I know I've taken a very long break, so I've decided to update now. I'm very sorry for the extended vacation. It's just that I didn't feel like typing that much.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrno Crusade.

Chapter 25 – Starting the Plan

"I hate this already," Rosette stated as she wore her dress. They had just arrived at the party. It was completely crowded. Reichu sent her a quick glare to shut her up. Rosette stayed quiet, but it didn't change her opinion. Reichu was wearing a black suit. His long tail was even comfortably posed on his shoulder.

"I really don't like this. Couldn't some of us have stayed at the house?" Feira complained. Her dress was the same as Rosette, except it was green like her eyes and hair.

"No. We've come here for a special reason," Akit replied angrily at the playful dog demon. He still remembered the trick that she had played on him the day before.

"Besides, we're supposed to help Chrno escape. He helped us fight when we were in the rebellion against Pandemonia, so the least we can do is save him from being sold off," Kaitra whispered at Athrilmaru, who was giving her another heated look. She gulped under his intense look and inched her way towards Rosette.

"What's wrong?" the blond haired devil asked the nervous looking cat demon walking close to her.

"Athrilmaru's been acting weird lately? I don't know what's wrong with him," Kaitra stated anxiously. Rosette took a glance at the blue cat demon and observed his actions. After a few seconds, she turned her attention back to Kaitra.

"I know what's wrong with him… he's in love with you," she answered.

"Love? That's the reason he's been acting strange?" she said. Rosette nodded. Kaitra blushed and looked at Athrilmaru, who looked away with red-tinged cheeks. He had been obviously listening to their conversation.

"I think you'd better go talk to him," Rosette explained. Kaitra sighed and went to go talk to the other devil. Rosette watched her talk to Athrilmaru. Then she turned her attention back to the crowd, trying to find a sign that her mate was close. He was nowhere in sight.

'Chrno!' she called out telepathically.

'What?' he answered. His voice sounded a bit drowsy.

'Where are they keeping you?' she asked.

'Don't know. All I know is that it's dark and humid,' he offered with a somewhat slurred voice.

'What's wrong? You sound out of it?' Rosette questioned worriedly.

'They found out that I can get out of this demon cage easily, so they keep on drugging me to make sure that I stay where I am. It's quite annoying. I feel drunk again,' he stated mentally.

'That's not good. Don't worry! We'll come get you, just try to act sober because you being drunk isn't a pleasant sight,' she explained.

'Okay. Night!' he exclaimed as he snoozed off. Rosette looked around for Reichu. She found him with Akit, talking about the escape routes.

"We have a problem. Chrno won't be able to tell us where he is," she told them. "We'll have to snoop around to find him."

"I'll send Feira, Attara and Kaitra. "You can't go because you look too much like him."

"What will I do until we save him?" she asked.

"You'll have to act like my date. It's the only way to show that you're somewhat not involved with him," Reichu said with a sorry look.

"Excuse me! I'm mated already, you jerk. Fine! I'll play along with this little ruse of yours, but keep your hands off!" she grumbled unhappily. Reichu sent his brother a glance and he ran off to tell the others of his plan.

"Shall we," Reichu stated as he extended his arm to her. She didn't say anything, but she still linked her arm with his. They walked around for a bit, looking for an easy escape. After a few hours, they separated and looked at each other.

"There's an auction downstairs. You'll have to go there," Reichu stated. Rosette nodded. "I'll stay here a bit longer to look around," he added. Rosette left him and headed towards the stairs to go to the lower levels. She started to go down, but she tripped over her own feet and tumbled down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she was flat on the floor. She immediately got up.

"I'm okay," she announced to everyone that was staring at her. 'So much for keeping a low profile.' Reichu hid his face with his hands in exasperation.

"What an idiot," he mumbled. Rosette brushed off her dress of all the dust and dirt and headed towards the auction. Her fluffy ears twitched as people began to whisper about her.

"She resembles the sinners," a woman stated to her friend.

"Do you think she'll try to kill us?" another said.

"It's impossible. All the sinners disappeared!" another exclaimed.

Rosette ignored the comments and continued to walk. Once she entered the auction room, she noticed that their huge stage surrounded by hundreds of chairs. She silently sat in the front to have a good view. Soon afterwards, Reichu joined her.

"I thought we told you to keep a low profile," he complained.

"I hate the shoes you gave me! They made me trip. You can't blame me for that," she grumbled in her defence. Suddenly, the others popped up and sat beside her.

"He's being kept below the stage," Attara stated in her usual serious tone.

"We'll have to create a diversion while people are bidding for him," Feira stated happily as she smiled mischievously.

"How?" was all Rosette said.

"Our earrings are carrying a special toxic gases in them. It will freeze and blind them temporarily," Kaitra explained.

"Won't it affect us too?" she asked.

"No, remember the pill we gave here before we came?" Reichu stated. Rosette nodded. She did indeed remember it. It had tasted horrible.

"Well, it counters the gas that we have. When Chrno arrives, just throw off your earrings and the gas will be released," Athrilmaru explained as he winked at Kaitra, who turned away blushing.

"What about Chrno?" Rosette asked.

"Don't worry about him. He's still out of it because they drugged him, so he's safe because of that," Ayu answered. They were about to continue talking, but the auction immediately began. They just sat there as the items were bought and sold. It was hours before Chrno's cage finally appeared. He was in his demon form, sleeping peacefully.

"Now!" Reichu whispered. Rosette immediately went for her earrings and took them off. She threw them secretly onto the stage and it burst on impact, sending a wave of white smoke across the room. The other girls did the same thing for the audience.

When the smoke cleared, only the four dog and the four cat demons, along with a grinning Rosette, stood. Everyone else was frozen in place by the smoke. Rosette turned around to look at the others.

"Let's get a move on. The effects don't last very long," Attara stated. Rosette ran towards the stage and with a giant leap she jumped onto the stage.

"Chrno!" she exclaimed as she kneeled down beside him. She used her claws and sliced the cage to pieces. Chrno fell limply onto the ground. He was still sedated. He had a glazed look in his eyes. She sighed and carried him on her back in her back in her demonic form.

"Let's go!" she cried out. Everyone immediately ran out the room. The gas was starting to wear off and the other demons were starting to regain their abilities.

Rosette and the others ran up the stairs and headed towards the exit. Rosette spotted a huge opening in the wall and headed for it.

"Rosette stop!" Reichu yelled, but she ignored him. She ran towards the space and then…slam.

She ran straight into a thick glass wall. Rosette collapsed on the floor with Chrno. Kaitra sweat dropped and sighed.

"That's special…only Rosette could run into a glass wall," she stated as she giggled. Suddenly yelling could be heard from the auction room. Devils were starting to appear so Reichu quickly grabbed Rosette's body and hauled her unconscious form out of the auction house.

Athrilmaru grabbed Chrno and ran. Once they were outside, they all transformed into their animal forms. Four giant dog demons appeared into the sky. Reichu was silvery white. Akit was Black with white spots. Attara was gold and Feira was green. They all had soft fur, paws and long claws. Beside them were four big cat demons; they were a bit smaller then the dogs. Kaitra was brown. Ayu was white. Athrilmaru was blue, and Zenku was grey. Their tails were fluffy and their ears grew thinner and longer. Their claws were sharp and large.

Rosette and Chrno were already in their demonic forms, but they were out of it, so they were gently placed apon one of the demon's back. Rosette was on Reichu and Chrno was on Athrilmaru. Rosette quietly snuggled into Reichu's fur.

"So soft," he heard her mumbled. Reichu shivered, but ignored it. He jumped into the air and headed towards the portal. Everyone else followed him closely behind. They could all hear the demons trying to pursue them. The portal was just up ahead.

"We're leaving home…"Feira stated mentally to the others. They stayed quiet. They silently began to run faster and hastily ran through the portal. Pandemonium disappeared from their eyes as they entered the human realm. They exited the portal and were surrounded by the lush vegetation of the human realm.

"Wow! It's so pretty!" Feira exclaimed happily.

"Home," Rosette whispered as she finally gained consciousness. She took a glance at her mate, who was still asleep.

"We should head towards Eden. Aion will tell us what to do from there," she added as she jumped off Reichu and landed on Athrilmaru to see her mate.

"Chrno…" she whispered as she shook him awake.

"What?" he answered as he opened his eyes. His bright golden eyes immediately told her he was all right.

"I missed you!" she screamed as she hugged him and burst into tears. "Never do that again!"

Chrno smiled warmly and hugged her back. He hid his face in her hair and tried to comfort her. Suddenly the happy couple heard a small cough and they turned around to see Aion smiling at them. Apparently during their reunion, Aion had joined them and the others had turned back to their humanoid forms. Rosette and Chrno hadn't even realized that they were now sitting in the grass instead of Athrilmaru's soft blue fur. Rosette got to her feet and gazed at Aion with her tear filled eyes.

"Aion!" she yelled as she ran towards him. She jumped into his arms and tightly hugged him. He was surprises by her sudden action and fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Rosette was on the top of Aion. Aion blushed, but he tried to keep himself calm.

"I'm so happy that I'm back. You don't know how happy I am to see someone I recognize," she said. Chrno observed them with a jealous expression. He could smell his brother's want for his mate, but he knew that Aion wouldn't dare to do anything to her.

"I think you should get off," Aion told Rosette. His face was really red, but he knew that if he tried anything he'd be dead. "You're mate is going to kill me if you don't let go," he added. Rosette cautiously stood up and walked back to Chrno. She hugged him and whispered her apology to him.

"It's okay," he murmured. Chrno turned her attention back to Aion. "Why are you here? I thought you were supposed to be trying to catch Harold Magdalan."

"He managed to escape us. We planned an attack on him, but he ran," he answered.

"We'll help you find him," Feira stated happily as she jumped into the air. The other devils nodded their agreement.

"Let's head back to Eden," Rosette questioned. Aion nodded and snapped his fingers. A bright beam of light descended apon them and transported them back home. When the light faded, they were standing on Eden's platform.

"That's so cool!" Feira shouted as she ran on the platform.

"Wow!" Reichu exclaimed as he admired the scenery. "It's pretty." His tail wagged back and forth to show his excitement. Akit elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"Stop acting like a child," he muttered to his breath. Reichu pouted and rubbed his aching side.

"It's all right. No one can act as childish as Aion," Rosette said.

"I wouldn't talk," Aion grumbled. Rosette's eyes narrowed in anger.

"What did you just say? How dare you! I wish you would just die!" she yelled in anger. Aion froze as a realization came to him.

"Would you cry if I died?" he asked. Rosette stopped her thoughts of inflicting pain apon the white haired devil and thought seriously for a moment.

Suddenly a bored expression appeared on her face with a hint of amusement.

"Is that a trick question?" she said innocently. Aion gulped nervously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"You decide," she said as she walked away.

That's it for this chapter. It's longer than usual so I hope you like it.

Please review.

Ja ne