Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing, although I wish I did. Everything belongs to Moriyama Daisuke, ADV and Gonzo

Author's note:
Methinks I shall just write the next chapter based on the responses that I have gotten so far. Characters are changing too fast, too soon. Unless I do something drastic soon, Rosette will grow up disliking Remington. Think think think...what to do...Suggestions??? I borrowed something from the anime (Episode 7: The Devil – translated by AonE) in this chapter. See if you can figure out what it was.

Also, I don't think it's fair that Aion can do all this cool stuff in adult form without a contractor while Chrno can't. So, Chrno in my fic will have some powers which can be accessed without opening the seal

lazy cat
Don't feel pressured to review all the time though. I don't mind if the only times you review would be to say that you say the chapter is spectacular or spectacularly crap, hehehe. Any kind of review at any time is appreciated. Thanks for reviewing. I liked your suggestion.

Die Kikyo Die
Hehe, I hope this chapter will be ok. It's so hard to decide on which path the story should take, isn't it? Coz they are both interesting in their own way.

Bronwen Stx
Hello! Nice to see you again. I got the idea of writing from the perspectives of different people after reading some of the Chrno Crusade RPGs on the net. Glad that you like the story so far.

ruby-dream
Wow...thanks for the chunky review. I am never bothered, never fear. I love reviews of all shapes and sizes, and of many different opinions. Isn't it so hard to choose between strong Rosette and possessive Chrno? That's why I put the question up to you guys. Thanks for reviewing.

NightElfCrawler
I'm SOOWWEEEEE!!! Wasn't trying to tease you. I was genuinely stuck on that one small little detail. But I shall continue now, and I'll try to make this chapter longer to compensate for the last one.

STORY TIME!!!

Chapter 9: Central Park

Rosette:

This man was crazy! I could tell that he had completely lost it, just by the look in his eyes. He wasn't even speaking to me anymore, though he continued to talk.

"Stop it! You're hurting me!"

I scratched furiously at his arms, hoping that he would be startled into releasing me. Damn him for wearing long sleeves all the time!

"Answer me!" he forced my chin up so that I was looking straight at him. His eyes looked haunted and tormented.

Taking the opportunity, I bit down hard on his hand. He loosened up just enough for me to wrench myself away. "I did! You heard but didn't listen to what I was saying!"

I turned to run, but was jerked to a stop and spun around to face Remington again. He looked furious. "You are not going anywhere, especially not to that demon!"

I thrashed angrily. "Let me go!"

'Chrno, help me!'
Chrno:

The Elder was taking an afternoon nap, after having worked all day on one of his lunatic experiments, leaving me to clean up the workshop after the rather "explosive" results of his tinkering.

Normally, tidying up a room would have been a very simple task. However, if you were a demon, and you were in a room which was half filled with objects designed to kill you, you would tend to be very wary of just about everything.

Elder didn't even tell me where everything was meant to go. "Just make the room more presentable." He had said. "Beyond that, use your imagination!" Right....

I avoided a spilled bottle of something that looked suspiciously like holy water. The Elder had been experimenting on bullets called "Sacred". I didn't feel like getting burned and blistered hands, so I left it well alone.

I sighed as I came to a scattering of metal in the corner of the room. There were also some guns strewn around. It was too much trouble to bend again and again to pick them up, so I just stuffed everything into my large pockets, thinking to dispose them all at once later.

I could sense power from some of the trinkets that I picked up, especially the metal band with a single flawed jewel embedded into it. I slipped it onto my wrist curiously, surprised when it seemed to shrink to fit me. There was also a feeling of power coming from the red stone, almost waiting to be unleashed. Interesting. If I was desperate enough, I could probably draw power from it. Storing that thought away, I moved on.

As I worked my way around the room, I continued to put small bits and pieces into my pocket while chucking larger pieces into ordered piles. I then came across a large map of Manhattan.

I chuckled, remembering when I had asked Elder about it this morning. There was a strange pattern drawn across a large area, which was labeled "Central Park". I had squinted, trying to make out the tiny spidery writing.

"The Sale of the Severe Wigs?"

What the crap??!!

I had read it wrong, but the writing was atrocious to begin with! When I asked the Elder, he had laughed himself silly. "It's actually 'the Seal of the Seven Wings'. Hahahaha! How did you come up with that?"

I waited with good humor for the mad scientist to compose himself before asking about the Seal. I ended up getting some kind of vague explanation about some evil being sealed there. Either he didn't know or he didn't think I should know. I resolved to go there one day, to check it out.

I rolled it up and threw it back onto a shelf somewhere. Bored, bored, bored.

I looked around. The room was less messy compared to before, but it still looked as though a tornado had ripped through it. I sighed. I wonder if Rosette is having as much fun as I am.

Pause. Hmmm...Elder was still sleeping...I grinned. Maybe I'll just sneak out and see how Rosette is doing.

Slipping out quietly, I started off in the direction of the main buildings, sticking to the cover of bushes and shadows. Good thing I did too, because I was nearly spotted by two boys who were about Rosette's age. Curious. They were cursing Remington under their breath while they jogged and it was obvious that they had been running for a long time. I shrugged and kept walking.

I stopped briefly when I saw a group of people nearby. There were children training with swords and other assorted toy weapons. Weapons to kill me and my kind. I shivered, before moving on, away from the exorcists in training.

I stopped again when I heard voices. They sounded familiar...

"You are not going anywhere, especially not to that demon!"

I frowned. Remington? And the only person who he could possibly be talking to about "the demon" was...

"Let me go!"

Rosette!

I found her struggling in Remington's grip.

Furious, I charged up and yanked Rosette away from him. I put some distance between him and us before turning to bare my fangs at him in anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" I growled, keeping an arm around Rosette.

Remington had looked lost for a minute, before his countenance grew hostile. "Yes. What was I thinking, letting one such as yourself come to our Abbey."

I glanced briefly at Rosette. She was clutching the clock. "He knows."

Turning back to Remington, I saw wildness in his eyes, though outwardly he appeared calm. His voice was cold when he spoke. "Leave now, and do not contact Rosette for any reason here after." His hand dropped to his belt, hovering above a large crucifix.

I raised an eyebrow. So this was his plan. He knew of the contract now, and what it would mean for Rosette. There was no longer any need to keep me around. This was all just a show for Rosette. If I were made to leave while she remained here, I would not contact her in future because Remington planned on killing me s soon as I left the compound.

"If I'm to leave, I'm not going without Rosette!"

"She will stay under our protection. We will ensure her safety and well being by keeping her here."

If I were in my true form this fool wouldn't be talking to me like that. In fact, he wouldn't even be talking at all. But I wouldn't unseal the clock just for something like this. If I could make it out of here with Rosette...

Rosette stepped forward angrily. "You can't do this! What gives you the right to cage me up?"

This must have triggered something in his memory. Something traumatizing and sad. The wildness in his eyes gave way to wide-eyed shock and pain, as if he had just realized what he had been doing. "Rosette, I..."

This was the distraction I had been looking for. Pulling her close, I concentrated on the jewel at my wrist. The world spun like crazy as I accessed a power I had not used in many years.

Where could we go to?

I concentrated on the name of the first place that came to mind. Central Park...

The ground solidified suddenly under our feet. I was too out of practice. Caught unawares, I fell, dragging Rosette down with me.

Rosette:

I was dazed by the sudden change in scenery. What the...

Waahhh!

Oooff!

My yelp was cut short as I fell onto the lumpy ground. I groaned, before becoming aware that the ground was rising and falling. Lifting my head up slowly, I suddenly realized that the "lumpy ground" was actually a hyperventilating Chrno.

Crap!

I blushed and tried to get off him. "Sorry!" My legs must have chosen that moment to impersonate jelly, because I collapsed right back onto him. Groaning, I smacked my head back down onto his chest. I thought I was embarrassed before, but now you could probably fry an egg on my face from all the heat that was coming off it.

Chrno grinned. "Making...yourself...comfortable, are you?" I quickly rolled off him, not trusting my legs to work. "Are you ok?" I asked, face still red, but slightly worried as he continued to pant.

He smiled reassuringly. "Just...let me...get my breath back." After a few deep breaths, he sat up. "Haven't done that in a while. Whew! What a rush."

My eyes widened. "Speaking of which, how did you do that? I thought you couldn't use any of your powers unless the clock was activated."

Chrno pushed up a sleeve to show me a metal band. He frowned when he looked at it.

"What's wrong?" I asked, still looking at the trinket. It had a single jewel, which looked like a ruby with black clouds swirling in it.

"This was the reason why I could teleport. I drew power from the jewel on this band, but..." Chrno chewed on his lip thoughtfully. "it was flawed to begin with, so it is not a reliable power source. I'll probably only be able to use it one more time before its power is depleted."

He looked so very serious and thoughtful. I blushed when I caught myself staring at him again. I looked away quickly, determined to look anywhere else but him.

"Where are we, anyway?"

We were tucked away in a small clearing. But through the trees, I could see people here and there. I stood up, squinting. Weird people at that. Must be because the sun was going down or something.

Some of them looked really peculiar. From the way that other people gave them a wide berth, I assumed that they were either crazy or dangerous. Either way, I made a mental note to be careful around those people if I saw them.

Chrno also stood up. "This is Central Park. It was the first place that I could think of. Supposedly there's something evil sealed under here. Something so bad that it acts like a demon magnet."

I peered at him curiously. "Well?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Well what?"

"Do you feel anything at the moment? The demon magnet thing, I mean."

Frowning, Chrno closed his eyes. "There is something here, but I can't quite put my finger on it." He opened his eyes and shrugged. "Oh well. It's not any danger to us in the immediate future, so we don't have to worry about it for now. We're safe"

Safe? How could he be sure? "What if they come looking for us?" I looked around anxiously.

There was no doubt which "they" I was talking about.

"How would they know to look here?" Chrno looked extremely unconcerned. "We teleported straight here, so we didn't leave a trail for them to follow. Unless they put up wanted posters or something, people won't know that the Magdala Order is searching for us. And even if that does happen, so long as no-one sees and reports us, we'll be fine."

Seeing my skeptical look, he smiled confidently. "Don't worry. I'll take care of us."

I smiled slightly in return. "We only lasted one day there. I bet they've never had anyone leave so soon. The only thing that I might miss would be the weapons class. I was actually looking forward to the demonology one as well"

Chrno raised an eyebrow. "Demonology?" He said that like it was the most ludicrous thing he had ever heard. "You have a real live demon right here. If you wanted to learn about demons, I can teach you everything that there is to know."

I grinned. "It would have been interesting, though, to learn how the Order perceives demons, so that I can see just how wrong their views are."

"I'm not like most other demons though, am I?" His voice was still cheerful, but I could detect a hint of loneliness and sorrow. From what I knew, which wasn't much at all, Chrno was an outcast among demons.

"Of course you're not, and why would you want to be like other demons?" When he looked at me I continued. "You are you. Chrno. Nobody else. You're kind and would never hurt anyone without reason. That's what makes you unique, what makes you, you."

I flopped back down onto the grass. "It's like how the other girls at the Abbey don't like me very much, maybe coz I'm different to them...I don't know. The point is, I do what my heart tells me to do. I wouldn't change just to fit in with them. If they don't accept me for who I am, then I'm better off without them."

He stared at me for a while, and I grew uncomfortable. "That's what I think, anyway."

Chrno gave me a warm smile then. "Thank you." Moving toward me, he joined me on the grass. "That meant a lot to me."

Although I wanted to ask why he was an outcast, now was not the time. I was sure that he would tell me someday, when he's ready to.

We sat there in companionable silence, lazily watching the sunset. I leaned against his side slightly, but quickly pulled away when something dug into my side. I poked at his pockets curiously. "What have you got in there?"

"Huh?" Chrno frowned and looked at where I was pointing. "Oh! I forgot about that. It's stuff from the Elder's workshop."

"Pilfering stuff from your host, eh Chrno?" I teased. "You didn't seem like the type."

Blushing slightly, he emptied his pockets. "It wasn't like that. I was just tidying the place after he blew something up. It just seemed easier to put little stuff in my pockets to sort out later."

"Suurrreee..." I drawled with a grin as I began to pick through everything. It was mostly metal parts, but there were also some pretty trinkets mixed in there as well. "Can you draw power from these too?" I asked, handing one of them to Chrno.

He took it and peered at it. "Hmmm...maybe. It wouldn't be as strong as a gem or crystal, but it is possible."

I continued sorting through the junk. There were some useful little knick-knacks, such as a pocket-knife and matches. There was also some strange contraption which I'd never seen before. I raised an eyebrow when he pulled a gun out of yet another pocket. "You can't have just slipped that into your pocket like the other stuff."

He grinned. "I believe in being prepared. Anyway, the Elder had so many there, I'm sure he won't miss one."

"Right...anyway, your pockets are like bottomless pits. Just look at all this junk. Were you trying to empty the workshop of something?"

Sighing, I stretched,sore from sitting in the same hunched position. Flopping onto my back to take a break, I stared at the sky for a while. It was a warm yellowy orange with tinges of purple beginning to creep in.

"So...what do we do now?"

TBC

Yes...what do we do now? Suggestions?

A longer chapter this time to compensate for the shortness of the previous one. Hope it was ok. Thank you to everyone for giving me ideas and suggestions.

The idea about deep pockets came from me watching Doraemon. The Central Park idea came from ChibiSamiSala. I have never been to Central Park or America.

How can I redeem Remington. Any ideas yet?

I just discovered something...I can't do funny! This chapter has a few lame attempts at humor, but I don't think it worked very well...woops. Oh well, I think I'll just focus on being serious. Why can't I be funny too..!! Boohoohoo!! Ok...rant over.

Why is it that the long chapters always come to me when I should be studying for exams? Shocking! I should exercise more discipline. But it's just so much more interesting writing this fic than studying.

Oh well. Love it? Hate it? Review and tell all! Thanks once again for reaching the end of a very long chapter (by my standards, anyway).