Author's note: I do not claim to own any of the characters they are a creation that is best kept by it's author. I hope he might read this one day and get inspired to write a sequel to Chrno Crusade.
If you have not read the manga, do so!!! It's good. this fic is based roughly off the manga, interspersing some stuff inside of it, so if you're confused that's why.
A Chrno Crusade fanfic by Nightelfcrawleryahoo.com
Author's note: Ok, so I decided to make it Act 3, since it was a good place to end at the last chapter, and this fic's going longer than I thought it would. I still have TONS of loose ends to tie up before I enter the final conflict.
Act 3
Chapter Thirteen: Nuns With Guns
"Bah. It's crowded out here… remind me why we're here again?" Rosette stuck her hands behind her head as she glanced to either side of the street with a bored expression.
"Because you have to find a gift for Sister Kate." Chrno reminded her with a grin as he held a finger up in demonstration. "It wouldn't be appropriate to go to her promotion without a gift."
"Humph!" Rosette threw a glare at her small companion, and raised an eyebrow. "I have NO idea what to get her."
"Isn't that why we're shopping?" He replied, scratching the back of his head and closing his eyes in exasperation.
"Gahhh I HAAATE shopping." She whined, stopping in the middle of the street and throwing her arms up in frustration. "I'm no good at this kind of stuff! Why can't we just have Az pick something out!?"
Chrno sweat dropped and muttered. "She did offer… but you didn't want to pay her."
Rosette threw a glare over at him, and scowled deeper. "Oi. Why are you following me then?"
He threw his hands up and turned, strolling casually down the street ahead of her. "I need to find something for her too. Plus, you'd get in trouble without me around."
twitch
Chrno nimbly tilted his head to the side as a metal trash can whistled by causing his braid to ripple in the passing wake, before the can imbedded itself into the tree in front of him. "Maa! Besides, do you even have any money?" He continued, as if nothing had happened.
Rosette scratched her nose and stepped up next to him, glancing down. It was weird seeing him back in 'kid' form again after becoming used to his older one. But he seemed more comfortable acting like a kid around her when he actually looked the part, and she had to admit, she liked the variety…it suited him well, and made it less awkward for her to relate to him when she wasn't constantly blushing around him.
"Yeah well.. they didn't exactly give me much allowance for blowing up half Central Park with you, ya know."
He just shrugged and spread his hands again. "Geeze, well it's a good thing I've been saving up." He pointed down the street at the strip mall of vendors where they were headed. "Come on, we don't have all day."
Rosette sighed, and stuffed her hands in her dress pockets and followed him. How the heck did he earn any money to spend, anyway? She wondered. I wonder if the Elder and Remington paid him to do chores for them behind my back…?
A gift… bah, what did one get for a promotion gift anyway? She wondered, as they made their way into the shopping area. It couldn't be something simple… like a book or some boring jewelry. It was something that had to be special…
Her eyes strayed to either side as the two walked through the throngs of people dallying about to and fro, busy searching for their own gifts, window shopping, or just chatting casually with friends. It was a cheerful time of year, not too busy, not too cold, not too warm. It was perfect for just a day out, for strolling, or for just spending time with friends. It was a welcome relief after the crazy days they'd had as of late. Some down time was definitely what they needed. Everyone was healed now, Sheda had gone back up to Eden once her work was done, Joshua was busy studying and catching up on years of learning lost, and they… were shopping for gifts.
And Rosette had no idea where to start.
"What kind of gift does one get for Sister Kate?" Rosette made a face, peering in a window as they paused, staring at the strange of new dresses that seemed to line the dummies. Some weird kind of beaded fringes that flapped around every time you moved… hideous if you asked her.
"Well… besides a jumbo bottle of aspirin?" Chrno peered around her arm at the dresses. "Maybe a book…? Or a pen set? She does a lot of desk work."
"Hmm… I dunno." Rosette frowned, tapping her lower lip thoughtfully. "It doesn't seem special enough. This is like, a huge occasion. We need something… more." Her eyes scanned the shops, skipping from the antiques shop, to a clothing shop, to…
Her eyes widened, and then narrowed in glee as a grin spread across her face. "Come on Chrno!" She grabbed the small demon's wrist and yanked him behind her, as she began walking quickly towards the object of her attention.
"O…oi!" Chrno stumbled, but trotted after her, blinking curiously, before his eyes got very wide and a quite fearful look crossed his face as Rosette breezed her way into the store.
The man at the counter looked up from polishing the finely crafted steel barrel of a pistol, and seemed surprised to see two children come strolling into his store. "Welcome." He greeted, fixing them with an odd look, especially seeing the girl's face was lit up with an absolute look of rapture, as her gaze was fixed upon the wall of brightly polished, shining steel and wood barringers, pistols, machine guns, and tommy guns of all shapes, sizes and caliber.
Chrno just stood there, an embarrassed grin on his face, as he watched his partner practically throw herself at the glass case, and plaster her face upon it with wide, eager eyes. The shopkeeper put down his work, and fixed the two with a curious stare over the rims of his glasses. "This is not the place for young ones."
"Ah, she just wants to look." Chrno waved his hand quickly to appease the shopkeeper, with a hurried pace as Rosette continued to drool. "She won't buy any."
"Oi, who're you to limit my purchasing options, Chrno." Rosette's stare was enough to make his hair stand on end.
"Rosette!" He sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You can't afford regular guns. Besides, they don't do much in our line of work anyway."
"No faiiiir." Rosette whined, as her partner proceeded to drag her, practically kicking and screaming from the room, back out to the main street. "They're so preeeeetty."
"Only you would describe a gun as 'pretty'." He shook his head in amusement.
She just sighed mellow dramatically, and plopped down on the edge of a fountain, leaning back and staring at the sky briefly, before kicking her boots against the base of the cement beneath her seat. "This is hopeless. We'll never find an appropriate gift here."
"We just haven't looked in the right place." Chrno slid next to her, and glanced down the row of shops. "Maybe an antique shop?"
Rosette's eyes slid down the row, then paused as she spotted one shop that caught her interest. "Let's try that one." She rose and headed towards it, leaving Chrno to jump to his feet and trot after her.
"Ehhh? An Occult shop?"
The bell jingled behind them as they entered, and a voice from the back room distantly greeted them. Rosette glanced around, and felt shivers run down her spine. The walls were stocked with all sorts of jars, boxes, and strange objects that had an ominous gleam about them. Books lined one of the other walls, and on the back wall, various crosses, and holy relics lined the racks. The whole thing had a musty, slightly malodorous scent to it, that made Rosette wrinkle her nose in disgust.
"Creepy…"
"What did you expect." Chrno glanced at one of the jars with a raised eyebrow, clearly ill at ease seeing such strange things as bottled imps and dried small demon parts.
"Ah, visitors welcome." A man stepped out from behind the curtain in the back, and smiled down at them, wiping his hands off on a rag. "What can I help you with today?"
Rosette walked up to the counter, and peered at the relics on the wall behind him. "Well… I'm looking for…a gift for someone."
"A gift?" The man's eyebrow rose. Obviously such things weren't common to him. "What sort of gift?"
"Ah…." Rosette paused, not sure how to explain it properly. "It's for someone who is… a mentor to me."
The man raised an eyebrow. "A fellow Sister?" At her surprised look he smiled and pointed to her uniform. "You are quite obvious where you come from, Sister." He smiled pleasantly and turned around, pulling a few things down from his shelf. "Here… perhaps a new bible, or a necklace?" He put the items on the counter, and gestured for her to examine them.
Rosette peered at the book and frowned thoughtfully. "It's just not special enough…"
"Special eh?" He smiled wider and put the items back. "Let me see. Perhaps something more specialized then… I fear I'm low on supplies but…" He pulled out a smaller box, and placed it before her, opening the lid.
Rosette peered inside, and saw intricate pendants that glowed faintly in the dark interior of the iron container. "Wards?"
"Holy relics, blessed for protection." He nodded. "Genuine, all of them tested."
"Hmm… but we can just make these back there." She picked one up and peered at it, then turned and tossed it at Chrno. "Catch!"
He fumbled a bit, quickly reaching out and catching the small pendant with a surprised look. "Rosette…?!"
"Well? Does it work?" She fixed him with an impatient look.
Chrno blinked and peered down at the small ward in his hand.
"It's guaranteed to repel any demon within 100 feet." The shopkeeper smiled proudly.
Both of them exchanged a rather embarrassed look, and Chrno's face turned a bit green. "It… doesn't seem to work."
"Ahh?" The shopkeeper blinked looking a bit surprised. "How do you know?" His eyes traced over from Rosette's flat look, to Chrno's embarrassed smile, as he held the pendant back out.
"Ah…here you go." Chrno handed the pendant back. "You may want to ask for your money back for buying this from your supplier, I can't sense any ward on it at all. It seems to be a fake."
"You can't sense…?" The shopkeeper took the pendant, stared at it, then back at Chrno, and his eyes abruptly widened as he noted the slight pointed tips to the boy's ears, and the tell-tale slit crimson eyes. "You… a demon?"
Chrno rubbed the back of his head and smiled awkwardly, as Rosette snorted, sorting through the other pendants in the box. "These are all duds. Or if not, they're extremely weak." She reached out snagged another, and stuck it to Chrno's nose with a smirk. He simply sneezed a bit back at her. "Got anything stronger?"
The shopkeeper blinked, still seeming a bit surprised at their casual behavior, and the fact one of his customers was a demon who had just sneezed at his box of wards threw him for a loop. "Ah, well…no I'm afraid that's the strongest wards I have available. My supplies are low at the moment… I haven't had time to re…." He paused, and tilted his head to the side as if a thought just occurred to him. "But perhaps…." He turned and began to pull out some things from behind the counter, including several suspicious bottles, and bags of what appeared to be dried herbs. "…I have not had time to purchase the special items I require, and unfortunately I lack the skill and experience to perform a summoning of a demon in order to charge the items I need." His eyes strayed up to Chrno curiously. "But perhaps if you would be willing to lend your assistance with this, I might be able to replenish my supplies, and create something a bit more unique for the young woman?"
Rosette raised an eyebrow at Chrno, as he exchanged a glance with her. "Your call." She shrugged, giving him a grin. "But it might be kinda cool to get something that we can say you helped personalize."
"With enough of these supplies, I can create a ward that will alert the bearer to any demonic presence or influence within a room's distance." The shopkeeper glanced at Chrno suddenly looking uncertain, since his last wares had proven useless against him.
Rosette's eyes lit up a bit. "That might be useful."
Chrno raised an eyebrow, scratching the back of his head. Every time I or Remington walked in, she twitches anyway…what's another indication to help her out going to hurt?
Luckily, Rosette wasn't sharing his thoughts, as she clapped her hands together. "Let's try it!"
Chrno shrugged, but didn't seem to mind. "What do you want me to do?"
The shopkeeper pulled out some liquid in a vial and held it out to him. "I need this to be infused with demonic energy. And this…. And this… if you could." He pushed forward some more boxes, and peered at the small boy with a curious intensity, obviously fascinated by being able to watch such a thing in person.
Chrno took the small vial, and peered into it, then placed his hand over it and closed his eyes in concentration. To the side, a crackle of energy began to form around the clock hanging around Rosette's neck, and with a loud snap, the gears opened the same time a red light began to form beneath Chrno's palm, crackling around the vial and making the liquid glow with a brighter intensity the longer he kept at it.
Rosette's breath quickened, and she grabbed onto the counter as she felt a surge of adrenaline pump through her. What a rush… if this was what it was like when he used just a small portion of his powers, what on earth would it be like if he went all out? She watched, with an almost giddy grin, as he finished up with the items, and let out a small sigh, as the clock snapped shut once more, the glow around it dying down as Chrno cut his power use off.
The shopkeeper looked absolutely tickled pink, as he took the items. "Wonderful! Thank you so much! With this I can make more than just one… I will give you your ward in exchange for your assistance, young woman." The man smiled happily. "If you can give me some time…" He turned and disappeared in the back, leaving the two to amuse themselves in the meantime.
Chrno glanced over at Rosette, noticing her cheeks were flushed with , and her breath was quicker. "Rosette? Are you alright?" The concern was evident as he peered up at her intently.
"Ah, yeah I'm fine! Better than fine actually!" She grinned back at him. "It's just a strange feeling…having my life feed back into me instead of being sucked out."
Chrno smiled gently at her and put a hand on her shoulder in support. "It's reassuring to know that I'm helping, rather than hurting you."
She flashed a grin back at her. "Yeah…Just don't go blasting holes in things without warning me first."
He fixed her with a patient amused smile, and shook his head, as the man came back in holding something carefully. "Here we are." He held it out towards Rosette, and smiled.
She took it, and peered down. It was a cross, with several intricate patterns carved on the soft metal, that glowed with a faint light.
"It should glow and give off slight heat to warn the bearer of a demonic presence in the area. Well.. at least… in theory." He glanced at Chrno who just scratched his head. "Maybe we should test it out first…"
Rosette grinned rather evilly and pointed at Chrno. "Step outside. Let's see if it works." The demon fixed her with a flat 'why me' gaze, but turned around and exited the shop. The cross' glow faded and died out as he left. After a moment, he stuck his head back in, and Rosette gestured for him to approach. As he did, the cross grew warmer, and glowed brighter, until as he stood directly next to her, it shone like a small lamp, and was almost too hot to touch.
"Amazing…" The shopkeeper breathed, staring at it. "I've never seen it react so strongly."
"Maybe that's because you've been using lower demons to do your extracts from." Rosette suggested, handing it back to him. "Chrno's quite a bit up there compared to them."
Chrno sweat dropped. "Thank you for the glamorous appraisal."
Rosette simply smirked back at him, and faced the shopkeeper. "I'll take it."
The man smiled, and took the ward back, wrapping it up in some paper, and placing it in a small box. "Are you sure there isn't anything else I can give you? You've helped me greatly by providing the assistance of your… ah….companion."
"Hmm… Welllll….." Rosette's eyes glittered. "There is one more thing I can think of…"
Minutes later, the two exited the shop with a satisfied Rosette holding a paper bag in her arms, and a large smile plastered on her face. Chrno peered up at her, not certain he understood her taste in gifts, but…at least it was heartfelt.
"So, now what?" Rosette glanced at him. "What are you going to give her?"
"Hmm…" Chrno mused looking thoughtful. "Well…I thought a nice stationary set personalized with her name might be nice."
"How boring…" Rosette made a face, but followed him into the bookstore, and browsed around as he walked up to the vendor and began to sort through the various sets available.
Before long, he came back with a brown paper wrapped parcel, and smiled at her. "Finished. But there's one more thing I would like to get for her." His smile faded a bit, as he looked thoughtful suddenly. His eyes came up and he grabbed Rosette's arm. "Come on."
She followed him, rather mystified, and they stepped back outside into the sunlight, blinking in the sudden brightness. She was even more surprised, when Chrno continued to lead her on, into a small back alleyway, before facing her. "What are we doing here?"
Chrno fixed her with a thoughtful look, and glanced up at the sky above between the buildings then tiled his head to the side. "How about going for a brief trip?"
She blinked, eyes widening as she realized what he was implicating, and glanced around quickly. "What?! Right here?" But she didn't have much time to protest, as there was a resounding crackle of energy from two sources, one across from her, and one against her chest, before the whole world reeled around her as she felt herself being scooped up into strong arms, and the world spin below her as they blasted off into the sky with a streak of light.
Beneath on the ground, most of the shoppers didn't even notice, or if they did glance up at the small sonic boom and streak of light, they wondered what it was idly. One pair of eyes however, watched in good humor, as he clearly saw the demon holding the young woman, as they shot out of sight. The shopkeeper of the occult shop tipped his hat slightly. "What an amazing pair."
"Chrno!" Rosette choked some of the hair out of her face, as the wind whipped it around wildly as they leveled out, rocketing at top speed, which made her eyes water, even as she glanced away from the direction they were headed. "Where are we going? What if someone saw you!?"
"So?" He smiled down at her, his eyes crinkling with good humor as he raised a thin eyebrow at her. "What would they do? I don't think anyone noticed, even if they did we're long gone."
"Yeah, still." Rosette made a face, and squinted down at the scenery rushing by below far beneath them at breakneck speed. It reminded her of the first time she had met Chrno face to face as a demon… She smiled lightly. "So where are we going?"
"Back to Michigan." He replied matter-of-factly, causing her to choke a bit in incredulation.
"Michigan?! How long will that take?"
"Half an hour? Tops…" He flashed her another knowing smile. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride, Rosette. We don't do this often."
She chuckled a bit, and shielded her eyes against the wind, as she glanced around them. No aero plane could fly as fast as this, nor could a train or automobile match the speed with ease. Flying was an exhilarating experience, and combined with the regenerative charge that flooded into her as time passed, she couldn't help but grin with excitement, and settle a bit more comfortably into his arms.
And so, she did enjoy the ride, as they shot over mountains, cities, lakes, and trees, before a familiar building came into view on the horizon, as Chrno's speed slowly began to decelerate, and he dipped down a bit lower, descending towards the hill. Rosette's heart jumped a bit, as she realized it was the first time she had been back here since things had returned to 'normal'.
The building was half-restored, with fresh wood lining the broken entryway, and the sound of hammers rapping lightly even at the distance they closed. Several faces looked up, and cries of surprise could be heard as Chrno gently touched down in front of the building, the air around him swirling as he touched down, sending whorls of ripples through the grass around him.
"Chrno!" A cheerful voice greeted their ears, as the demon gently put Rosette down, and lifted his head as several children ran forward eagerly, and attached themselves to his arms and legs as he laughed lightly. "Welcome back!"
"Ahh!" Chrno knelt down and ruffled one of the sandy haired girls' heads with an enthusiastic grin on his face. "Thanks." His eyes opened, and twinkled up at Rosette with amusement as she fixed him with an amused grin. "I brought you a guest this time."
The children glanced up at Rosette, with eyes wide, and she felt a sudden surge of emotion well up in her chest tightly as she stared down at their familiar faces, faces that she had stared at many times while frozen in time, terror etched over their features as they were kept in the moment. Yet now, they were eager, open, and alive again, watching her with curious expressions. "Hello, lady." One of the young girls said smiling up at her. "Are you Chrno's friend?"
Rosette smiled, and sank down onto one knee, matching her companion, and scooped the small girl into her arms suddenly, embracing her. "Yes…you probably don't remember me, do you…" She mused softly, tears coming to her eyes as she fought to keep her mixed emotions contained, even as happiness for their lives bubbled over into her heart.
"R…Rosette?!" Came a startled gasp from behind her, and as the Sister turned to face the person who addressed her, she stood, hugging the small girl to her.
The headmistress looked tired and worn, but her cheeks were rosy with excitement as she stared at the young woman, who had aged four years from when she had last lain eyes upon her. "My goodness…how you've grown, Rosette." A warm smile crossed over her sun-worn face.
Rosette grinned back and set the small girl down, and rubbed the back of her head, laughing lightly. "Yeah well, it's been a while for us."
The headmistress smiled almost sadly. It had been a very confusing moment for the whole of the 7th bell, when they had finally been broken out of their stasis…Remington and several other members of the Order had accompanied Chrno out there, and watched as the demon reversed the freeze field, and the tragic state the orphanage had been in, was ended, leaving all of the occupants staring around in wonder, fear, and surprise, to see an entirely different scene before them than when they had last left that world.
The headmistress gave Chrno an uncertain nod, not quite as enthusiastic to see him as the children who for some reason were as energetic about his strange demon traits as Rosette and Joshua had been. To the side, Rosette heard several giggles, as more children latched on to his wings and tail, enthusiastically asking him to give them rides around the clearing. "It's good to see you, Rosette." The older woman smiled and embraced the young woman tightly. "How is your brother? And Minister Remington?"
"They're good!" Rosette enjoyed the embrace then took a step back and peered around at the grounds of the orphanage. "Joshua should come back with me one of these days, I'm sure he'd love to see you all again. It's been so long…well, for us anyway."
The woman smiled at her, and glanced back at the reconstruction efforts. "Yes…" She turned back and put a hand on Rosette's shoulder. "I'm glad that you seem to have calmed down a bit, Rosette."
Rosette flushed and muttered something under her breath quickly, but perked up as the headmistress fixed her with a worried look. "Well, we're just here to… er, well I'm not really sure why we're actually here." She glanced back at Chrno, sweat dropping as she saw him stagger as one of the enthusiastic children jumped onto his back. "He had to get something, and I guess it is really nice to stop by and see how you're all doing."
The headmistress smiled, and shook her head. "Having a demon around here is…strange. But I must admit, he has been most helpful. Remington sends him to bring us supplies now and then, and he spent a day helping us re-build the roof. Before this incident, I would have thought there was no chance someone like him could exist, but…"
Rosette smirked. "Well, Chrno's an interesting guy." She glanced back, watching as he went down under a pile of screaming children, as they tackled him all at once, and he vanished from view beneath them, causing her to laugh out loud.
"Oiiii Chrno! Stop goofing off!" She shouted back, and one by one the kids tumbled off, and Chrno's head poked out, rather rumpled, and back into his youngest guise as he apologized at the disappointed whines from the children. He made his way back to the two, picking some leaves out of his hair, as the children ran up, swarming around the group.
"Sorry about that." He rubbed the back of his neck, not looking sorry at all. Rosette couldn't help but laugh at his bashful expression. He was having fun doing this. "If you like I can go get what I need and meet you back here?"
"Don't take too long." Rosette warned him, with a grin, and he waved cheerfully, turning and walking off into the forest on the edge of the perimeter. She watched him go, and shook her head, with a smile on her lips. What a strange guy…He could tear apart a demon from limb to limb in a savage bloodlust, and balance a young laughing child on his shoulders with not a flinch, or patiently calm her down with a smile on his face.
Her smile depend.
The ceremony the following day was probably the most touching thing that Rosette had seen at the Order since she had first joined. Not only had it been moving and exciting watching the officiation over Sister Kate's, no Reverend Mother Kate's position, there was of course ample time to congratulate her afterwards.
Kate didn't seem to have changed much, aside from bearing her shoulders forward with a little more dignity, as the small sister approached her with her conservatively wrapped gift.
"Why, thank you Rosette." Kate smiled warmly, a bit taken aback by Rosette's sudden turn of character by providing her with a useful gift. She admired the warded cross, and after a pause, pulled it around her neck with a warm nod to the young woman. "This is very thoughtful." She glanced in the second bag, and her face froze for a moment, taking on a rather blue look. "On second thought…."
Rosette just grinned brightly and gave her a thumbs up as the newly promoted Mother Superior pulled out the jumbo bottle of aspirin. From the look of simply her expression, Kate would be needing some of those right after they departed her office.
Azmaria and Joshua presented their gifts, a new set of handkerchiefs hand-embroidered by the young girl, and an antique pair of restored spectacles from Joshua. Kate thanked each of them in turn, and smiled as Chrno approached, with two packages in his hands.
His expression was one of respect, as he held forth the gifts, and she accepted them. The stationary was an instant success, but Rosette kept waiting, breath held, to see what it was that Chrno had in the second package. It was small, about the size of a bible, but thicker, wrapped in a very soft oil cloth. His expression was somewhat wistful, as he handed it to her. "This is…something that I feel is more appropriate for you to have now." He spoke softly, and Kate's eyes watched his face closely.
Her hands slowly unwound the cloth, and paused, as she held the item up. It was a small book, with many pages neatly creased inside, with ribbons to mark some portions. The book was worn, old, and looked as if it might fall apart at the smallest breath. "This is…"
"It's Magdalena's personal diary." He replied quietly, and Rosette shot him a surprised look. "She entrusted them to me…and said that I would know the right time when I was to share them. I figured now was that time." He smiled brightly up at her. "There are…things in there that might surprise you. I've read through it several times."
"Such a thing…" Kate put her hand over it gently. "It must be precious to you." She smiled up at him. "Thank you."
He nodded and returned her expression. "It's the least I could do. Besides, it hardly does anyone good rotting away in the dark anymore."
Kate smiled in reply, but then her eyes grew troubled, and she fixed the group with a serious look. "Actually…there is something that I wished to discuss with you all…Please, have a seat." They all did so, throwing curious looks at one another, as the Reverend Mother stood, pacing a bit, looking thoughtful, until Remington opened the door behind them and entered, closing it softly after him. "There is a developing situation that has begun to trouble the Order." She paused and turned to face them with a solemn look. "Rosette, you heard something of our discussion the other day. But the question is, we're not sure what exactly the threat is.
"It seems recently, there have been abnormal increases of demons exiting Pandemonium in great numbers. Yet they seem to not be causing much distress in the cities they're entering." Her eyes turned to meet Chrno's with a thoughtful glance. "We're not certain what exactly is going on. Why are the demons coming to this realm suddenly? What opinions can you give us of this situation?"
He looked thoughtful, as everyone's eyes watched him mull that over. "I can't be sure." He finally admitted. "We left Pandemonium back long ago, and haven't had any connections with it since. From what I know…when Ion took Pandemonium's head from there, it caused a chain reaction that started corrupting Pandemonium." His eyes lifted. "Without a centralized source of power and order to keep the network together, it began to collapse. But…" He frowned. "I simply thought that someone else would rise to take her place temporarily, until the situation could be remedied."
"So you don't have any idea what might be causing the sudden migration of demons to this world?"
He shook his head, glancing over at Remington, then back to Kate. "No, not really. There's no way I would know without…" He made a grimace. "Without going back there."
There was silence for a moment, then the soft question that they all knew would have had to be asked eventually. "Could you…? Go back there?"
He grimaced a bit, and sighed softly, remaining silent for a long while, before slowly lifting his head back, and fixing her with an even look. "I…could. But I wouldn't exactly be the most welcome of guests."
Kate and Remington exchanged glances. No, certainly not… not only was he still a Sinner, no matter what his role in stopping Ion had been the demons wouldn't be as willing to forgive him for his part in destroying Pandemonia. Now that her body was completely destroyed, there was no chance in re-instating her… No, the demons wouldn't be happy with Chrno the least, especially if they discovered that his soul had been corrupted by Magdalene's holy one.
"But…" Remington added slowly. "What about turning Ion back in to them? He's not in a position to resist now, and it might be considered a bargaining tool if we could give them back what remains of hi—"
"No." Chrno's voice was cold, even, and held a tone of finality to it. "I'm sorry, but I won't allow that." His eyes had turned abruptly cold. "I'm trying to help him, not damn him. Before you subject him to a fate worse than death, give him the chance to rectify his actions first. It's only fair."
The two adults sighed, and nodded in turn. They had a feeling he would have said something of the sort, and though they couldn't agree with his views, they couldn't force him to help them in this manner either. The only ones who had access to Eden, were the Sinners. Sheda had left a transport device with Chrno for when he was ready to return and continue assisting their efforts to revive their fallen comrade.
"Well…it's not crucial at the moment." Kate said softly. "But we can't just ignore this forever… If anything changes, then we'll think of alternatives. However, if there's any information you could give us in the meantime on this situation, please don't hold back."
He nodded in agreement. "I'll do what I can, I promise."
Nothing more was said about the potential situation that night, but instead turned their thoughts back towards the enjoyment of the time they lived in at the present.
Authors' notes:
Due to sudden circumstances, I no longer have dial up at home -- So I'll still update while at work. I also am going on vacation in a week, so I won't be around to update, though I will be taking my laptop with me so I can write some more, and probably finish the story up There's only a few more chapters to go!
Thanks for all the reviews everyone! I can't believe how many I've gotten. This has by far been the most reviewed of any of my fics (and one of the longest). But if you're despairing over the fact the fic will eventually end, take heart. I've got more stories in mind, so I will continue to tease your minds with the best of my skills.