headlong into possible death? Golden grinned.
Chrono had never been so grateful for dust. Back at the house, he was always trying -and usually failing- to keep the wretched stuff to a minimum. At the moment though, he was glad the floors of the Grace hospital was completely covered with it, because it muffled his footsteps in the empty halls.
His skin prickled as a shadow slid across the wall. Chrono froze, crouching in a doorway, his skin burning with prickles as the shadow drifted past, silent, dread bringing and definitely not human.
What had he gotten himself into? What had he gotten Nina into? The shadow drifted further down the hall, and when Chrono looked at the floor, he could see footprints in the dust. He wasn't sure if he was happy or terrified that whatever that awful aura was, it was solid. Whatever it was, it was headed towards Nina. Keeping his back to the wall, Chrono followed the hulking shape down the narrowing hall, past abandoned gurneys and IV poles, past windows that cast in faded glimpses of light from street lamps. Nina's aura flickered. She was getting weaker, whatever they were doing for her. Screw whatever the monster was down the hall! Grabbing the nearest IV pole, Chrono pelted down the hall, knocking the creature aside. It hit the wall with a sickening thump and slid to the floor. Chrono stopped, startled. It looked... human. Had he killed a fellow human? Who would look after the kids- Mr. Remington would, but who would save Ni- the creature exploded into a fountain of green blood, the substance spewing all over the floor and walls. Biting back a scream of pain as the stuff burned the little skin it touched, Chrono fled down the hall, keeping track of Nina's aura with all his being. There were more of them, those creatures. He could see them, out of the corners of his eyes, he could feel their auras dancing like black lights around him, he could smell them, like rotting meat and drying blood. He ducked past a pair of them and into a room.
"Nina!" Chrono raced to the operating table and pulled the limp child off. "Nina!" she was breathing, but that only meant her body was alive. He squinted at the machines that surrounded the table, his heart picking up speed.
He'd seen these before!
"So. You actually showed up after the brat. I'm surprised, but I guess the boss had a good estimate of you." The door behind him shut with an echoing bang and Chrono turned to face Genai who stood by it, calm and relaxed behind a good twenty of the shadow monsters. Licking his dry lips, Chrono backed up. Someone had put Genai up to this, promised him a lot of money, but Genai hadn't actually met the guy, didn't know who he was. Chrono turned his attention to the monsters, trying to read their auras, but there was only a big nothing. Genai grinned, his eyes hidden behind his black sunglasses. "Done worry." he chuckled as the creature followed Chrono's retreat. "The Keytos's are designed only to destroy your body." His body? thoroughly confused, Chrono swallowed hard as his back hit the too-solid wall. Leering at him with a dark glee, the Keytos continued their forward slink, prowling around him, their grins wide and sharp toothed within their human guises. ...Are designed only to destroy your body. These things were made to come after him? Chrono hoped no one else had been harmed as they were tested.
"No!" He knocked away the hand of one that dared to try to touch Nina. Genai's grin widened as he watched the teen struggle to forestall the inevitable. One Keytos fell back into another and they both exploded into the caustic green liquid. Oh no, Genai smirked, the purple haired brat wouldn't last long, especially not when he was trying to protect his precious little niece.
Chrono gasped but refused to react to the pain as droplets of green acid showered over him. He struck a monster aside, then another, but there were always more to fill the space.
Nina was going to die! He wouldn't be able to save her! Clenching his teeth, he swung his backpack at a group of Keytos, scattering them. He couldn't break his promise!
"CHRONO!" some floor below them, someone was yelling his name. He paused, trying to tell who it was, but in that second, a Keytos dealt him a blow to the stomach, throwing him into the wall and wrenching Nina from his grasp. Dazed, Chrono staggered to his feet.
"Not so tough now, are you brat?" Genai sneered as Chrono made a dive towards where Nina was lying. The Keytos followed, piling on top of him as he curled around Nina's small body.
"SHUT UP!" Chrono heard a loud crash and then, he was sure someone had doused him in gasoline and threw in a match.
Rosette had been shocked when she'd seen Ms. Valentine throw open the classroom door. The normally composed teacher looked like she'd lost her mind, her hair in disarray, her clothing torn. Then Joshua and Az had run in, grabbing her arms and pulling her from the room. By the time Rosette had her wits about her again, they'd gathered Viede, Satella, Fi and Ms. Harvenhiet and were all piled into Ms. V's car, tearing through the streets after dropping Azmaria off at a bizarre looking house.
"What's going on!" Satella screamed, clutching the back of the seat.
"You crazy woman! Did you learn to drive from Rosette!" Ms. Harvenhiet yelled at the same time.
"I don't know how to drive!" Rosette snapped.
"You couldn't then but you did anyway! That's just the way you were, a girl from the sticks!"
"Why you!" Rosette pounced on Ms. Harvenhiet, driving her fists into the woman's head.
"That's enough!" Kate roared, running a red light. "Chrono and Nina are in trouble!" That shut them up. Kate threw the car into park the second they were in front of the Grace and shoved the door open. "Come on!" they scrambled out, running to the nearest set of doors.
"They won't open!" Joshua grunted, pulling on them. At that moment, a window above them shattered, sending glass and green slime down onto the dried brown grass.
"Outta the way!" Rosette warned. "Hiyaah!" Chrono was in trouble! She rammed her foot into the door, knocking it off its hinges. The group burst into the filthy lobby and stopped.
"It's huge!" Satella groaned. "What'll we do?"
"We start looking, that's what." Az stepped out of the shadows, Jacob behind her. Rosette found herself with a piece of cold metal in her hands.
A gun. Jacob handed a handful of holy water bottles to Kate and guns to Satella and Viede.
"We're going to have to split up. D'you guy's mind?" he asked. Rosette shook her head and Jacob smiled. "Good. Let's go!" They branched into different directions, pounding up halls and stairs, tripping over ruined equipment.
Rosette shivered. It was so dark. And yet, she had a strange excitement in her. This felt so routine it was almost calming.
Almost. While the gun felt plenty familiar, something was missing.
"Chrono! Hand me the Gospel!"
"Wha? B-but Sister Kate hasn't authorized us-"
"Shut up! Do you want to die?" It was incredibly lonely, demon hunting alone. Somehow it was always comforting knowing she could call on Chrono to protect her, even if that drained her life- darn! She was doing it again! Thinking like the Rosette from the play! This was real! Chrono was in trouble and there were no demons.
The shadow that loomed up in front of her quickly made her reconsider that. It wasn't human, and judging by the holes in the floor that it's dripping green drool caused, she didn't want to have anything to do with it. Tightening her grip on the gun, she took a leap and rolled beneath it. On th e other side, she scrambled up and ran. She could deal with that- that thing later!
"CHRONO?" She knew it was probably a bad idea to yell, but she had to find him faster! A pain had started, low and twisting, in her chest, and she had a feeling if she didn't make it soon...A door in the hall ahead burst open and a man leapt back as a wash of green goop started eating at the floor.
"Not so tough now, are you brat!" he laughed.
"Shut up!" Rosette yelled, aiming the gun. Genai took one look at her and laughed.
"Better hurry girly!" he called over his shoulder as what sounded like a muffled scream rocked from the room he'd just left. "Your little boyfriend doesn't seem to be enjoying his meeting with my little pets!" For a moment, Rosette hesitated as the man ran down the hall. He'd hurt Chrono! She'd kill him! Eyes burning, Rosette took a running step forward only to hear a second cry. Good god, she'd nearly left- shoving the thought from her head, Rosette leapt over the growing hole in the floor and into the room.
"Chrono!" a sweet, rotting smell met her at the door. "Chrono, are you here! Answer me!" The slime from the monsters dripped from every possible surface, slowly devouring the room. It looked like a group of them had piled up and exploded. Rosette's heart gave a horrified thump. If Chrono had fallen and they'd piled up on him..."Chrono!" she charged further in, squinting at every shadow.
"R- Rosette!" a small cough followed her name and she turned, finally spotting the figure slumped in the far corner, one of the only areas that didn't seem to be washed with the acid.
"Are you hurt? What were those things?" she ran over to help him up, but he stood unaided before she got there.
"We...you- have to get Nina to the hospital." he croaked, his voice so faint she could barely hear it. He was leaning on the wall, wheezing. "Come on." she caught his arm as he took a staggering step but jumped back as her hand came away bloody. "Leave it." he muttered, as if sensing her thoughts.
"You're hurt!" he paused in front of the broken window and Rosette gasped, for his arms, back and legs were bloody, blistered and red.
"That- doesn't- matter." he said. Rosette would've believed him if his legs hadn't given out at the same time.
"Chrono!" she ran over. This was getting stupid!
Whack. Chrono yelped.
"What was that for?"
"For acting all macho!" Rosette snarled. "Nina looks fine! You don't! In case you haven't noticed, you've just burned half your ski-"
"It'll heal!" Anger seemed to be waking him up from the pain, Rosette noticed. That was good. "It's Nina we have to worry about!" Hands shaking, Chrono parted the hair on the back of his niece's neck.
A small piece of metal glinted in the light from the window.
"Wha-"
'It's an amplifier, like mine." Chrono was panting, but he still managed to get up. "I was supposed to have mine removed tonight, but I've got to get Nina in first. If I don't, it'll attach itself to her spine, and-" Rosette squealed as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her out of the path of the charging Keytos.
"Damn!" Rosette swore, aiming the gun. She fired at the same time several other shots, a bottle of holy water and two crystalline monsters hit the creature.
"Duck!" The floor and her nose had a nice meeting as Rosette found herself pressed to the floor under a warm weight. Heart pounding, she raised her head slightly, twisting, and met Chrono's eyes. For a moment, she forgot they were being rained on by green acidic goo. For a moment, she forgot that the rest of their rescue team was standing in the doorway.. She forgot she was being squished on the floor that hadn't been cleaned in years.
Chrono was protecting her. Not just Nina, his niece, but her. Her tummy got all warm just thinking about it. Then she realized what protecting her meant, including where he was lying.
"You idiot!" she screeched, jumping up, "One embarrassment of that sort a day!" she knocked him a good one over the head and glowered. He met her look with the same amount of annoyance.
"I'm and idiot? If you had ducked when I told you, then I-"
"You said that just when you grabbed me, pervert!" (Bonk)
"Pervert! Since when am I a pervert!"
"Since- since always! And did I mention stupid? If you'd pulled us behind the table, you wouldn't be dripping blood all over the floor!"
"At least it's not your blood!"
"You're so busy playing mister Hero, you didn't even try to jump behind the table!" Rosette snarled.
"The acid would've eaten right through it! It would've had further to go through-"
"Through you? Oh yeah, did I mention how heavy you are? It's a good thing you don't have a girl friend. You'd totally squish her!"
"Oh, very funny!"
"Um...guys?" Az asked. Jacob rolled his eyes.
"Don't bother, Azzy. You'll have very little luck breaking up that lovers quarrel."
"LOVERS QUARREL?" Jacob quickly found himself under siege. Ms. Valentine glanced at Azmaria.
"How on earth did you get those weapons anyway?" Az shrugged.
"Great grandma taught me everything she knew, as did Joshua's great grandfather, Joshua Christopher. Jacob and I trained together, so, even tough we aren't part of the order, since we have family ties and training, we can use the weapons if needed." Jacob waved a frantic hand from under Rosette.
"Some help?" he squeaked.
"Ms. Kate? We have to go." Chrono tugged at the woman's sleeve. "Now." He was still holding Nina, who was starting to stir. Kate froze the second her eyes landed on the pale child.
"Right." her hand wandered to the thick brown hair before her eyes hardened and she straitened her back and clothes. "Alright! Back to the car! If you aren't there, you'll all have detention for a month. Yes, even you Jacob! Now!" Yelping, they raced back to the soon to be very crowded vehicle and piled in.
"There's no room!" Az groaned, looking in. Kate scowled. Her daughter needed medical help! They couldn't waste time...
"Fi, get in the front. Rosette, move over."
"But then I'll be-" Rosette went bright pink.
"That's the idea." Five minutes later, they'd squeezed in by piling on top of each other in the back, meaning, basically, that Rosette was sitting on Chrono's lap, Satella was sitting on Viede's and poor Azmaria was looking like she'd die right there, squished on top of Jacob, whose face was a red to rival hers. Rosette had a feeling her face was very pink, and when she stole a look at Chrono, staring stubbornly out the window, his ears were very steadily darkening.
It would be a long drive.
a/n: TBC! - Well, I hope you liked it. I'm not very good at supernatural stuff, I've never tried writing about it. I will get better, I promise!