Authors Note: I do not to own any of the characters of the anime and manga
series, Chrno Crusade. All characters of Chrno Crusade are copyright to
Moriyama Daisuke.
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Now, Elder's workplace had always been messy, infact, both Chrno and Rosette had never even seen it clean in all the years that they had been at the Order, but this was a bit extreme. Most of the floorboards had been pulled up and strewn about, and Gospels and Sacreds were rolling about everywhere, so it was exceedingly difficult to walk about without slipping on some type of loose ammunition. However, Rosette did not notice anything missing, most of Elder's inventions were intact, and she could find nothing wrong with he situation besides that his laboratory had been completely trashed.
As she glanced about, Elder appeared beside her, so it was obvious that they had not killed or abducted the elderly scientist. "I don't understand..." Rosette began, as she stared at the room intently. "Nothings missing, only a few things are broken... it just doesn't make sense..." She picked up a stray bullet from the floor. "The even left the Sacreds and Gospels..." Mostly, that's what did not bode right with Chrno. Why hadn't they taken the bullets so that Sheda, Aion's personal lab rat, could do tests on them and hopefully create some kind of immunity against the ammunition?
"Actually, there is one thing missing..." Elder piped up, and focusing the attention of Chrno and Rosette upon himself. "Rosette," he began in an even tone, "do you remember when you first came to the Order, and I did some tests on your Covenant Clock? I kept records of my data in a small safe beneath the floor boards of this room, and, while I have not made a complete search, it would seem that the safe is the only thing missing."
Rosette's brows furrowed, while Chrno just looked somewhat dumbstruck. "Why would they want that? It doesn't serve them any purpose, unless they want to make a Covenant of their own, which I doubt, since Aion still has his horns..." Her thoughts were inconclusive.
"Well, it seems their target was this all along, the battle outside was a distraction so those who would raid this room would go undetected. As soon as they found what they were looking for, the assault ceased, and they left." Sister Kate explained, stepping forward. "For whatever reason they stole this information, it seems to be quite urgent and important."
Chrno sat down on the bench just outside of Elder's cottage, and glanced to Rosette inside. As far he could see, the clock appeared completely normal. Maybe they really were thinking of making a Covenant... Rosette was right, Aion still had his horns, and so did Jenai, Rizel, and Vid, there was not need for a Contractor among them. "Could a demon become more powerful if he had his horns, AND made a Covenant?" Chrno suddenly asked, causing everyone to be cut short from his or her own thoughts.
"No. the data I recorded showed that a Covenant only acts as horns would to a demon, so it would have no effect on one who still had his or her horns." the Elder replied after thinking for a moment.
Chrno sighed. They could not open the seal, only the Contractor could do such a thing, so Rosette's soul did not seem in immediate danger. They could not force him to revert to his true form, while sucking the Astral from Rosette's soul.
"Oh, well, it's their fault for stealing something so useless. Maybe they thought it was something else." Rosette dismissed it. "I'm going to go help Azumaria with the wounded." she said, walking out of the cottage and towards the courtyard.
Chrno, however, could not so easily dispel of the situation so easily. There was something dubious about the whole circumstance that just did not bode well with him. Sighing again, Chrno stood, and after nodding to both Sister Kate and Elder, he hurried after Rosette to aid her in her task.
Azumaria was brimming with tears as she bandaged a wounded Minister's head. The young Apostle had been exposed to the aftermath of battle many times, but that did not soften the pang of sorrow she felt for the wounded and deceased. As she finished bandaging the man's head, he smilied faintly at her as he was loaded onto a stretcher. Azumaria smiled in return before turning around to see Rosette and Chrno coming this way to assist her.
"You really should take a rest, Az." Rosette said, using Azumaria's nickname given to her by the young nun. "Here, I'll take over for you, you've been at this a while." Rosette guided the girl in the direction of the Main Magdelan building before moving onto the next wounded nun. Chrno worked beside Rosette, bandaging the nun's head while Rosette worked on her leg and torso. Wordlessly, they both finished their individual tasks, before Rosette helped the fallen nun into a sitting position. "Are you comfortable?" By this she meant were the bandages to binding in any way. The nun merely shook her head and smiled her thanks, to weak to be coherent.
Rosette stood, wiping her hands down with a rag that she had found in Azumaria's first aid kit, before offering the same rag to Chrno, whom accepted it gratefully. As he wiped his hands, he heard Rosette speak to him in a soft voice. "You never really get used to it, huh?" Rosette sighed as she looked over the scene. Most of the wounded had been bandaged and had been loaded onto stretchers and taken to the informatory, or were waiting to do so.
Chrno placed a hand on Rosette's shoulder. He could tell she was grieved by the whole concept and actuality of it. "Why weren't we here, Chrno.. We could have helped.. maybe, if we had been-" Chrno cut of Rosette in mid sentence. "I'm sorry, but it's no use thinking of such things now. We should be happy that so few were lost."
Rosette nodded. By now, tears had brimmed in her eyes, but had not spilled over. She was not one to cry easily. Chrno smiled and removed his hand from her shoulder. "Come on, let's go check on Azumaria."
As it happens, Azumaria had not done as she was instructed (which was quite odd) and had gone to the informatory to assist the wounded more. When Chrno and Rosette arrived, they could see the weariness on Azumaria's face. She had been using little bits of her power as an Apostle to heal some of the nuns and ministers. "Azumaria!" Rosette chided the young girl gently. "I thought I told you to take a rest, they'll be fine."
"B-but, I have to help them, Rosette! I have to do something!" Her face was already wet from tears, and fresh ones spilled down her face anew. "Azumaria, you've done enough, everyone understands that you need to rest." Chrno added, putting his arm on her shoulders and steering her through the door, Rosette on his heels. Azumaria did not put up much of a fight after that, crying quietly on Chrno's shoulder as they walked up to her room.
After much sniveling and a few encouraging words from both Rosette and Chrno. Azumaria had fallen asleep, and her friends were not far behind her. When Minister Remington came to check in on the young Apostle, he found Rosette dozing in a chair, and Chrno propped up at the end of the bed, also asleep. The Minister had to smile at this; at least they were getting some rest. However, when he went to leave, after placing blankets on both Rosette and Chrno, Chrno woke. "Minister... Remington?" He asked, rubbing his eyes until he was completely alert. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"
"No, nothing." Remington replied, pausing in the doorway. "Go back to sleep, Chrno, you need it." With that, he shut the door softly behind himself, leaving Chrno to listen to his footsteps echo and slowly fade out as he walked down the hall. Chrno, now awake, glanced about, Rosette had fallen asleep in the chair, and Azumaria was sleeping soundly in her bed. Somewhat hesitantly, he walked over to Rosette' and gently shook her awake. "Rosette... Rosette..." he whispered, attempting to preserve the peace so that Azumaria could sleep. Rosette slowly opened her eyes, and opened her moth to yell at Chrno for waking her up, but quickly closed it as she realized where she was. Nodding, she stood, stretched, and folded the blanket over the top of the chair. Chrno, too, took his blanket and placed it atop Rosette's before making his way, as silently as possible, towards the door. Rosette, after making sure Azumaria was all right, and asleep, headed towards the door as well.
She headed to her own room, after saying good night to Chrno, for a good night's rest, even though it was only about 2 hours from when she would have to wake up again. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
Author's Note: When I say, "Tomorrow is going to be a long day." Hopefully, that means that the next chapter will be longer as well.
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Now, Elder's workplace had always been messy, infact, both Chrno and Rosette had never even seen it clean in all the years that they had been at the Order, but this was a bit extreme. Most of the floorboards had been pulled up and strewn about, and Gospels and Sacreds were rolling about everywhere, so it was exceedingly difficult to walk about without slipping on some type of loose ammunition. However, Rosette did not notice anything missing, most of Elder's inventions were intact, and she could find nothing wrong with he situation besides that his laboratory had been completely trashed.
As she glanced about, Elder appeared beside her, so it was obvious that they had not killed or abducted the elderly scientist. "I don't understand..." Rosette began, as she stared at the room intently. "Nothings missing, only a few things are broken... it just doesn't make sense..." She picked up a stray bullet from the floor. "The even left the Sacreds and Gospels..." Mostly, that's what did not bode right with Chrno. Why hadn't they taken the bullets so that Sheda, Aion's personal lab rat, could do tests on them and hopefully create some kind of immunity against the ammunition?
"Actually, there is one thing missing..." Elder piped up, and focusing the attention of Chrno and Rosette upon himself. "Rosette," he began in an even tone, "do you remember when you first came to the Order, and I did some tests on your Covenant Clock? I kept records of my data in a small safe beneath the floor boards of this room, and, while I have not made a complete search, it would seem that the safe is the only thing missing."
Rosette's brows furrowed, while Chrno just looked somewhat dumbstruck. "Why would they want that? It doesn't serve them any purpose, unless they want to make a Covenant of their own, which I doubt, since Aion still has his horns..." Her thoughts were inconclusive.
"Well, it seems their target was this all along, the battle outside was a distraction so those who would raid this room would go undetected. As soon as they found what they were looking for, the assault ceased, and they left." Sister Kate explained, stepping forward. "For whatever reason they stole this information, it seems to be quite urgent and important."
Chrno sat down on the bench just outside of Elder's cottage, and glanced to Rosette inside. As far he could see, the clock appeared completely normal. Maybe they really were thinking of making a Covenant... Rosette was right, Aion still had his horns, and so did Jenai, Rizel, and Vid, there was not need for a Contractor among them. "Could a demon become more powerful if he had his horns, AND made a Covenant?" Chrno suddenly asked, causing everyone to be cut short from his or her own thoughts.
"No. the data I recorded showed that a Covenant only acts as horns would to a demon, so it would have no effect on one who still had his or her horns." the Elder replied after thinking for a moment.
Chrno sighed. They could not open the seal, only the Contractor could do such a thing, so Rosette's soul did not seem in immediate danger. They could not force him to revert to his true form, while sucking the Astral from Rosette's soul.
"Oh, well, it's their fault for stealing something so useless. Maybe they thought it was something else." Rosette dismissed it. "I'm going to go help Azumaria with the wounded." she said, walking out of the cottage and towards the courtyard.
Chrno, however, could not so easily dispel of the situation so easily. There was something dubious about the whole circumstance that just did not bode well with him. Sighing again, Chrno stood, and after nodding to both Sister Kate and Elder, he hurried after Rosette to aid her in her task.
Azumaria was brimming with tears as she bandaged a wounded Minister's head. The young Apostle had been exposed to the aftermath of battle many times, but that did not soften the pang of sorrow she felt for the wounded and deceased. As she finished bandaging the man's head, he smilied faintly at her as he was loaded onto a stretcher. Azumaria smiled in return before turning around to see Rosette and Chrno coming this way to assist her.
"You really should take a rest, Az." Rosette said, using Azumaria's nickname given to her by the young nun. "Here, I'll take over for you, you've been at this a while." Rosette guided the girl in the direction of the Main Magdelan building before moving onto the next wounded nun. Chrno worked beside Rosette, bandaging the nun's head while Rosette worked on her leg and torso. Wordlessly, they both finished their individual tasks, before Rosette helped the fallen nun into a sitting position. "Are you comfortable?" By this she meant were the bandages to binding in any way. The nun merely shook her head and smiled her thanks, to weak to be coherent.
Rosette stood, wiping her hands down with a rag that she had found in Azumaria's first aid kit, before offering the same rag to Chrno, whom accepted it gratefully. As he wiped his hands, he heard Rosette speak to him in a soft voice. "You never really get used to it, huh?" Rosette sighed as she looked over the scene. Most of the wounded had been bandaged and had been loaded onto stretchers and taken to the informatory, or were waiting to do so.
Chrno placed a hand on Rosette's shoulder. He could tell she was grieved by the whole concept and actuality of it. "Why weren't we here, Chrno.. We could have helped.. maybe, if we had been-" Chrno cut of Rosette in mid sentence. "I'm sorry, but it's no use thinking of such things now. We should be happy that so few were lost."
Rosette nodded. By now, tears had brimmed in her eyes, but had not spilled over. She was not one to cry easily. Chrno smiled and removed his hand from her shoulder. "Come on, let's go check on Azumaria."
As it happens, Azumaria had not done as she was instructed (which was quite odd) and had gone to the informatory to assist the wounded more. When Chrno and Rosette arrived, they could see the weariness on Azumaria's face. She had been using little bits of her power as an Apostle to heal some of the nuns and ministers. "Azumaria!" Rosette chided the young girl gently. "I thought I told you to take a rest, they'll be fine."
"B-but, I have to help them, Rosette! I have to do something!" Her face was already wet from tears, and fresh ones spilled down her face anew. "Azumaria, you've done enough, everyone understands that you need to rest." Chrno added, putting his arm on her shoulders and steering her through the door, Rosette on his heels. Azumaria did not put up much of a fight after that, crying quietly on Chrno's shoulder as they walked up to her room.
After much sniveling and a few encouraging words from both Rosette and Chrno. Azumaria had fallen asleep, and her friends were not far behind her. When Minister Remington came to check in on the young Apostle, he found Rosette dozing in a chair, and Chrno propped up at the end of the bed, also asleep. The Minister had to smile at this; at least they were getting some rest. However, when he went to leave, after placing blankets on both Rosette and Chrno, Chrno woke. "Minister... Remington?" He asked, rubbing his eyes until he was completely alert. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"
"No, nothing." Remington replied, pausing in the doorway. "Go back to sleep, Chrno, you need it." With that, he shut the door softly behind himself, leaving Chrno to listen to his footsteps echo and slowly fade out as he walked down the hall. Chrno, now awake, glanced about, Rosette had fallen asleep in the chair, and Azumaria was sleeping soundly in her bed. Somewhat hesitantly, he walked over to Rosette' and gently shook her awake. "Rosette... Rosette..." he whispered, attempting to preserve the peace so that Azumaria could sleep. Rosette slowly opened her eyes, and opened her moth to yell at Chrno for waking her up, but quickly closed it as she realized where she was. Nodding, she stood, stretched, and folded the blanket over the top of the chair. Chrno, too, took his blanket and placed it atop Rosette's before making his way, as silently as possible, towards the door. Rosette, after making sure Azumaria was all right, and asleep, headed towards the door as well.
She headed to her own room, after saying good night to Chrno, for a good night's rest, even though it was only about 2 hours from when she would have to wake up again. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
Author's Note: When I say, "Tomorrow is going to be a long day." Hopefully, that means that the next chapter will be longer as well.