Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, but I own this story. Hands off.
Author's help/note: This story doesn't follow the manga or anime in any way. This is an AU (alternate universe) story, meaning this came straight from my imagination, so don't complain if you don't understand it. Just say so in a review and I'll put up a key…yeah…you'll probably need it. Here's chapter 2, enjoy but don't forget to review! THANK YOU FOR ALL THOSE WHO SAID IT WAS GOOD! I especially want to thank my #1 reviewer who said it was beautiful and non-confusing…it meant a lot, thanks Chronoskitty. IT REALLY PROVED MY FRIENDS AND DOVE2 WRONG!! THANKS MY #1 REVIEWER, LOVE YOU ALWAYS!!
Chapter 2 TroubleThe next morning was calm and quiet. No sound echoed down the halls except for the angry footsteps of Rosette as she stomped down the stony halls in silence, if you want to call it that. She had some words for the pervert, and for the sickly demon, and it was all thought out too. His words had kept her up all night tossing and turning, trying to understand what he had said. Most sadly, his pounding and words would have to wait; she had been ordered to Sister Kate's office, for what she guessed was probably a questioning.
She knocked on the door, not really in the mood to see the head Sister at the moment given the circumstances and all.
"Come in." A voice called cheerfully from within the room, so she opened it and stepped in. "Ah, Sister Rosette. I have been expecting you; please sit." Sister Kate said gently, motioning to the well-known puffy armchair in front of her desk. Rosette walked over and sat down.
"I'm sure you've heard what people have been saying about Chrono." Rosette nodded. "Then if it's true, please tell us what's really wrong with him. You should hear the latest rumors, saying he was bitten by Dracula and that he has to leave because he's a vampire now…anyway, tell what you know." She said, pushing her glasses up her nose and fixing Rosette with an expectant look.
"He says he's gonna die soon, and that his puppy is supposed to be a guide…and it's able to tell how much time he has left." Rosette said shortly, not really wanting to discuss it at the moment. "And that the puppy is white because he's pure." She added lamely. Sister Kate nodded as she leaned back in her chair, sighing as she thought about it quietly.
"I see. Perhaps he has found what ails him so?" Rosette shook her head. "Then we'll have to see what we can do for him. Now, I'm sure you have some questions for me." Rosette nodded in agreement.
"What does he mean about 'pure' demons?" She asked uncertainly, not sure if it was appropriate. Sister Kate sighed and leaned back in her chair, trying to recall exactly how it had been described to her when she was young.
"Records tell that 230 years ago, there were 12 demons born with pure souls…souls of angels. The Lord gave these 12 a gift never given to a demon before, and that was to be able to defy their demon blood and turn into angels instead, to be his servant and to go to Heaven. They were born demons without a choice in the matter, so He gave them the gift to break the devil's chains about them and return to him."
"Chrono is one of the very few that is left that has this gift and is still alive, or hasn't given it up; in simpler words, Chrono has a choice to be devil or angel, demon or saint, etc. When Pandemonia found out about this, she was furious and ordered their immediate execution."
"Some of the 12 were the strongest demons ever to exist, and their powers were greatly boosted by this gift, making them stronger. The one's that were given this gift and were found out to posses it were murdered on sight.Pandemonium was raging with anger and hatred, thus, anarchy erupted in search of the Special 12, those who possessed the gift of God."
"The demons had a choice to keep their gift or destroy it. On average, eight defied the gift to keep their lives and destroyed it, sealing their fate in hell. However, since the gift amplified their powers, they were no longer very powerful, thus, they were killed pretty fast. The rest that had chose to keep theirs' were sought out and killed…all but three."
She stopped for a while, struggling to remember what was forbidden to speak of for over 50 years. Though, it probably helped since Rosette was turning purple from holding her breath for so long due to surprise and suspense.
"Chrono wasn't very old when he was found to posses it; he fled into this realm after he unleashed his famous attack, the Time Freeze. 240 demons died that day because of that simple attack; they'd followed him into the element he does best in, the air, and it had cost them their lives. Even at his age, Chrono was probably the best flyer you could ever find because he had lots of practice fleeing from people at a fast rate; thus, he was very clever on how to avoid someone and to escape them fast, come the time."
"Chrono fled into this realm to escape the chaos and betrayal that was taking place in Pandemonium. He was so weak from being pursued for so long, however, that he couldn't even stand, let alone defend himself. That's when he met Aion."
Her grip tightened on her pen, squirting ink on the paper she had previously been working on, making Rosette stare.
"Aion helped Chrono to his feet, gave him some food, and helped him get his strength back…" She stopped, no longer wanting to tell the rest of the story as it didn't fit the question or her desire, plus Rosette had to find out from Chrono if he wanted her to know what happened next.
"What do you mean 'souls of angels'? Like, angel angels?" She nodded, making Rosette's mind swirl with that revelation. "What does he mean about the animals?" She asked, not really wanting to depend this heavily on the Sister, but she was out of alternative informants and was on her last twig. Plus Sister Kate seemed to know more than Rosette had previously thought, and she didn't seem to mind telling it either, and Rosette was all too happy to listen.
"When a demon turns '16', in our language, not really 16, but uncontrollable and rambunctious, party-ish, they are given something to protect them, since they are in their reckless teens, after all. You don't often see them because the demon normally kills the animal, though we don't know why. The demon can receive any animal, though they are never white; white symbolizes purity. Mostly they are black."
"When a demon is given a puppy, it means that something is killing them, like a sickness, poison, health problem, or enemy. The dog is given as a sign of protection, to help the dying demon in normally the last few days-weeks of their life. To protect, to heal, to help, to aid when necessary…yes, you get the point. It also acts as a relief, a friend in the last few moments and such, and it's able to tell exactly how much energy the demon has, depending on it's size. When it grows bigger, more life of the demon's has fled, and when it reaches it's full size…" She trailed off sadly, aware of how much this was hurting the young nun to hear this, and thus, couldn't bring herself to finish.
Rosette was shocked. What does this mean? That Chrono isn't entirely a demon…that his soul is an angel soul? Then…nah, she needed to go find him if she wanted to answer anymore questions, and she had many more of those.
"Thank you Sister Kate, but I think I need to go see Chrono for the rest of the questions." She said as she stood and made her way for the door.
"Oh, and Rosette?" Rosette turned. "Whatever happens, don't act too late…please…don't act too late, before time runs out and you can't…" Rosette blinked, but Sister Kate waved her off with an impatient hand.
As she made her way across the Order grounds, she thought about what she had been told. Chrono could be an angel or a demon…interesting. But why hadn't he told her? Maybe he didn't want her to know because…because what? Boy, he'd better have a good excuse for this one.
Rosette marched up to the Elder's house door and knocked on it loudly.
No answer.
She knocked again, louder this time and a lot harder. Without realizing it, she accidentally hit the small mailbox by the door and knocked a letter out of, but only noticed it as it's fluttering came to a stop on her foot. Curious, she reached down and opened it.
Dear Sister Kate, (Or Rosette),
This is the Elder here, & Chrono, and we just wanted to inform you that me and myassistant, Chrono, will be gone for the remainder of the day, and possibly
the night as well. We will be back tomorrow late tonight or
early morning (The later, of course). Whereabouts confined so
enemies can't track us down. (So you won't come after us.)
Our apologies, Elder &Chrono
Why that Elder…how dare he run off with Chrono like that without telling her! She sighed in irritation as she brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. At least Chrono had written down a part for her. His handwriting she could tell anywhere, it was tiny and neat…but sometimes it was too tiny to read.
"If he isn't here…then I guess my question's are gonna have to be put on hold." She said grumpily, folding her arms across her chest with a snort. She stared at the letter for a few more seconds, then turned and walked away with a final "Stupid Elder" mumbled under her breath.
1:30 am-
Everything was pitch black as she stumbled blindly through the darkness, hands outstretched in despair.
"CHRONO!" She screamed over and over into the darkness, only to have her cries echo through the black uselessly.
"Why won't you help me?" She cried again, starting to run, but, given that she couldn't see, she fell on her face painfully as tears flooded from her eyes.
"Chrono…please…" She whispered as she grudgingly stood up and walked heartlessly through the dark again, hoping to find someone to save her from the torturing darkness. Walking through the never-ending blackness, calling out his name piteously until her throat began to hurt, though she didn't stop. Though, no one came to her aid, and she fell to her knees in defeat.
Just as she began to lose hope of ever seeing anyone ever again, a light shot through the black wall, revealing a blurry image that was too muddled together to understand. Curious, she got up and moved towards it. As she got closer, the images began to take form and move in a pattern of some sort.
Chrono, she saw as she got closer still, was apparently doing a complicated dance with someone…
'What?!' She thought, squinting as she tried to make out what was happening. 'Wait…no, he's fighting someone,' she realized absently…'but why?'
Chrono swiped his claws at the figure, making it back up and wipe a spill of blood from its cheek in shock. But suddenly, Chrono looked down to the ground and Rosette followed his gaze; she saw herself there, waving to him from the ground as she smiled. He smiled back, and was about to go to her when the demon attacked again.
Chrono dodged the vicious attack in time, but didn't fold his wing fast enough as he spun from the clawed hand and had it snagged by a rough talon that drove through it, cutting the delicate membrane with unreal precision. It wasn't finished torturing his bloody wing, however, and it grabbed a hold of it and quickly latched a thin chain connected to its arm through one of the slender bones that ran through the tough aileron.
Chrono yelled in pain, but ripped the small metal links out of his wing bone with a slight tug and flinch, then was off again after his opponent. He grabbed the things' arm and dug his own claws into it, efficiently rending the arm's muscles apart and disabling use in the near future. The figure howled in pain, but grabbed Chrono's wing again and pulled strongly, causing more blood to run off the thin membrane that was clutched in its hand menacingly.
A loud crack resounded through the air, and suddenly Chrono was falling towards the ground, eyes shut in pain; the thing laughed, then turned wing and plummeted after him, intent on more abuse to it's victim. Chrono yelled in agony as his wing struggled to break open, but the bone was shattered and would take much longer than that to repair the ethereal aileron bones.
The thing caught the falling Sinner and, before Rosette could look away, plunged its hand through his heart with a bloodcurdling yell of pain from its prey. Chrono fought a little as his blood ran down the demon's arm, but eventually the inevitable would happen…and it did. His body went limp after a few torturing seconds and the demon dropped him, leaving him sailing to the ground as blood fell after him like a cruel crimson rain…
Rosette screamed as she clutched her blankets tightly, breathing hard. Was that real? Surely not…the watch was closed tight, and if he was fighting…she'd hear his power for sure in the silent night air. She sighed, rolling out of her sweaty bed, and walked over to the cool window, treasuring the cold wind that blew through to cool her off. She had to put her worries to rest, and there was only one way to do that. She turned, grabbed her robe, and headed out the door.
As she made her way across the cold dew-covered grass, she thought about what she had seen. Chrono had been fighting something that she assumed it was a demon, and it had won…but how? Who was it? Chrono could move faster than that, so why did he act so slowly in that dream thingy?
She gasped as the wind sprung up around her feet, startling her, but she calmed down when she realized that it was only a small breeze. She could see the golden glow of light ahead her, and hurried; it was getting colder by the minute.
At the house, she paused. What would she say? 'Sorry to bother you at this time of night, but I had a nightmare and Chrono was in it, so I got a little scared.' No, absolutely not; that made her sound like a child that had a bad dream…well, it had been bad, but that's not the point. She raised her hand to knock, but before she could-
"Rosette?" Chrono said, rubbing his eyes as he opened the door, surprise on his face as he stared at her nervous one. She froze. How did he know she was here? He laughed slightly, apparently aware of what she had thought. "I was checking on something in the workshop, and I was coming back when I though I heard someone outside the door, so I came to check who it was…"
He smiled warmly at her, and held the door open for her to come in. Her eyes slid over him slightly, and sure enough, he was in his nightclothes. It wasn't anything special, just a baggy pair of shorts and no shirt, hair rippling over his shoulders in a cascade of violet.
She tore her eyes off him before he could notice her wandering eyes and stepped through the threshold. She stopped immediately, however; it was pitch black inside the warm house, all too like her dream where she couldn't see…
"It's okay." He said, taking her hand and making her blush, but she gripped his hand tightly in response.
"The Elder is asleep so I couldn't turn on a light. Besides, I don't really need a light to see in the dark." He said quietly as he walked, pulling her along as he opened his room door and walked in. She still couldn't see very well, and, not wanting to trip and fall on her face, she squeezed his hand tighter.
As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she looked around. The puppy was asleep on the bed; his coat was flung across a wooden chair; his ribbon was laying delicately on the chair next to his coat. His shoes sat at the foot of his bed on the floor; he was wearing his socks, so they weren't in his shoes; his headband lay folded on the bedside table neatly; and the rest of his clothing lay folded on the chair, next to his coat and headband. At least he wasn't sloppy, leaving his clothes strung across the room…
He guided her over to a chair, and was about to let go of her hand, but she stopped him. He looked back at her, his eyes placing her with a confused glance in the dim moonlight. Faintly, she could hear the pounding of rain starting outside the window, silently flicking shadows across the room as the drops obscured the faint light.
"Is something wrong Rosette?" He asked nervously. His eyes were fathomless, holding all his secrets faithfully and telling absolutely nothing of what he felt or thought, so she didn't know what he was thinking of her right now…but she had to spill the beans on her dream or she'd break down right there.
"I had a dream, and you were in it." She couldn't stop now, if she didn't…she probably wouldn't be able to finish, seeing as she was already on the verge of tears now.
"You were in it, and this thing was fighting you. You were winning at first, but I suddenly appeared and distracted you…and it…it killed you." She said lamely, unable to describe in detail due to the choking tears that sealed her throat closed with emotion. Chrono looked worried at her teary face, then smiled.
"It was probably just a bad dream Rosette, since you did eat, like, ten platefuls before you went to bed." He said jokingly as he smiled comfortingly down at her, effectively easing most of her troubles.
"But-" She began, but he cut her off.
"You're tired Rosette. We'll talk more in the morning, promise." He said as he pulled her to her feet. Before she could respond, he had laid her down on the bed and folded the blankets over her as the puppy snuggled up to her instantly, then he stood back up. "Sleep, then we can talk in a more decent time of day." He said as he sat down on the wooden chair next to the bed.
"But…are you sure? I mean, what if Sister Kate finds out? We'll be in serious trouble…" She asked as more tears filled her eyes and threatened to run down her cheeks.
"It's not like you can walk back to your room, it's raining. Besides, I can't just leave you like this…when your so troubled and sad…" He trailed off with a small smile at her. Her heart gave a wrench of emotion as he said that and, before either one knew what was happening, she had him in her arms, sobbing into his shoulder as she stretched across the bed to the chair, pulling him towards her.
"What would I do without you, Chrono?" She cried as he gingerly wrapped his arms about her comfortingly. He rubbed her back till the worst of her tears were over, then said calmly.
"You know I'll never truly leave you Rosette. You just gotta find me when things look tough, that's all." He said as she looked into his crimson eyes. He smiled again at her and said gently, "Now, get some sleep and put that dream of yours out of your mind, and I'll see you in the morning." He said as he stood up, but Rosette grabbed his hand.
"Oh no, you're not going anywhere buster. You can just stay with me tonight." She said as she pulled him down on the bed, blushing furiously.
"But Rosette-"
"You said you wouldn't leave me, right?"
"Yes, but-"
"No buts, and that's final. Now shut up and go to sleep or I get all the covers…besides, you look tired." She said firmly as she thrust the blankets over them both and lying back down. He sighed; she was right, he was tired, but no point in arguing when you couldn't win. He stretched out under the covers tiredly, barely noticing the pounding rain outside and closed his eyes and yawned.
"Goodnight Chrono." Rosette whispered into his ear as she wrapped her arms around him, drawing his body next to hers. He smiled in content as he murmured quietly,
"Goodnight Rosette."
End Chapter 2, TroubleFLUFFY!!!!!!!!!!!!! How did ya like it? Yeah, I wanted some fluff in there, and I thought… 'Wow! What a great idea! And they can finally give a hint of how they feel for each other!' So it's pretty fluffy, I know, but I liked it…and I'm really sorry about the wait, it's just that I got a new little puppy and he's 5 ½ weeks old so I can't leave him by himself right now. I wrote this when he was sleeping after his bath because that was the only time I could. The wait will get shorter, promise; he'll become more cooperative when he's older… anyway, here's a hint of the letter in above: (By Chrono)(By Elder) Happy New Year! GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I!
SincerelyDoveofLight