A/N: This will be posted when I get a chance between tests, studying, more tests, assignments and work, so I apologise again for the time between chapters- it's the curse of being a diligent student. Good marks or bust and all that, but I can't let this drop. I WON'T! Raaar! My story! Mine mine mine! (Sneko crashes into a sail, pretend beak still going 'mine, mine' Ha-ha. I AM nuts!)
Chapter 51.
"Did you succeed?" Superior asked, turning his face away from the demon's slobbering.
"I did, but that fcking btch of a sister of his nearly got in the way." The white haired 'man' grumbled. "I can't believe that woman!" Genai banged his beer onto the table with a growl. "All blonde and fcking stubborn- and what's with dark haired woman trying to be blonde? Don't they know that black or dark brown is much more alluring?"
"So if Heather was there, how did you get into the house to paint the runes?"
"Same friggen' way's b'fore. Viede let me'n." he took a swig of beer. "Yes, now there's a good guy. He knows his stuff." Superior wiped a speck or meat from his pristine white coat.
"I see. Do you think he can be trusted to keep the plan a secret?"
"He don' know. "Sides, it's always good to have an inside agent boss." Superior's eye twitched.
"You wouldn't be telling me how to run this, would you?" the angel stood, his wings flexing, sending feathers scattering to the floor. Genai shrugged.
"I'm just sayin'. Ya don't have to listen to me, but the inside agen-" The demon fell back as Superior's dagger touched his throat, drawing a thin trickle of blood.
"You were saying?" he hissed, his tongue darting out like a snake's to lick the thin droplets. Genai screamed, the angel's breath burning his skin.
"I- aug! I'd do nutin' you didn't tell me to do!" the demon yowled, writhing. Superior shoved him aside, turning to the window, his hands clasped lightly behind his back as he watched cars speeding through roads, people wandering about in whatever pointless exercise they'd taken upon themselves to do. The foolish ants.
"Genai."
"Yes, Holy...One?" the demon croaked, his clawed hand rising to his wound as he sat up on the wooden floor.
"Viede may be useful. What is he?"
"A human, sir."
"He may prove useful. But Genai?" The other man froze by the door and raised his trembling eyes. Superior strode over and tipped the man's chin up. "If he betrays us, both your blood will add the red to my coat of rulers."
"Ye-yessir!" the demon staggered away as he was released, fleeing.
Superior smirked as the door shut. "Fool." Cradling a cup of red wine, the angel watched the world below swirl about it's pointless river of activity. "Ants are washed away in the rain, be them angel, human or demon. Washed away to join the rivers before returning to the ocean of fate. But, dear brother," Superior smirked, sipping his wine. "What governs what they do and how they suffer? Me you say? Oh no, not I, little brother." he settled back onto the bed, waiting. As expected, the polished wood door creaked open, the draft blowing in a flitting grey feather. "No, not I, dear brother. You, Time, control the pain of passing ages and all the death it brings."
"Sir?" Superior smiled at Jes' confused expression. Yes, Time controlled the pain of ages.
"Ah Jesse. You're late." He beckoned the other angel over, little fool.
Grey crept across the room, his large dark eyes wide, his lip captured between him teeth. That looked like a good idea. "You haven't been coming to see me, Jesse. I've told you before the rarity of your status."
"Ye-yes sir." Ah, that soft voice! Soft and meek and so alluring. Yes, Fate was nearly as drawing as Time's glowing eyes. "So, little one, why have you not been to visit your master?" Before him, Grey swallowed, dropping to his knees.
"Fo-forgive me, sir- I-" He silenced the younger angel with a raised finger, enjoying how those dark eyes followed the finger as it crossed the distance between them and skimmed across his parted lips.
"Come here." Shakily, Grey rose to his feet, slipping over to the bed. Slip. That was a good way to describe him. Superior smiled. Yes, slip. Slip of an angel, slip of pleasure, slip of the tongue. "You're hiding something, little one."
"N-no-oh!" He relished the angels reaction as he kissed him. That was one of Grey's appeals, he noted, moving his location. "You can tell me, Jesse." He purred, ticking the boy's jaw. "You've done nothing wrong. It was all that little Golden's doing, wasn't it?" He drew out the words, matching them to the other's hitching gasps. "You're a good boy Grey..." The angel nodded, gulping, shivering as Superior undid the top clasp on his black shirt, exposed the warming flesh to the ice in the air. "A good boy." Superior allowed his lips to trail over the angel's throat, tasting it. Ah, the taste of fear, but something was missing. His lips twisting into a sickening smile as Grey's eyes fluttered shut, the head angel raised his reddened dagger. Betrayers...why must there be so many of them?
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"You seem happy today." Rosette grinned at Roxanne as she bounced through the door for her shift.
"Of COURSE I am!" The blonde girl trilled, dancing around to the coat closet. "I get to stay, I didn't fall asleep in class, I managed a day at school without getting detention and most importantly, I don't have to leave! I can keep living at Chrono's!" humming, she skipped over to her first table to take the orders, leaving Roxanne to shake her head and mutter 'love struck'. She was tempted to hit Roxxy for that, but she could let it slide for once. She could stay, she could stay, she could stay! The words sang through her head as she carried glasses of orange juice to the tables and carried plates back to the kitchen. For once it didn't even matter that the plates were covered in ketchup goo and mounds of uneaten hash brown mush! She was staying! Even when she was assigned to dish washing duty for scaring the customers with her energy, it didn't matter! She got to stay.
But at what price? Rosette bit her lip, sliding one of the mini skillets into the water. Chrono had gotten Aion to help tem out, but that meant that he'd asked Aion for a favour, and Aion had asked for something in return, something Chrono hadn't wanted to talk about. The fear that had slipped from him when they'd been holding hands was enough to start a niggling in the back of her head. setting a glass on the rack to dry, she handed one of the cooks their requested knife and went to stare out the window at the back alley, remembering the times Chrono had come over to talk to her.
Bargaining chip. What could- her heart chilled. Aion using Chrono as a bargaining chip with her father? A glass dropped to the floor and rolled under the prep table. The Labs!
"Chrono you idiot!" Rosette hissed, crawling under the table to retrieve the glass. "You'll be killed!" Frig, worse than that. Heart pounding, she sat up, whacking her head of the table with a resounding 'thunk!'. "Damn it!"
"Yeah well, you can clean up the water now that it's pouring over the floor." Rosette crawled out from under the table, strait into the growing puddle.
"Wha- oh Crap!" Roxanne turned off the water that was gushing into the sink and handed Rosette a mop.
"Better clean that up before Laura catches it. She's asking where the dishes are."
"I'm working on it!" she yelled after the redhead's back, throwing the glass. They'll be done when they're done, idiot!"
"I'll tell her you're almost done." Roxxy yelled back, waving. "You're lucky. She's in a good mood today, and you can blame it on smoke-inhalation from the fire. I hear someone dove in to rescue you." Roxanne smirked. "Like I said. Lucky."
"Oh hahahaha." Rosette smiled weakly as Roxxy gave her a thumbs up.
"Oh! Rosette!" She looked up from the dishes. "Don't let him get away, not that I think you have to-"
"Roxxy!"
"Coming! See you Rosette!" Laughing, Rosette turned to the puddle.
"Well. You are an annoyance, but I can't throw you." she grumbled, poking it with the mop.
Water, deep, icy. She yelped, jumping back. What in hell?
"Everything ok in there?" Roxanne stuck her head through the door.
"Yup! All good!" When the other girl had gone, she bent down, using a sponge to soak up the water.
Shlip. No strange visions.
Squish. Yup, it was fine. trying to force the unease prick to the back of her mind, she twisted the water from the sponges and grabbed a handful of cutlery to wash, dunking them into the sink. Instantly, fire raced behind her eyes, stealing her breath.
Water, deep, icy, deeper still. She could hold her breath no longer, but she would. She had to reach the bottom, had to find him, she knew he was there.
Blood, thin tendrils faded in blue light, drifting towards her. His blood. Somewhere above, a piano tolled, a death bell in the night. No, he wasn't dead yet, she could heart the pounding of his heart, a rhythm in the turbid water that sucked her deeper yet pushed her back. Ahead, a door, slowly closing, closing...she swam to it, but it was locked. Once shed been warned not to enter through that door. Twice even. But he had fallen into hell, the hell inside. She had to get to him!
Chrono. Rosette scrubbed furiously at the knives. Nothing was wrong. It was a dream...a scream echoed trough the back of her waking dreams, the darkness of the water clouding even the florescent lighted kitchen.
Chrono. He was so stupidly selfless, he didn't know himself.
Chrono. He was trapped, yet he had the means to break free if he only would.
Chrono. The clock above moved, circling round and round, marking the minutes, the hours.
Chrono. Nothing was wrong. Nothing was wrong. She was staying, and he had until at least February. He was fine.
Chrono...she should just call. Then she would know what she already knew, that he was perfectly fine and that he thought she was crazy for worrying. After all, he was probably out job searching, or doing homework with the kids now.
Chrono...yeah, he was fine. If he wasn't, the Marie would've called her, right? Or Heather. Or one of the others. So nothing was wrong...unless they'd all got sucked up by aliens! That was it!
"Oh no!" She could picture them now, wanting to phone her as the space ship sailed into space, them locked in the hold. Chrono would ask, and they'd laugh, zapping him with their soul removal ray and sending an alien creature to inhabit his body! Then spiky green horns would burst from his hair and he would grow slug like antennae which would spew glowing green slime over him as he morphed into-
"Hey Rosette! I'll see you later, K?" she jumped again as Roxxy came in, grabbing her coat. Roxxy frowned. "Everything ok? You look pale."
"I'm fine!" Rosette yelled, whacking the girl as she ran out into the streetlamp lit night, glancing around in hopes of spotting- No, no, no. He had a life besides baby sitting her, she reminded herself as she started up the street. He didn't walk her home every night. There were some days she barely saw him, but those where generally when she'd tripped out at him and had threatened to pound him into little bits of mush...like that couple that was kissing over by the pizza shop. How could they kiss at a time like this? OH! What if the aliens had done that! Had they turned them to mush? And she'd return to find a house full of alien goo? Without Chrono, she'd have to clean it up! Her eyes prickled. And she'd never see Chrono again! He'd be dragged away, and she'd never get to see his shaggy violet hair and bi-coloured ayes again! Or eat his cooking! Thus, with these thoughts running remarkably logically through her head, down to how she was going to defeat the aliens and turn her friends back into humans, Rosette made it home in fairly quick time, fully ready to barge through the door and save them. "I'm coming" She charged at the door, her hair streaming behind her, slipped on black ice, plunged towards the door which miraculously opened, allowing her to meet the crack in the floor board up close and personal.
"Erg! Why you-" she snarled, leaping to her feet. "You-" Nina's small arms wrapped around her knees, toppling her again. "Arg!"
"Bowled over by a small child, Aunt Rosette?" Kye asked, bending down. "Idiot."
"IDIOT! Better than brat!" Whack! The dark haired boy scowled.
"You stupid Blondie!"
"Idiot brat!"
"You already called me that!"
"Child! Cactus face!" They both paused at that one.
"Where did THAT come from?" Kye sputtered. "Purple chee-" he looked down as Nina caught his legs and pressed her red eyed face into his side.
"No fight, brother! Please!" she lifted her head and Rosette watched Kye's face soften.
"You're home, are you? I should've known by sound of arguments. You don't care who you're fighting with, do you?" Rosette glared at Heather, flinging a mitten at her.
"Shut up you hag! I don't fight with everyone!"
"Yeah, usually you're too busy hitting uncle Chrono's head." Marie threw in on her way up from the basement. "Aunt Heather's right. You do like to fight." The girl marched into the hall. "Aunt Heather, you were supposed to make her go downstairs as soon as she got home."
"Slave driver. It's not like she can do anything."
"You don't know that. Rosette," Marie picked up the mitten and put it back on the shelf. "Uncle Chrono passed out-" Heather yelped as the golden haired tornado barreled past and flew down the stairs.
"Oorg! What's WITH that girl?" She growled, flicking her hair out of her face. Nina smiled happily.
"Aunt Rosette worried 'bout Uncle Chrono." Heather snorted, standing and brushing off her jacket.
"Ug this place is a pig sty! And that girl couldn't care about anyone, even faking it. She's so obvious."
"That's because she's not faking it. She's in it wholly and fully. Hello Nina, Marie. Has Chrono woken up yet?"
"What am I? Cat shi-"
"Kye. You're tongue." Remington dropped his coat on the hook, smiling at Heather. "And before you go spreading about fakes and impostors, you should probably look closer at what lies before your face."
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Rosette froze, the stair's dieing creak sending Final Claw under the couch for shelter.
The basement lights were off except for a couple in the living room, but even those were dim, casting low, muddled shadows onto the walls like lurking ghosts. Ben looked up when she came in, hugging his book of animals to his chest.
"Can you fix Uncle Chrono, Aunt Rosette? Aunt Heather broke him when she played the piano..." Rosette glanced over at the instrument, it's teeth grinning darkly at her, a murderous angel.
"I'll try." Rosette shrugged, settling at the foot of the ratty couch. They could use some new furniture down here, it was looking pretty ragged, but then, Chrono had other things to worry about besides keeping a perfect house. Before she noticed, her hand slipped over, dropping onto his side. "Hey, idiot. You're not supposed to blank out now. Hey! Remember me? I live here, and I'm staying for awhile. Hello? Chrono?" She leaned over further, rolling him onto his back. "Chro-no!" she sang, wiping her sweating hands on her jeans. He was so pale! "Chrono, snap out of it." she shook his shoulders, making the couch bounce and squeal in protest, but he still didn't wake up. "Chrono!"
Whack! Fuming, she sat back with a humph, glowering at him, not that it had much effect. "Idiot." It was irritating how still he was lying. He looked almost dead. "Gah!" Rosette leapt up, grabbing his icy hand to feel his pulse. He hadn't died-
Water, deep, black pulsing. A river snarling among the rocks, dragging away all in it's path. She stood alone.
"Chrono? You here?" her voice was lost, but it felt good to call. Shivering in the blue ice spray, she slipped and skidded down a path by the river. He was here, she knew it. Slowly she made herself walk the path, her footsteps muffled by the layer of snow as the river rushed on. She walked, sloshing her way through the mud, a brown coat that stuck and clung, unwilling to release her but not as strong as the Need. She had to find him, he was here, somewhere.
The river rushed on, it's water cooling the blossoming flowers around her ankles, it's frosted waters glowing blue between the fields of red and gold and violet, a constant in the swirling seasons.
Ahead, a small house teetered on a hilltop, a ridicules cap on the flowing mane of green. She laughed and turned her feet towards it. Maybe the people there could help her. Carefully, she lifted her skirt and stepped onto the first rock in the river. It was slimy, a worms flesh under her feet, but she stepped onto the next, and the next, until she hopped from slithery rock to slithery rock, grinning like a dog with a bone. It was simple, she explained to the birds that flew over head. Perfectly, simply- the rock beneath her feet turned black, a pair of red eyes glowing upon it's surface.
"Aug!" She leapt back but no rock found her foot and she splashed into the river, but instead of washing her away, the river, the ever flowing constant, parted, whirling back into rainbows and darkness, washing across the fields, the mud, the snow. All was water, fickle fickle water.
As quickly as it had parted, the water rushed back, catching her up and dragging her under, filling her nose and mouth as it cackled, whisking it's prize deeper, deeper, smiling as her cheeks, reddened by the air, turned blue, matching its liquid flesh. "No!" She couldn't let this go on! She had to fight it! Desperately she floundered about with her arms, but it did nothing to halt her progress and she was dragged deeper still, her body screaming in the pressure. She was going to die! NO! She couldn't!
"No." The voice echoed through the water, rippling through from the silted bottom to the sunset kissed surface, flowing through the darkness, pushing it to the far corners. "You cannot take her." Breathing a sigh of relief, she took a step on the dry land, smiling up at the birds.
At that moment, a clawed hand closed over her shoulder.
-------------------------------------------------------End chapter 51-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N A weird chapter? Very. FYI, the most important part was (mmf!) Snekochan shoves McB but can't free her mouth.
McB: Sorry, readers dear! You'll have to solve that one for yourselves! Wahahaha!
