The Heart of the Astral Line
By: Nightelfcrawler & Amai
Author's note: We're insane
Chapter Three: Unsealing the Mystery
A few hours later the two of them were sitting in the Captain's quarters, that, amazingly was completely clean, a gag gift from the crew who said that it was the slinkiest place in the ship and not befitting a 'lady', giggling and eating the remnants of the cake before Rosette pulled out the clock, chewing on a piece as she offered it to him. "What do you take of this?"
Remi, who was sitting on an ice pack now, leaned over and accepted the clock, and stared at it, eyes going very wide suddenly. "Dear god... where did you get your hands on this."
"Chrno's old master..." She chewed ponderingly, before swallowing. "He said that he had found it on him in the middle of no where out in space, without any memories…" Her eyes glittered a bit as she looked at him. "Say, how about taking a bit off our normal route for some...extracurricular...pirating?"
He stared at her intently, fingering the clock. "Rosette.... this is far beyond normal pirating... this is a very serious quest...if not the most sought after treasure in the Universe." He paused. "And you said Chrno was in possession of it....?"
She nodded, looking a bit worried. "Yeah I know. It'll be very dangerous…if anyone found out...Yuan, now that you've seen it, I cant let you leave until I've found it, the others though...I don't know if I should just drag them into it..." She blinked a bit before smiling. "But, no doubt, he knows where it is too, if he got his memories back that is."
He frowned at that and reached forward, hand hovering over the release mechanism... "There may be a strong reason as to why he lost them...."
She blinked, and nodded, closing her tiny hand over his and turning it for both of them, a sudden click and the outside of the clock came open, and the face glowed, brighter and brighter before WOOSH a solid beam of gold light just rushed out of the cabin, and out the windows as if a sun had just formed within the Captain's quarters, blinding them both and forcing their hand off the pocket watch that just floated there mid air...before small alien letters scrolled across the air, flitting about the two of them in a ribbon of text before slipping back into the clock and sealing shut with another Click.
The moment that the brilliant beam of light had shot out from the cabin below, Chrno had stiffened. No one had been paying much attention to the young boy, but if they had, they would have seen a strange ripple surrounding him, followed by a dark rune that formed beneath where he was sitting. His back arched, and for a moment his eyes glowed brightly, and something even brighter shone from the back of his neck, and then the moment it was sealed, everything vanished, and he fell off the railing with a thunk, landing heavily on the deck, out cold.
Rubbing his eyes to rid himself of the dancing spotlights, Remi's breath slowly released, staring at the dormant thing on the table. "Dear god..."
Half the men started pounding on the door. "Captain! Captain! Are you ok!?"
Rosette was on her feet in a second, stumbling over her chair as she blinked, trying to rid her sight of the blinding glow, as she headed towards the door. Not good, no doubt in a matter of minutes people would be on their trail. She rent open the door, nearly falling into the crew as she gasped. "Untie the ship! We have to get out of her NOW!"
Remi surged on deck barking orders, and shot a glance back at the town. "We're going to have to break for it."
"AYE!" the men rushed out of the cabin flooding up onto the deck, and began preparing for departure, even as alarms began to ring sounding from the town behind them. One of the men nearly stepped on the unconscious boy, and with a grumble picked him up by the arm and tossed him to the side so he was out of the way. Fortunately, Rosette took that time to come on deck.
"Has anyone seen Chrno, the boy?" She rubbed at her eyes again, catching sight of him with a soft cry and collapsed to her knees in front of him. "Shit, what did that do to you.." His face was drenched with sweat, pale, and his body shivering a little bit, as his eyes moved rapidly back and forth beneath closed lids.
She scooped him up, carrying him into her quarters and set him lightly on her bed, before pocketing the pocket watch and surging back onto the deck, cursing at the sight of small lights in the distance from all around. She snagged the communicator from the nearest of her crew and flicked it to the engine room line. "Stella, We are going to tear out of here real quick," She peered up at Remington as she skidded in front of the wheel, "Really really quick!"
"On your mark, Captain." Remi said grimly, glancing at the skies... crap.... this was going to be rough....
"I hear ya," Stella called, snagging hold of the controls that powered the large glowing jewel that was their engine, and focused all her soul on it. "Just say when." The ship creaked as the crew manually forced the clamps from the ship and the second everyone was out of danger of falling over board, she gripped the wheel. "NOW" The engine surged, and Rosette flipped the ship so it groaned and pointed upwards, everyone having to hold on tight to not fall from their footholds, and shot up into the blank air above, where no one expected the ship to escape to.
A certain captain of a certain ship cursed under his breath as he watched it rocket out of range. "Damn…"
"Shiiiate..... There they go...."
"We goin after em?"
The platinum haired captain narrowed his eyes a bit, looking thoughtful. "Yes...but let us not be seen, if they can lead us to the Heart of the Astral Line and divert all the resistance, this will be much simpler then if we took it on board..."
"Heh....true." The cocky crewmember with a head of white spiked hair flashed his teeth and slipped down below to see the 'engineer'.
Back on the escaping ship, Remi hung onto the rail as the ship rocketed forward, streaks of light coming out from behind it as they surged forward towards the dark horizon beyond. Few ships could ever catch them,... if they could break through without a firefight.....
A few flaming shots rocketed past them, just grazing and sparking up that gold pattern from the wood as it heated it up. "Come on Come on..." Rosette growled lightly as they kept coming straight up, pushing higher and higher away from the airdocks and the cannon fire before the sails sparked and glowed sharply, and the ship slammed back down horizontal, catching the shot of astral nebula that she had been aiming for and rocked away in a blink of golden light. Clambering back over the tilted deck, Remi stood on the back deck watching their rear, feet braced against one of the masts. "Looks clear. No one seems to be pursuing."
The young girl sighed, leaning all her weight on the wheel with a relieved whimper. "Damn it..." She WAS going to ask each of the crew if they wanted to do this, but now...they had no choice in the matter. "So much for a relaxed trip..."
Remi slid into the poop deck with her and glanced her way, as the ship rocketed towards the nebula. "Well...next time we'll know to open it away from everyone else."
She nodded, biting her lip as her eyes flickered over to the cabin and took a step away from the wheel, placing a warm hand on her first mate's arm, "Take the wheel, I'm going to check on Chrno."
He grabbed it and glanced back at her. "Eh? What happened to him?" He completely had missed that whole situation due to the crisis.
"He fainted!" She called as she ducked below deck.
"Fainted..?" Remi called, then muttered under his breath as she vanished.
Rosette slipped into her room silently to sit down next to the young boy. "Damn... What did that do to you?" She ran a hand through his hair lightly with a frown. Chrno groaned a little, his head moving as she joined him, and his eyes flickered open part-way.
She frowned at that, leaning close to check his heart rate and breathing before sighing again, looking concerned. "Damn...this is no good....there has to be something on you somewhere..." She began to unbutton his shirt, oblivious of the half wakeful state he was in.
He blinked a little more, not really sure what was going on, but the moment she pulled his shirt open, he gasped a bit and woke up completely. "Wha… what?!"
"Wahh!" Thunk The girl fell off the bed backwards hitting her head on the wooden floorboards. "OUCH! You moron!" She sat up, a large bump sticking out from the red hair wrap as she twitched. "What was that for?!"
His eyes were wide, staring down at her startled, as he clutched his shirt to him, with a faint blush on his cheeks. The only noticeable thing that was different about him, was his eyes seemed a bit more slit, and he had cute fangs poking out. "Pervert!"
She blinked, pointing at her nose cutely as she went a bit cross-eyed and very small. "Me?" She seemed to realize what he meant and turned pink. "Wahh! No! You fainted and I..." She watched him curiously sitting on the floor much like a cat would, before sticking her butt out as she stood up enough to keep her hands on the floor and leaned closer to him. "Hey, is there any odd markings on your body Chrno?"
He turned bright red, and pulled back a little, staring at her open mouthed. "M...m...markings?" He glanced down at her confused, and rubbed the back of his neck scratching fiercely as he clutched his shirt closed. "I.... don't think so."
"Why do you keep scratching there, do you have lice?" She snagged his hand as she climbed back on the bed and half over him to get a look. "We don't need any of those damn nebulice on this ship, the men are dirty enou..." There...just in the right light, a small swirling glint of a intricate rune, before it disappeared under the slightest movement. The design was indeed intricate. Six runes surrounding a circle with intricate writing around it, and in the center a large rune. All over, it was black, except for one of the runes, that had brightened and lit up in gold.
He yelped a little bit, and held still, though struggled as she held him over her knees. "A...ack!!!"
She pressed one finger to it, running the digit across the tiny hairs that broke through it, looking puzzled. Six...and one...had they opened that one lock by opening the pocket watch? He shivered at the touch, trying to crane his neck to see what she was doing, still blushing furiously. "Waddayathinkyourdoing!?."
She sat him up, her hand still resting lightly on the back of his neck as she looked deep into his eyes curiously. "Mnn..." She inched just a bit closer, "Chrno…Do you remember anything from before your old master found you?"
He blinked, peering up at her with wide eyes. "Um...n...no. Not really...."
She ran her nail around the mark slowly, before flicking her eyes out the window. No doubt people were pursuing, she could sense it. No way to open the pocket watch without giving them a pin point on where they were. "Chrno. We're going to see the Elder." She stood up, looking for the first time to him like an actual Capitan rather then a little girl in an odd outfit, and turned her blue depths on him. "Lets go."
He gulped, but stood up, looking confused and lost, but pulled his shirt shut and glanced around, realizing for the first time he was in her cabin. "Uh...okay?"
She gave him a more reassuring smile and took hold of his hand lightly, and pulled him down to the Elder's workshop, mind a swirling. When she had picked him up, she never would have believed that any of this would have stemmed off of it. God she was excited, the adventurer's blood was boiling madly at the idea of a quest.
Chrno gulped as they made their way down, but stumbled after her "What's going on? Did I fall asleep or something?"
"Yeah, you fainted, when we opened up this." She snagged the watch and dangled it in front of his face. "Recognize it?"
He squinted at it, staring and blinked once. It ....was familiar.... "Um......kind of....."
"ELDER!"
The elder came a hobbling into the room, blinking at the two of them. "What's this Captain, all this ruckus, almost destroyed all this poor hopeless man's prized beauties!!" He wailed a bit, holding up a broken stick. Chrno stumbled to a halt beside her gasping a little, and looked around at the engine room, then over at her, still puzzled. That clock...where had he seen it before....
"Oh shut it old man. I have a project for you." She whirled Chrno around over her knee, and pulled up his hair to show the marking, allowing the elder to peer at it almost amazed.
"Well well well..."
"Eh....?" Chrno gasped again as he was projected to being examined. "What? What is it!?"
"A sealing rune..." The elder stroked his fuzz lightly, his goggles glittering. "Hmn now hmn..." He put a tip of a gold metal prod to the glowing dot, wondering what would happen.
The rune sizzled and Chrno yelped a bit, tensing, and squeezing his eyes shut. It felt like electricity was surging down his back.... dear god what were they doing to him!? He grit his teeth, and was surprised to find sharp pointed objects there that quickly cut his lip... and his fists that were balled up felt pain suddenly and blood trickled down them as he felt something sharp pierce his palm.
Rosette jumped along with him, pulling the boy back slightly with an almost abused look towards the elder. "Chrno! You ok?" She asked quickly, lifting him up to his feet, and pulled his hands...no...talons...back, looking at the blood in shock. "I think this is enough for now Elder.." Chrno was shivering, looking a bit dazed, and didn't seem to even notice the blood on his hands, but even as she held them, the gashes in his hands began to heal over, until nothing was there, aside from bloody claws.
"Aw, but Captain!" The elder complained, prodding a few more times with a purpose. "We could short circuit the seal maybe..." Chrno shuddered each time he prodded the seal, and a whimper escaped his lips as he knelt there, his vision dancing, as a flash of something vibrant, and very intense flicked across his memories.
"But, what if you break something in there?" Rosette prompted, but didn't stop him, worry flashing over her at every shutter the boy made.
"Ah I can fix what ever I do."
"Really, then where's that toaster I gave you last year...?"
"Eheheh! That old thing? The one I said I'd fix. Its somewhere.."
Chrno's eyes squelched shut, their voices beginning to almost ring in his ears. "Please...." He whispered faintly, voice shaking clearly. "Stop.... you're hurting me..." Even that seemed to take forever to force out, his ears were filling with a loud drumming sound, and he realized it was his heart, pounding hard and fast as if he'd just run a marathon....
Rosette narrowed her eyes and swatted away the Elder's hand, giving him an accusing glare. "See! I told you!" She hugged the poor boy protectively as the old man just shrugged. "Sorry Chrno. We won't do it again."
He shivered and let out a slow breath as the pressure was taken off, and the feeling of electricity ebbed out of him, and he felt just drained suddenly. His hands shakily came up to hold close to her, the claws fading rapidly in a few minutes, as his breath began to slow from it's fevered pace. She held him softly as the elder sighed and turned around. "I'll ponder it for you Captain. Maybe there is a different way to get it off..."
She nodded and bit her lip a bit. This was not the time to be here cuddling the boy, after all, she had the crew to mind. "Come on Chrno, lets get you to bed.." He nodded shakily, standing up, and throwing a frightened glance at the Elder, since he thought that the old man had done something to him… like hell was he going to be HIS apprentice after that. She tugged him along before setting him down in his bed and tucking him in. "Just sleep for now, ok? You've been through a rough night."
He just looked up at her, eyes flickering a little bit. "What did he do to me...?" He murmured quietly, sitting up but still fixing her with an almost intent look. "And why.... I didn't do anything to him...why did he have to do that...?" He blanched and looked ill suddenly. "Why did he show me that..."
"Show you?" She blinked, pursing her lips. "Chrno, you don't remember anything because you are 'sealed', he was trying to break it. He wasn't trying to hurt you... What did you see?"
He blinked at her, confusion passing over his face. "Sealed? What are you talking about...? I saw something that...." He shuddered and looked distant. "It was like a nightmare.... hideous monsters."
She cuddled the young boy like she used to do to her brother when he had a nightmare. Maybe that's why she felt so attached to Chrno, he reminded her so much of Joshua. "Don't worry, he wont do that again."
He sighed again, shivering a bit, but mind filled with questions now. What did she mean 'sealed' ....? Why had he seen that...? What was going on....?
There was a thunking on the door and Rosette jumped a bit, before giving Chrno a soft smile. "We'll talk about this tomorrow, over breakfast, k? I have a ship to run."
He nodded slowly, but still looked severely shaken, and just wrapped his arms around his legs, pulling them up close. "S…sure."
She frowned a bit, really not wanting to leave him, before standing and giving him a swift peck on the forehead, that had always reassured Joshua when he had woken up in the middle of the night with terrors, and set him back in the bed. "Sleep. This ship is nightmare proof." She assured him, patting his head before heading out.
He just watched her go, lowering his gaze a bit. He knew she was trying to be re-assuring but... he WAS 14 going on 15 now..... wait... was that right...? Well it had to be right.... He just pulled his legs closer to him and stared out the window. He knew he wouldn't sleep well...if at all...there was just too much on his mind..... and all of it confused scrambles.....
---------------------
"Captain? We've successfully dropped out of radar sight and there seems to be no ship visible on the horizon." Remi announced in a rather bored tone early the next morning. The poor girl had just gone to sleep about an hour earlier, after spending the entire night talking with the crew personally about the clock and quest, while, periodically, went to the wheel and her room to check the radar. She was exhausted, and announced this with a pillow slamming into the door. His head poked in curiously, and eyed the pillow at the foot of it, raising an eyebrow. She'd wanted to move out of radar range, he could only assume because she wanted to try the 'map' in the clock again. "Captain, are you going to sleep all morning?"
She moaned a bit, before sitting up, amazingly, without the red cloth wound about it, her blonde hair sticking up oddly as it for once since Remington had met her, was out of any ties. Restless night it was. "No...I'm gettin' up..."
He just smiled over at her fondly and winked, shutting the door gently. Ah, she was so lovely first thing in the morning.... He exited the quarters and arrived on deck, glancing around, and blinking at the sight of the small boy huddled against the back of the bow. Interesting.... she'd told him something of what had happened, and honestly... he wasn't sure that 'forcing' the seal open was a good idea.... there had to be a reason he was sealed.
Rosette took a much needed bath, before slowly, as if she really didn't want to greet the day, got dressed, putting her hair up in the customary half-up side ponytail along with the few beaded braids, and then took out the long red cloth, quickly wrapping it and knotting it on her head, followed, more quickly, by the rest of her clothes. She looked at the clock and grinned a bit, slipping it about her neck heavily as she stepped out into the light, stretching and putting on her 'invincible' act. Ah a new day.
"Glad to see you join us." Came a soft voice from behind her, teasingly.
She jumped a bit, her hair standing on end as she whipped around with her gun, before giving him a slightly annoyed look and slipped it back into its holster. "You're gonna get shot one of these days."
"Ah, but you would never shoot me, Captain." Remi said with a smirk, sliding down beside her from where he'd been lounging on the half-deck above. "You've never done it yet."
She just gave him a coy smile, poking him in the chest. "Watch out, the way you've been behaving, I might just have to shoot you on purpose." Since when had their flirting began?
He laughed lightly at that, brushing his bandanna a bit farther back off his head, golden hair catching in the morning light and glinting like a halo about his head. "Me? Why you wouldn't shoot your best man."
She shrugged, blushing lightly at his absolutely drop dead handsome features, not to mention his voice, and the way he smiled....GET YOUR MIND ON STRAIGHT GIRL! "I could find a new best man!"
"Ah, I'm hurt!" He protested with feigned shock.
She laughed, unable to keep a straight face. "Ah...Ah...Sorry!" She laughed before putting her hands up together pleadingly. "How can I make it up to you?" Her eyes danced mischievously.
"Well...." He mused, putting a hand thoughtfully to his chin, rubbing it, one hand on his hips. "I can think of a few things...."
She laughed, before turning around. "You have five seconds to make up your mind or else your out of luck." She waved her hand a bit. "Five...." dropped one finger. "Four.."
He laughed and leaned forward towards her, eyes dancing "Very well then......."
She blinked, leaning back away from him slightly, just enough so that he couldn't reach. "Two..." She waved the peace sign.
Chrno on the other hand... hadn't slept all night either... and it showed. His eyes were a bit puffy, and he looked tired, but yet he just couldn't sleep. He was presently perched on the very front of the bow, right over the pointed mast that extended over the edge, back against the secondary mast, as comfortable as you please... which was odd considering how afraid of heights he'd been before, and he was sitting above nothing else but air beneath the mast rigging.
Stella peered up at the boy, stretching her legs out on the deck now that they had dropped off the radar. "Hey! Chrno! What are you doing all the way up there!"
The boy blinked a little as he heard his name, and glanced over his shoulder, back at the woman who was so...obviously flaunting what she had... well at least she wasn't hugging him smotheringly. "Um...thinking." He replied softy, barely audible over the wind creaking through the ropes.
She leaned forward, slowly making her way up to where he was with her high heels, looking nervously at the height. "About what pray tell?"
He looked back down at his knees which he was holding to his chest. "About...everything." He replied rather evasively. He honestly didn't want to tell her...it was something that had scared him badly....
She sighed and sat down next to him, before squeezing him to her chest. "Aww don't be like that! Tell me! I can keep a secret." squishjiggle
"AAHHH!" He yelped, face squishing right in that special place between them. He flailed wildly. Oh god no....not that! Anything but that! He might just start hating women if this kept up!
She finally let him go once his screams became unbearable. "Geeze. What was that for?" She pouted cutely, pushing his nose lightly with her pointer finger.
He skittered back away from her, eyes wide and spooked. "Just...stay back..." He scooted farther out along the thin wood pole jutting over the edge of the ship, trying desperately to get away from her. These people are NUTS....!
She pouted some more. "Very well.. I get it. The Captain's more your type, eh? Why does she get all the cute ones?" She sighed and stepped back blowing him a kiss. "If you ever change your mind"
He just stared back at her, his cheeks turning a bit pink, as he sat there, one hand on a rope to the side, the other on the wood beneath his feet. "O..ok." He really had nothing more to add to that... ugh.... he wanted to go home....His eyes filtered over to the side just in time to see what the said Captain was up to.
Remi just smiled, dancing about with her as she skirted away from him, then suddenly snatched her hand that was giving him the peace sign, and smooched it lightly.
Rosette laughed, overcome by his silliness, blushing just as much as if he had kissed her on the lips. "Ok, ok. You got me." She waved at him as she tried to catch hold of her laughter. "Come on. We have more important business then this don't we? Where is Chrno?"
He laughed and glanced around, then nodded over at the bow. "He's there. Apparently contemplating whether to fly or not, considering that the boy was terrified of it yesterday...."
She nodded, still giggling soundly as she patted his arm. "I'm gonna get him, meet me at the Elder's."
"Very well." He raised an eyebrow, but slipped down below.
She snickered as she wiped the tears from her eyes and made her way to Chrno. "HEY YOU!" The startled boy looked up, blinking at her, and glancing around briefly as if there was someone else by that name, before pointing at himself with a finger. "Yeah you! Don't dally while your Captain's calling you!" She said in a false air of anger setting her hands on her hips, the sailors closest trying to contain their laughter.
He yelped a little, not familiar with when she was joking or not, and quickly scrambled towards her, almost as if he were at home on the rigging, and landed at her feet, head bowed a bit, cheeks red. "Sorry."
She just smiled, closing her eyes amiably as she patted his head once or twice. "That's alright." She gave him an odd look as she opened one eye, before shrugging it off and motioning for him to follow. "Pretty good at those riggings you are. Sure you've never been on a ship before?"
He blinked up at her with that little lost look of confusion, eyes wide, and staring back at her with curiosity. "Yes... never... why?"
"Ah no reason!" She waved her hand at him, smiling sweetly before blinking once or twice at the sight of the old man on deck. Wow. He almost never came out of his lab..."Eh? Elder?"
"Hello Capitan!" He waved at her cheerfully, intent devious. "I came to tell you, as I told Remington, that it's best to open the watch up here, rather then down there..." Hah! Caught her off guard, literally! squishsquish
"AAHHHGGHHH!!" KARUNCH
Chrno blinked and backed off from the old man, eyes sparking some fear at seeing him… especially after what he did to Rosette. "Ah! Rosette!" He took a few steps forward, but...
"Best leave her to pound him herself." Remi warned with a playful grin. "Otherwise she'll stomp you too."
"Stupid! Disgusting! perverted! Old! Greasy! Slime ball of a fogy!! Why the HELL DID I RESCUE YOU AT ALL!!!" BOOMBASHCLAMP
"Because you wouldn't be able to find anyone better!!" He popped up, looking as if he was ok despite the major bruises and the missing tooth. Off to the side, coins were being passed around by the men, as they took bets on just who would be victorious, and what blows were going to reign in.
Remi just shook his head smiling watching the two. "Ah... daily amusement...."
Finally Rosette backed off, panting and her bandana falling over one eye. "Oh your lucky that I don't want to leave a trail behind me or I'd toss you over board.." She grumbled, trying to fix the wrap.
The elder danced behind Chrno, putting his hands on his shoulder. "Chrno, my boy! Protect your master!"
Chrno tensed and looked back at him with wide eyes, not liking how close the old geezer was, but too confused to move.
Remi chuckled and sidled up to stand beside his captain, eyeing the boy curiously. "And just how far are you going to keep the clock open today? Should I ready my men just in case...." He trailed off meaningfully.
She looked up at him with those guarded blue eyes. "Yeah. Put them on standby, but don't let them do anything unless it's on my order." He inclined his head at that and walked off to have a word with the men as such. She fingered the pocket watch, "Understand--CHRNO GET AWAY FROM THAT OLD PERVERT!!!" Chrno flinched, and looked at her with startled wide eyes and jerked back away from the old man, backing towards her.
"Capitan!" The elder wined, plopping down on a barrel to watch. "You are cruel and at the same time so cute!"
"Shut up Elder." Chrno cowered behind her with a faint shudder. Yeah...definitely nuts. She sighed a bit, and pulled off the watch, hearing faint murmuring from her crew. "Alright, everyone step back, this thing gives quite a kick." The crew obediently moved back, some with hands on weapons ready, glancing over at Remi as he stood solidly watching with a neutral look.
Chrno glanced over at her, blinking, and went to move back as well, not sure what was going on. She just gave him a reassuring smile before placing her bare hand on the knob, and pulled it open, gasping slightly as the warm golden light rushed out, through her hand and lit up the sky like a new born sun, the whisperings of alien text twining around her and slowly around the ship as she firmly kept the knob from clicking back in place. Chrno's head snapped back and he let out a small scream, as his body went rigid, and the deck beneath him lit up with a bright golden glow that matched the clock's, runes lighting up beneath him, as the golden light swirled around mystically, as an image began to form in the air before her that hadn't been there before... the first lock had been direction, the second was coordinates, as a map formed. Her eyes glowed with that faint gold glow, until the blue was matted out by the thin threads of sand coming off of the new born map, dissolving as it rushed into her, and even as the map was gone, the image seemed to burn itself into the minds of the crew, who blinked but couldn't get the sign off of their eyelids, before finally, the glow faded, and the captain collapsed with a thud. As the glow faded, the runes around Chrno began to fade, but not before his form seemed to lengthen just a small bit, and small changes appeared to his body, before he landed heavily on the deck, eyes rolled back, body twitching a little.
"Captain!" Remi surged forward, shoving the men aside as he knelt down beside her, lightly picking up her head and concern flashing over his features.
"Damn it.... "Elder!" Remi snapped. "Get her to the medical bay NOW. And get that blasted device...!" He scooped her up and started for her quarters.
The elder nodded swiftly, Snatching the device before going towards the bay, before remembering something and turning around to throw the now, less short, boy over his shoulder with a 'huff' and follow Remington, ignoring the uproar the crew was in. Chrno just sagged limply over the Elder's shoulder, his shorts and shirt just a few inches too short for him now, his face a little older, and his ears slightly longer, with a faint bit of fluff on the end. Remington slammed through the doors, and put her down on the medical bed, and quickly began checking her. Her breathing was erratic, but she didn't seem to be in pain.... that glow in her eyes was highly disturbing though, and he lifted the clock in his hand. He was tempted to destroy it.... He grabbed his nearest gun and lifted it, putting the clock flat down on the table. "If this is the only way to bring her back then..."
The Elder lay Chrno lightly out on a cot, before turning to Remington with worry in his eyes, pushing the gun away. "Don't be rash son! That would most likely hurt her more then help!"
He glanced over almost wildly. "You saw what it did to her! It's possessed her or something of the sort. We have to get her back!"
The young pirate girl didn't move, just lay limp in his arms, her eyes just slightly open but nothing but the dull gold glow within them. Within she was a lot more active, rushing through the universe at light speed, the alien whispers rushing by her as she froze at curtain moments to focus on a planet, or a sun, and then rush deep within a black hole, her body shivering violently as she reached the light. Within the intense light came a soft voice, singing a tune full of love and sorrow. Rosette stepped forward, squinting her eyes and shading them as she moved, the light dulling about a soft figure, barely visible despite how close she was. "Who...are you...The Maiden of the Line...?"
The singing came to a halt and the figure turned around, soft blonde white hair flowing about her in waves, her green eyes sad. "That is I..."
She cocked her head to the side, for some reason, not surprised by her reaction. "So the heart of the line exists then?"
"Yes.."
"And what I just saw...that is the way to it?"
"Yes..."
"Why are you helping me? Don't you know that I'm a pirate? I'm going to loot the place you know."
"Yes I know, But.."
"But?"
"But...you helped him...my love...And so I must express my gratitude." She gave her a sad little smile, placing her hands in her lap. "And...you'll bring him back to me?"
"Him...? You mean Chrno?" She took another step forward, but it seemed like the maiden was moving away faster then she was progressing...until she realized that it was SHE who was moving backwards, the light was growing brighter, like it had been when she had first entered.
"Please...bring him back...my love...my only...Chrno..."
FLASH
Things seemed to go back in rewind faster then she could almost understand, the words that had followed her there going backwards, becoming understandable. "When you see the golden tree, take a wise word from me, do not continue until you find, the golden apple of this time. For the last step of the trip, take a nice refreshing dip, within the springs you will find. The final piece of this rhyme...." Slowly, the girl's eyes opened, the gold draining like tears of sand from her eyes.
Remi blinked, but held her closer, peering down at her, concern and worry on his face. "Rosette?" He touched her cheek lightly. "Are you ok...?"
She looked at him with almost a confused look, like she didn't recognize him, before she turned her eyes over to the prone boy. "Chrno.."
BANGBANGBANG The crew was nearly ready to tear down the door to find out what had happened to their captain.
Remi's eyes darted over, narrowing slightly at the boy who lay there pale faced on the bed. What about him.... He nearly did a double take. He looked different. The elder moved the clingy first mate out of the way, actually acting like a worried grandfather rather then the pervert he was normally, taking check of her heart rate and then her temperature, followed by her blood pressure. "Dear dear, blood pressure extremely low, heart rate just as slow, temperature low… what happened...?" He scratched his brow worriedly, before taking the same tests on the boy, getting the same result, although they were a bit skewed due to his demonic origins. "Remington, get her up and walking, that should clear her mind I hope." The elder moved the boy, swiftly sitting him up and rubbing on his legs and arms to increase the blood flow. "Come now boy..."
Remi nodded once, and slowly helped her up, supporting her by wrapping his arms around her waist . "Up we go..." She let him do as he pleased, her feet shaky on the floor as she leaned against him, eyes half lidded.
It took a quite a bit, an agonizing wait for one who was terrified for her health, before she seemed to recognize where she was. "Ah...What...?" She looked up at the man who was holding her, dazed and confused. "What happened?" Things were such a blur.
"You passed out... in a strange way." His voice was soft and soothing, obviously concerned for her, as he peered down intently, trying to determine if she really was ok or not.
She peered at him a bit more, before looking down at the clock on the table. "Ah yes...I remember now.." She almost passed out again from the lack of movement. Soul traveling through trillions of light years of space in five minutes takes a lot out of you.
He set her down lightly on the bed again, kneeling down beside her, peering up with a frown. "What happened....?"
Chrno's head lolled to the side for a little bit, then slowly his eyelids flickered as the Elder moved him more, until they opened halfway, a bright gold color now. "How are you feeling Chrno?" The elder peered at the gold tone of the boys eyes, before forcing him on his feet and making him walk rings around the room while he pestered him with health questions. "Can you see straight, how is your mouth? Dry?..."
Chrno was still obviously in a daze, and went through the motions that the elder put him through as if he were half-asleep and answered him in the same manner. "Uh...."
Though the banging on the door was growing louder, along with the crews unrest, Rosette acted as if everything was muffled, her eyes half lidded as she looked down at him, her lips parted a bit as if she was about to speak, but never started to. Finally, agonizing minutes later, she said something. "I know how to get to the heart of the line..." She repeated the rhyme monotonously, eyes flickering with the gold specks that still resided within, "Go towards Apostle territory... that's the path we must take.."
He blinked. "Within the line? Why on earth would we....?" He glanced down at the device then up at her, and frowned. "You're not thinking straight…if we go through Apostle territory.... especially with him..." His eyes flickered over to the boy who was looking about the same age as she was, and a good foot taller than the captain now. "We'll be shot down."
"We can skirt their forces if we go through the swamp planets." She tried to lock eyes with him, obviously coming a bit more to her senses. "Our weapons will work better on those monsters then on the apostle bastards..."
He frowned but didn't push it. If she wanted to do that, it was of course her choice... but right now she seemed out of it, so he'd wait until she was a bit more coherent to reason with her. "Aye, ma'm."
"Come, come, my boy. Concentrate...on something...the Captain! What color are her eyes boy, answer me?" The elder prodded, trying to pull him out of his trance.
Chrno blinked slowly, as if trying to drudge through his mind to pull up the memories that were still there, if foggy. "Um.....blue...."
"Good, now my goggles?" He asked, glad to have a response from him. He seemed to be getting better as he spoke.
His eyes seemed to focus, with great difficulty and stare directly at the Elder, eyes squinting. "Um.....sil....ver?"
The elder patted the boy's head, rubbing his shoulders warmly to keep the blood flowing. "Yuan. Lets take them up deck, keeping them still won't help them."
Remi frowned, watching the progress and spoke quietly. "Perhaps we should try to jerry-rig the seal like you suggested, so we can see what we're getting ourselves into. As Officer of the Arms, I'm obligated to investigate any threat...."
Rosette lifted her dazed gaze up at him, looking worried. "No. I told him that he wouldn't do it agai--"
The elder cut her off. "No worries Captain, I've figured out a way to maybe short circuit the seal, if not for a little while, but I doubt it will stay off for very long." He pulled out a red bandana, that had three metal studs in it, and slipped it on the boy's forehead, pressing a matching stud on the back of the boy's neck, right where the seal was centered. A faint flash of confusion passed over Chrno's face as he felt something tie to his head and he glanced back over his shoulder, trying to see what the Elder was doing.
"Wait, shouldn't we wait and do this upstairs?" Remi suggested.
"Uhn, your probably right." He ushered the boy up the stairs to the door while chattering along. "Be careful Yuan my boy, keep a good hold on her, because the second I open this door, half the crew will be in this room and the other half will be trying to get in." He winked at him.
Yuan sighed and shook his head, but pulled Rosette up into a supportive hold. "Chin up now or they'll mob us." He semi-joked, though it was serious, and opened the door standing tall and firm. "Easy men, the captains' fine. Just got a bump on the noggin'."
They all looked at her nervously, calling questions and reassurances as the small blonde gave them a nice smile. "I'm fine. Everyone get back to their posts, what are you doing leaving us unprotected. I'm ashamed." She closed one eye at them, masking her exhaustion with a false haughty voice, to which they all brightened and slapped at each other in fake aggravation, giving her a smile or a pat as they went off, but not without a bit of hesitance.
Yuan sighed, shaking his head, but helped her up the stairs, still supporting her. "I think we should be more careful from now on..."
The more minutes passed, the more coherent Chrno became, and he glanced around as the Elder guided him up, wondering why his perspective seemed so odd...everything was shorter.
"Come now." The elder, brought the boy to middle deck, placing him as if wanting him to stay firm, and then backed up to where Rosette and Yuan stood. "Alright my boy, this might pinch."
He blinked over at them, and for the first time looked concerned and alarmed. "Wait…what are you going to do...? " His hands shot up to the headband as if he was going to take it off.
Yuan kept a firm hold on his holy gun off t the side, but stepped aside, watching with an arm around Rosette. The Captain seemed just as alarmed, pushing against her first mate's strong hold as she tried to stop the old man. "Wait Elder! I don't know if this is a good idea-" But it was to late, as a wrinkled finger twisted a clockwork knob on a gold cuff, which glowed bright gold.
Chrno gave a startled cry, and his hands intensified over his head, but this time grasping it as if in pain, as his head snapped back. There was a small explosion around him, that was contained to only a few feet off, bright golden light encircling him in a rippling shield of some sort, so blinding it did all but hide his form from view, as he fell to his knees, gripping his head. Yuan's hand came up, blocking the brilliant light from his eyes. "Holy..."
"Chrno!" Rosette cried out, worried desperately for her new friend, and tried to worm her way out of Remington's arm to get to him. "ELDER STOP!"
But Remi held her close. "Stay put, Captain! If you touch that then..." He was cut off abruptly.
KaBAM!
A sonic explosion seemed to ripple out, blinding in light, like a corona around him, as the shield exploded outwards.... and the figure within was like a distant shadow of the Chrno they had known. He was kneeling on one knee, one arm draped across the one that was up, head bowed a bit. He wore a very fine tight leather outfit, that showed every crease in his body it as the fabric wrinkled, sturdy black boots with silver clasps on his feet, and a tight plain black shirt underneath an open matching fitted jacket. Dark wings were folded behind him, along with a sweeping pale bone-like tail falling down his back. Two ivory horns curved away from short purple hair that blew lightly around his face, long tufted ears sticking out from the side of his head, and curved talons adorning his hands where silver and black bracers were latched beneath the jacket.
The young Captain stared, eyes wide with shock as suddenly, she didn't feel so old anymore, watching the energy die down around the handsome man. "Chrno...?"
"Wooo dooggy....that's a change.." The elder muttered.
Yuan stared open mouthed. Where had he seen him before...?
Slowly, the demon's head rose, his face calm and almost tranquil, as his eyes opened slowly, blinking once, before lifting his gaze to meet Rosette's, a calm center that the Chrno she knew had never possessed.
She slowly tried to pry herself free again, seeing no harm in being allowed forward now that he had been transformed, blue eyes wide and set on his face. "Hey. Are you ok?" Remi's grip on her had loosened a bit, more out of surprise than anything, and she was able to sleep free easily.
His eyes scanned her face, and a very faint frown crossed it, as he studied her, before he finally spoke, voice soft and mellow. "I am. Albeit a little confused I must admit." His gaze swept the ship, passing over the men who were all staring, bristling a bit at things they had no idea about. "How on earth did I end up on a pirate ship...?"
She looked at him strangely, before pursing her lip, and pushed her fingers into her hair as she stepped forward, peering up at him. "We saved you, from a ship...but...you were a lot shorter then...you don't remember?"
He peered up at her, genuine confusion in his eyes, then followed by dim recognition. "Ah... I see..." he sighed faintly, and lifted his fingertips to the back of his neck, slipping beneath the joint of the tail there and touching the rune and the bolt there. "I was sealed wasn't I...?"
She nodded, giving him a sheepish smile. "Ah yes..." She gave him a quizzical look, before dismissing it. "There's a TON of questions I've wanted to ask you..."
He blinked up at her, and a faint smile crossed his face. "I'm sure... however." His eyes darted down to the faint throbbing rune on the deck beneath him. "You have not broken the seal...merely loosened it, right? You'll have to ask them quickly...it can't be kept open for very long."
She blinked, opening her mouth, before closing it and looking absolutely adorable in her confusion. Finally, after a few cute seconds of indecision she looked up at him brightly. "How do you know the Maiden of the Line?"
A rather pained expression crossed his face, and his eyes flickered down. "You had to ask that first...." He sighed faintly but then lifted his eyes and regarded her with a sad look. "I met her before I knew what she was... and became...close to her as a result."
She bit her lip, looking truly sorry. "Sorry...ah...on a better note..." She smiled fondly. "Have you ever been on a ship before?" She really wanted to know everything, "Oh, or on a airboard? you were so good at it for a beginner, and, AH! What do you want for your initiation present!"
He blinked at her with an oddly amused look. "On a ship? Yes of course.... an airboard...?" He actually laughed at that, his smile widening. "You could say that... and... initiation present? What exactly do you mean?"
She shifted a bit, "I don't know if demon's have birthdays...so initiation onto the ship, will you remember this when you are sealed again? Probably not huh? Um..." She blushed cutely, "What do you want?" Great, she was babbling again.
He blinked a little. "Demons do have days which they were born, but they don't celebrate them like humans do." He explained, looking highly amused at her behavior. "So I would have no idea what would be appropriate.... perhaps you can ask my other self... as to your question, no... part of the sealing process seals memories as well as powers and experiences. He will remember nothing of this... and I nothing of him until and if you manage to reverse the seal... not break it, but reverse it."
"Reverse?" She blinked, biting her lip. "How?"
His eyes found the clock and he pointed a finger lightly. "You must release each seal point one by one. If you try to do more than one, you could permanently kill him, or do severe damage.. if you were to simply break the seal, he would be destroyed, and only I would survive... if you want him and I to both become one in the end, you must allow him to become accustomed to it gradually, in that way."
She nodded lightly, before kneeling down in front of him so that they were eye level. "I'll fix this, I give you my word."
He smiled lightly at her and reached out a hand, putting it over hers. "It's not a rush... to me, it's timelessness when I am sealed... and honestly there is more floating around that I would prefer to avoid all together...." He hesitated, as if having said too much, but then the rune beneath him pulsed once, and began to fluctuate. "Ah.." He reached into his pocket quickly. "Out of time... here... take this.." He slid a small case into her hand, that rattled a bit. "It should help answer any other questions you might..." The whole rune fluxed again, and it was blinding around him as light seemed to suck into him, and then it was over, and the younger version of himself began to pitch forward, eyes rolled back in his head, and face deathly pale, a bit of blood trickling down his nose.
She squeaked and caught him, watching as the elder sealed the cuff tight, making sure that the pressure the bolt gave on it wouldn't break open again. "Chrno! Chrno!"
He was shivering in her arms, breath unsteadily gasping in and out, as if he was having trouble breathing, but at the same time, breathing too much. His eyes tried to open, half in between looking at her, and rolling back. "R...r...rose...ette...."
She pressed her hand to his forehead lightly, before realizing that she was no longer big enough to lift the poor boy up and carry him, instead she just held him, before pressing a brief kiss to his forehead. "Shhh...its ok...Shh..." She gave Remington a plaintive look. "Help?"
Remi had remained silent through it all, but as she asked his help, moved forward and scooped him up into his arms, and shook his head. "I'll take him down below."
She nodded lightly, before biting her lip and looking at the container in her hand. "Thanks Yuan..." What had she gotten herself into...?