WAR
By Hydraa
This is the sequel to "Transformation".
Please review. Enjoy.
---000---
Inside a dark, hot tent pitched in the middle of a Texas desert, Sister Kate sat at a large, heavy radio, the headphones held to her ear while she carefully wrote out the translation for the morse code she was hearing. The dots and dashes came over the wire for a long time, finally pausing before beginning again. Kate listened through it all twice to make sure she had it and then tapped her own code sender rapidly, sending a much shorter acknowledgement. That done, she sat there and translated it, her lips pursed while she worked. By the time she was done, a tension line had appeared in her forehead and she could feel the beginnings of a headache.
She read the message three times, but her translation was perfect, her diction flawless. The message was what it was. Slowly, the woman stood and made her way out of the tent.
The heat was only marginally better outside, still far hotter than it had a right to be in winter. Sweating in her habit and headdress, she crossed the sand to another tent, quietly lifting the flap and going inside.
Father Remington sat on a camp chair in the forward section, his crutch resting on the floor beside him and his eyes heavy with pain. His left leg was in a cast up to his hip and Kate knew he was hurting, but he never said anything about it, just insisted that she bring him along. Kate played his game and didn't say anything about the look in his eyes or the cup of willow bark tea he had on the table before him. She just made sure she kept his input mental as much as possible, and right now she could use his input indeed.
She tilted her head toward the curtain that divided the tent. "How is Rosette?" she whispered.
"Still sleeping," was the quiet answer. "She's exhausted."
Kate could believe it. The girl had been wiped out when she arrived, without surprise. She'd eaten enough for three people once they brought her in and then passed out, snoring loudly. Kate could hear her now, sounding somewhat like a piece of machinery that badly needed to be oiled. She almost smiled, but she couldn't get the image out of her head, of a winged Rosette shooting by overhead to do a belly first landing in the sand. She'd had real wings, golden, beautiful wings, and she'd cried when she'd seen her. Kate didn't know what she'd planned to do when Rosette showed up, but she didn't think she'd ever anticipated it to include holding the girl while she wailed for her lover.
Chrno had promised he'd die for her. From the sound of it, he'd kept that promise. Kate took a moment to offer a prayer to him for that sacrifice and turned back to the head of her militia.
"We've received word from the council. Demons are gathering in San Francisco."
He blinked at her and took a grimacing swallow of his tea. "How many?" he choked.
"Unless they're exaggerating, thousands." She stared down at the paper. "They're appearing everywhere, apparently forming into ranks but causing a lot of destruction in the meanwhile."
"Do they know why?" he asked quietly.
"No. The Council is calling in everyone. The plane I used to get here is waiting for us at the airport." She looked at him intently, already knowing what he had to be thinking.
"Rosette thinks Aion is in San Francisco," he said evenly, fulfilling her expectations. "They could be his troops."
"She said he only had three or four Sinners left. These have to be from Pandemonium."
He took a deep breath. "Then it's war. Whatever Aion wants, they want to stop him."
Kate nodded. "I doubt we want to be caught in the crossfire." Whatever Aion was up to, he needed the Apostles for it, and it seemed he had six of the seven already, including Joshua Christopher and Azmaria Hendric. Either he'd found the seventh and Pandemonium wanted to stop him, or this was a preventative strike before he found the final one.
If only she'd asked Chrno what Aion wanted the Apostles for, but she hadn't trusted him enough to tell the truth, not until today, when she learned how he died for Rosette. He'd truly loved her. Kate hadn't been able to believe that until now.
At least they had the girl back. She was a demon, but she was a demon with wings that were half those of an angel. Not knowing what else to believe, Kate had to take those as a sign from God and do what she must.
"Let her sleep for now," she told Remington, "but get ready to move. I'll mobilize the militia here and order those back home in. We're all going to San Francisco."
"Right," Remington nodded. "May God be with us."
Kate looked at the back curtain with its sonorous snoring. "I think He always has been," she decided.
---000---
Dafau teleported in to what once was a parking lot for a series of stores, before it became the landing coordinates for the invasion. The servant demon who'd led him there, a tiny thing that flew in the first time the hard way so that it could learn the landing zone, bowed deeply and vanished. It would be back in minutes, bringing the next group along piggybacked on its journey through the astral lines.
Dafau gestured at his dozen troops, all elite soldier demons and the most powerful that Pandemonium had to offer. None of them had a chance against Aion. "Get out of the way," he ordered. They didn't want the next group to teleport in on top of them, or through them as the case may be.
"Fight soon gigigi?" Kalv laughed, pig face lifted to sniff at the air. "Smell humans."
"Yes. There would be some here." Dafau could smell them himself as he led them out of the parking lot. He could smell their blood, their terror… he could smell smoke and gunpowder as well, but whoever had tried to resist the first wave was dead already. Dafau could smell their meat.
"When do we get to fight?" Ghouleo asked, his broad horns nearly hitting his neighbour as he turned his head. They crossed the road and headed into a grocery store that had been turned into their central command.
"Soon," Dafau assured them. Once Aion got cocky and decided to attack. He would, Dafau knew. He always did, confident in his own superiority. It galled the General, but it would work against the Sinner this time.
He looked down at the most important member of his current team. It was a minuscule messenger demon, soft and helpless, but able to teleport from anywhere back to Pandemonium at a glance and return in seconds. Normally, Dafau wouldn't notice one save to take their message, but they'd be relying on this one today. It already had its orders and it blinked wetly up at the General before bowing deeply. It knew better than to fail. The same could be said for the two elite waiting for it in Pandemonium with their cargo. All Aion had to do was attack.
Dafau hoped he fell for it soon.
---000---
Aion stood at the window of the beach house, listening to the radio behind him scream about demons while he watched the flocks gathering over the city. There were so many he could see them even from where he was.
Dafau had brought in all his troops. Aion would have been impressed if he thought they had a chance, but instead he was merely amused and a little disappointed. Still, what was Dafau supposed to do? He knew Aion was up to something, and he probably knew he was close to accomplishing it. He had no choice but to stop him.
He might even succeed. From the look of it, he was outnumbered thousands to one, but Aion was no ordinary demon. He knew he still had the advantage.
That didn't mean he was going to take Dafau up on his obvious invite though. He had better things to do than engage in rampant violence. Still, he frowned, it wasn't like he could just up and leave so easily. He had five apostles stashed in the basement and they weren't going to be effortless to move. Dafau only had to kill one of them and his plans would be put back another hundred years or more.
There was movement behind him and a blonde boy wandered up beside him, his skull framed by long, rough horns. His expression was insane. "What are they?" Joshua asked.
Aion shrugged. "Demons," he answered calmly.
"Can I kill them?"
The white-haired demon smirked at the boy. Perhaps he should have put the acolyte in stasis with the others, but he was amusing, and useful. Every time demons came sniffing around looking for the Sinners, he killed them all. He was the best guard dog Aion had ever seen. He was also completely psychotic.
"They might be a bit much even for you," he told the boy. "Don't worry about it."
Joshua's expression took on a look of indifference and he wandered away, followed as always by Fiore, her hands clasped before her. Aion watched them go and looked at the other Sinners. There were only three of them left and they looked nervous. They were useful and he couldn't imagine his life without them, but none of them could even pretend to take on the numbers out there. If the house was found, they were all dead.
That pretty much settled it. They couldn't move easily with the acolytes and they couldn't just hold out where they were. Not without the beach house turning into a large hole in the ground. Dafau obviously didn't know exactly where they were, or they'd be after them already, but they were close enough that it was only a matter of time before they triangulated on Pandemonium's head.
"I guess I know what I'm doing tonight," he said dryly and turned, making his way over to his Sinners. They watched him with wide eyes, their uncertainty obvious, but none of them protested giving him their astral. They were afraid for him though, he could feel it.
"Don't worry about me," he told them and went to collect the entirety of his gemstones. In addition to using their astral, he'd had Fiore make up gems for him containing the souls of humans stupid enough to make contracts with him. They more than made up for the horns he no longer had.
"You better come back," Viede said gruffly.
"Yeah," Genai agreed. "We won't forgive you if you don't."
Both men looked stern, but Shader came up to him, her tail hanging low as she stared up at his face. "Don't take any chances," she warned. "We can't afford to lose you."
Aion smiled and cupped her cheek. "You won't. I don't have time to die." He turned his smile on all of them. "I'll be back before you know it. Wait for me here. If this place is attacked and it looks like you'll lose, run for it. Leave everything. If I have to wait a hundred years, so be it. You three are less replaceable."
Turning, he strode outside, onto the beach where he shifted form, stretching his wings. Palming one of the power stones, he drew his sword and leapt into the air. A moment later, he was flying towards the city's core, where he was sure he'd find Dafau waiting.
---000---
Her hands folded on the knees of her blue dress, Rosette stared out the window of the plane. It was almost weird to be wearing nuns' robes again, but good as well. Certainly the headdress hid her horns better than anything else she'd tried, and the irony almost made her smile. Almost.
They were on their way to San Francisco, only a short way away now, and she forced the muscles in her body to relax. From the look of it, Pandemonium had declared war on Aion and she almost hoped they all ended up killing each other, so long as she found Azmaria, Joshua, and Chrno.
She doubted it would be that easy. She just felt like things had gone so completely out of her control that she didn't know how to handle it. She always wanted to be in charge of everything and she hated it when she wasn't. Even now, as a full demon, she felt powerless.
She'd gone back to her human form, her wings gone again. It took less energy and freaked everyone out less. Besides, what was she supposed to do with her wings most of the time anyway? They didn't exactly make chairs for someone with sails sticking out of their back.
Below, she saw the edge of San Francisco. She could make out the clouds of demons as well, but it didn't look like any great battles had started yet. According to Sister Kate, the militia and the military were still mobilizing. The demons didn't seem to care about them approaching on their flank though. They were waiting for something else.
Apparently for Aion. Rosette made a face. Hopefully he'd wait until she got there, so she could punch his teeth in for him. She doubted it though. He was unbelievably outnumbered. He had to be running.
Something flashed below. Rosette blinked, wondering what it was, and then her eyes widened in surprise.
---000---
Aion looped high over the armies, camouflaging himself in his white armour against the clouds. No one had seen him yet, the airborne forces of the invading army circling around each other. They were soldier demons, but few of them had seen real combat. Pandemonium hadn't gone to war since Aion led the Sinners in their break for freedom, and they'd left most of the army at that time dead, even though it cost them more than ninety percent of their own forces. Most of the deaths had been inflicted by a single Sinner though.
Aion slowed to a hover and focused, awakening his special talent to manipulate time. Nothing happened to the other demons, but for him, time sped up. He grinned, gathered his energy, and threw it at the closest force. Essentially frozen in time from his perspective, they had no way of even realising it was coming, let alone dodging it.
Astral exploded, devastating a hundred demons. They ripped apart in slow motion as Aion dove through them, sending another blast at a second group. None of them could fight back and he didn't care to let them. This was extermination only. Pandemonium could just lay more, at least until he finished with his plan.
---000---
Dafau turned at the explosion and gaped at the sight of a hundred soldier demons suddenly disintegrating in midair. An instant later, another flock was destroyed and the rest screamed in horror, trying to flee. Before they could even turn, a third group was gone.
"Gigigi…" Kalv managed, his eyes huge. They'd expected this, planned for it, but still…
Dafau, Kalv, and Ghouleo were out in the open, bait even more than the rest of the troops. A moment later, Aion was hovering above them, smirking.
"Hello, Dafau," he said amiably.
"Aion," Dafau replied, gesturing with the hand behind his back. Faintly, he heard the pop of the messenger demon vanishing.
"Pandemonium nagging you again?" the white-haired demon asked, confident as always. Dafau had bet all their lives on it. "Otherwise, why come here? You know you can't beat me."
"You've become too arrogant, Aion," the General told him. "You're going to lose this time."
Aion laughed, freely and openly. "Really? Why is that?"
"Because you forget that you're not the one with the reputation for being the deadliest killer in Pandemonium."
There was a rush of air and the messenger demon was back, appearing before Dafau. Standing where he was, the General saw the expression on the Sinner's face change, from shock to something like horror.
The messenger was nothing to him. Neither were the two elite soldiers, huge hulking things made of nothing but claws and muscle. His focus was on the lean form between them, dressed entirely in black leather and steel, metal shackles at his wrists, ankles, and throat. The clicks of those chains coming free was echoingly loud in the silent air.
"Chrno," Dafau called, smirking. "KILL HIM!"
---000---
Crowded with nuns and priests at the tiny windows, Rosette stared down at the city as entire flocks of demons vanished in explosions of light.
"Dear God in heaven," someone whispered. Rosette wasn't sure who.
She didn't know what was going on. She could see the first army, all of them trying to run, but not the attackers. There didn't seem to be any, but hundreds of demons were dead already, burned to ash in a heartbeat.
For a long minute there was absolute stillness, followed by an explosion that whited out the entire city. The men and women around her yelped, yanking their faces away, but Rosette's demon eyes adapted faster. In the aftermath of the flash, she saw a white form shoot upwards at an angle, followed by a second, black shape. They were impossibly fast.
"Chrno?" she whispered.
---000---
Aion shot upwards as fast as he could, cursing. Barely thirty feet behind him, Chrno raced in pursuit, his fangs bared and his claws ready. He had horns again, even though Aion had seen them on Joshua less than an hour before.
Instinctively, Aion sped up time, but he only put on a few feet of distance before Chrno's eyes flashed and he slowed time, countering Aion's power. A moment later, he caught up and lashed out. Aion rolled over his claws and was nearly obliterated by the blast of energy he released. It arced up into the sky, vaporizing the clouds above them.
"CHRNO!" Aion screamed. "Stop it!" The lavender-haired demon didn't respond, his eyes so slitted that they were completely white. Even after decades of knowing him and being his master, Aion couldn't feel his mind at all. "Don't let Pandemonium control you!" Chrno didn't answer with anything more than a growl.
When had Pandemonium got to him, he wondered desperately. How had she got to him? Chrno was always as desperate to avoid capture as any of them.
Aion barrel rolled and dropped, trying to get behind him. Chrno twisted and released another ball of energy. Aion barely skittered out of the way and it shot past him, blowing through a skyscraper and impacting with the ground. The resulting explosion sent a plume of smoke rising like a mushroom cloud over the city.
Never in his life had Aion fought on the defensive. He'd always led the battle before, but he'd never attacked his brother from anything but a position of surprise. Chrno was powerful and deadly, but his greatest secret was he would not stop, not for anything. Once he started, entire armies fell before him. In the times Aion tried to kill him, he'd always moved first to take that advantage away, and still Chrno constantly escaped. Hurt certainly, but never dead, no matter how much Aion intended to make him that way.
This time he was at full strength and Aion didn't have any advantages. He couldn't use his time powers since Chrno cancelled them out, and it was really starting to sink in how much he'd come to rely on them. No one had ever even been able to hit him before, but now he bled from a dozen wounds and Chrno was starting to overpower him. The astral he'd taken from his followers was used up; he was down to using the soul gems Fiore made for him while his brother barely looked winded.
They slammed together, power arcing out from them as they grappled hand to hand, trying to push the other back. "Chrno!" Aion shouted, trying to get through whatever madness had his brother. "Stop! You're destroying everything!"
Chrno didn't answer, his eyes not focusing. Aion still couldn't feel his mind. Whatever Pandemonium did to him, she was thorough.
What happened, he wondered again as Chrno stabbed at him with his tail and he barely blocked it with his own. What happened to that human he'd had with him? The one he turned into a demon so he could play house?
"Where's Rosette Christopher?" he shouted, not actually caring but hoping it would get through to him. In answer, there was a faint flicker deep in his eyes. He seized on it. "What did you do to her??"
---000---
The city was in flames, half the demons destroyed in the conflagration and the rest vanishing in midair. Rosette stared out the window of the plane, her heart in her throat. Possessed by some sort of madness, the pilot was still bringing them in and she could hear Kate on the radio, screaming at other people to get their troops ready to advance. How could they advance against that, she wondered, watching another midair explosion that blew the tops off the tallest buildings still standing. It was Armageddon.
Now she understood what Chrno meant when he said she was less powerful, and exactly what she'd bound up with her pocket watch when she was twelve years old. He was stronger than she ever would have been able to dream. Her eyes narrowed. Boy was he in trouble.
The plane banked, headed for the airport, if there was one left. That turned it away from the fight and Rosette ran to the windows on the other side so she could keep watching. She could see the dots that were Chrno and Aion, coming together, backing away, coming together again, flashes of light erupting with every contact. She knew it was them, in every cell of her body and the ache of her horns.
"We have to go back," she said.
Seated next to the window she was looking out of, Remington regarded her. "We can't. We'd be killed if we got any closer."
He was right but… "I have to get over there." Before someone got hurt. Before he got hurt. He was alive. Her horns surged and without even thinking it, she changed, wings coming out of her back. Nuns gasped, but she didn't notice. "He needs me!"
Turning, she ran for the hatch. Remington tried to grab her, but she was quick and he was wounded. Rosette pulled down the lever on the door and suddenly the wind was sucking everything loose out of the plane. She let it pull her out as well and dropped, wings spreading.
Awkwardly, ungracefully, she started beating her wings and moved slowly in the direction of the fight.
---000---
Dafau ducked, swearing, as a missed shot by one of the two combatants disintegrated half his army.
"Retreat!" he bellowed. "Back to Pandemonium!" They were just targets here.
One at a time and then in their hundreds, demons started to disappear, following the astral lines that had brought them here back to Pandemonium. Dafau watched Kalv and Ghouleo go with them and looked back skyward. He would stay, to find out how the battle turned out.
If he was lucky, they would both die during it.
---000---
Chrno turned and lashed, claws cutting through nothing as Aion dodged and then flung his whip tail around, scratching the other demon across the thigh. It was a shallow cut, only bringing up a trickle of blood. Rolling backwards, he let a wave of energy go over him and fired off a concentrated burst of his own, not caring where it went once it missed its target.
He didn't care about anything, other than killing the white-haired demon. He could sort of remember his own name, almost recall that he knew the other demon, but it wasn't important. He had one very simple order in his mind and all he could really hear was her voice, repeating it. "KILL AION." It was all that mattered.
His enemy said something, speaking a tongue he didn't care about, other than the last two words. Rosette Christopher.
He had an order concerning her as well.
The two demons clashed again, tumbling, crashing through a building and impacting into the pavement. Recovering together, they leaped up, airborne again as they tried to cut each other apart. Chrno didn't think about the destruction he was causing or the people that were dying. He just focused on the fight and his duty.
Yet, somewhere in the back of his head, those two words resonated. Rosette Christopher.
He started to wonder where she was.
---000---
Aion fought furiously. He was getting near the end of his gems, his body soaked with sweat and blood. He'd retreat, but Chrno was too close. He'd be able to follow him wherever he went if he tried to teleport and he couldn't outrun him. They crashed together again and he glared into Chrno's eyes, the soft red looking back at him.
The soft red? Aion blinked. Chrno's eyes were rounding again, the whiteness disappearing as they unslitted. Had he reached him somehow or was Chrno coming out of it on his own? Desperate, Aion grabbed his face, both hands cupping his cheeks as he left himself open.
"Chrno!" he shouted. "Listen to me! You have to stop!" The shout was as much mental as physical and he saw confusion in his eyes for a moment.
"Rosette? Where's…?" The slits narrowed again and his claws lashed out, biting deep into Aion's side.
It hurt. Aion screamed and wrenched back. Chrno floated where he was, glowing golden and looking down at his bloody hand. He made no move to attack again and Aion backed away, wings beating and his hand pressed against the wound. He had to get back to Shader, now.
"Chrno," he gasped. The red eyes looked up at him. "Rosette needs you. She's in danger." He pointed past his shoulder and the lavender-haired demon turned. Taking the chance, Aion teleported, hoping with everything left in him that Chrno would be too distracted to follow.
He vanished, shattered.
---000---
Dafau watched the end of the fight in horror. He'd done it again, Chrno had bloody well done it again! He'd defied Pandemonium! The General watched him float overhead, looking over the city skyline for something and completely uncaring that his target had vanished. To follow Aion, he would have had to do it in the first instant. Now Aion was gone. Dafau couldn't follow him either as he wasn't close enough.
That idiotic, useless, defiant freak!
Dafau snarled, gathering his energy. He doubted Chrno would just bare his throat for him like they'd planned; he'd have to kill him with the first blast. He drew in as much as he could, preparing it, and the Sinner just floated there, completely ignoring him as he stared into the distance. He made an easy target.
Then he was gone, suddenly blasting into the distance. Cursing, Dafau leaped into the air to follow, the astral burning inside him. Pushing himself to his limit, he gained, hoping Chrno didn't look back, and threw the energy at him. A huge fireball a hundred feet across raced up behind him and Dafau dropped to the ground, too worn out to do it again. That had been his one best chance and from the look of it, Chrno had no idea it was coming.
---000---
Rosette Christopher was in danger. He was not to allow harm to come to Rosette Christopher. That order was older in him than the one to kill Aion. It came first. He flew rapidly, searching for her, rushing to obey that primary command. The fireball he ignored, his senses focused forward to find that one soul.
In the distance, he could see her, could feel her. She was flying towards him, bobbling in the air like she didn't know what she was doing. He saw no danger, but the command was there. He had to obey.
As he approached, she looked up and saw him. Instantly, horror crossed her face and she pointed past him, screaming. Reacting to the unspoken order, Chrno rolled, saw the fireball, and ducked it almost absently. It shot past him and he rolled again to see it was headed straight for Rosette. She flapped her wings madly, trying to get out of the way but only throwing herself around.
You will do nothing to harm Rosette Christopher.
In that instant, everything within ten miles was frozen. Nothing in the air moved. Nothing on the ground. The fireball hung motionless in midair, bare meters away from the blonde girl who had her arms lifted to shield her face as she tried to turn away.
Chrno flew through the suddenly heavier air to Rosette's side. She was unharmed by the blast. Quickly, he scooped her up into his arms and flew her down to the ground. Settling her onto her feet with one hand on her arm to keep her from tipping over, he let go his hold on time. The fireball roared by overhead, racing out towards the ocean.
Rosette stumbled and flapped her wings for a few seconds more, trying to get her balance. Chrno studied her to make sure she was okay and then turned his head to study the sky. Kill Aion. He couldn't see him.
Rosette gaped at him. "Chrno? You're okay? You're okay!" She hugged him, but he didn't respond, looking with his eyes and his mind both for Aion. Rosette pulled back. "What are you doing? Hey? Hey! Answer me!"
She was a master. He had to obey. He looked into her blue eyes. "I will kill Aion."
Her jaw dropped. "W-what?"
She looked confused. He wasn't sure if his order towards her included emotional discomfort as well as physical damage. "I will do nothing to harm Rosette Christopher," he reminded her. Perhaps that would clear things up.
Apparently not. Her eyes filled with tears. "What's wrong with you?"
He shifted his wings a little. "I will kill Aion. I will do nothing to harm Rosette Christopher." He looked up at the sky. "I must find Aion." He went to launch himself into the air, but she grabbed his wrist with both her hands, her head bowed and tears falling to the ground. She was hurt. He had hurt her. He shifted again. Was he disobeying? His heart started to pound. Aion wasn't being killed, Rosette Christopher was harmed. He was disobeying. Pain lanced through his horns and he gasped, dropping to his knees.
"Chrno!" Rosette cried, throwing her arms around him.
He was disobeying. He could hear Pandemonium in his head, tearing him apart and putting him back together. He would obey, he had to obey. He screamed, agony shooting through him. He could hear her still, devouring him alive. He had to obey, but he couldn't. He didn't know where Aion was and Rosette was crying. His horns glowed, agony his punishment for his transgressions. He'd failed her, he'd failed her, he'd failed her…
Rosette gasped in shock as Chrno howled, his head thrown back and his hands clutching his horns. She could feel his pain, familiar as she was with his mind, and she could almost hear the voice beating in his brain.
Desperate, she threw her arms around him, trying to talk to him, but he couldn't hear her. His horns glowed, heating up, and she stared at them a moment before she grabbed the one on his left and wrenched down on it.
Chrno shrieked, his neck twisting around as she pulled on his horn, his arms coming toward her, trying to push her away. "Don't fight me!" she ordered and they pulled back, shaking. "Just let me…" She wrenched again, putting all of her strength into it, and felt the horn give just a bit. Adjusting her grip again while he sobbed, clinging to her, she pulled a third time and it snapped off just above the base, sending blood everywhere.
"It hurts!" he cried. "Stop it, it hurts!"
"I know," she whispered, rubbing his back as she held him against her. "I know it does. Hold on." Something about those horns was controlling him and she wasn't going to let it happen. Swapping arms, she grabbed his rightmost horn and kissed his cheek when he whimpered. They were both on their knees, clasping each other, and she felt his tears against her cheek as much as his blood while she braced herself. "This will only hurt for a minute, I promise."
She pulled, her lover screaming like he was being murdered. He didn't fight her at all, just hung on as she yanked on the horn as hard she could, a little more of it breaking away with each ruthless tug. Blood ran down it, slicking her grip, and it took five pulls before it broke away.
Chrno collapsed against her, gasping for breath. "Chrno!" she cried, pulling him up. There was so much blood. "Are you okay?" Of course he wasn't, she thought bitterly. She'd just crippled him… again. Bending over, she pressed her mouth against his and breathed astral into him. "Chrno! Are you okay?"
"R-Rosette?" he whimpered. "It hurts."
"I know," she mourned, stroking his cheek. "I'm sorry." He was lying in her arms, his head against her breast, and his blood was soaking her dress. Quickly, she pulled off her headdress and used it to bind his wounds.
"No." He swallowed and reached up to her. She took his hand and kissed it. "Better this way… she got into my head… I couldn't think…" A faint smile crossed his lips. "You have wings?"
"Yeah," she said smugly. "Nicer than yours even."
"…Definitely…"
His eyes closed, his breathing still ragged and she felt a pang, but he only seemed tired and in pain. Only? She huffed out a breath and reached over to drag one of the broken horns to her. "Where did you get these?"
"Pandemonium grew them… they're not my original ones…"
Meaning Joshua still had them. "What a bitch."
"…Yeah…"
"Watch your tone."
Rosette's head snapped up at the new voice to see Dafau standing a few metres away, his face enraged. He glared at Chrno with true hate in his eyes and lifted a sword. "You won't be allowed to fail us again."
In her lap, Chrno struggled dizzily to get up and Rosette glared at the demon. Even if she'd been armed, she'd seen Sacreds have no effect on him. He started forward, apparently planning to take Chrno's head off or something and she shifted her grip on the horn she held, lifted it, and threw.
It hit Dafau right in the centre of the chest and froze him, just like Joshua had done to the children at the orphanage.
"Wow," she managed. "I didn't expect that."
Chrno wheezed a laugh. "Yeah, well… it worked." Slowly, he sat up. "Thank you."
In answer, she glared at him. "Stop making me come to your rescue. You're such a damsel in distress."
"Yes, Rosette."
---000---
By the time the Order reached them, Rosette had reverted back to her usual shape and found enough blankets and material to make Chrno a mostly comfortable bed amongst the rubble, with half a wall for shade. He slept in his boy shape, twitching occasionally, while she helped human survivors who came out of the ruins to her, binding their wounds and sending them to find other people who hadn't been killed in the fight. Chrno she let sleep, if for no other reason than to keep him from seeing the aftermath of the battle. It wasn't his fault.
Dafau stayed frozen in the centre of the street, a look of perpetual surprise on his face.
Rosette straightened up as Sister Kate climbed over the rubble towards her. Most of her militia were gone, probably helping with the injured, and the older woman left the remaining behind as she came the last few feet. Rosette tensed, very aware that she stood between Kate and Chrno.
"You're alive," Kate said softly. "I was praying so."
"Yeah, well," Rosette ran a hand through her hair. "I'm tough to kill."
Kate looked past her at the sleeping Chrno. "Apparently he is as well."
The blonde's lip firmed. "They hurt him, tortured him. They were making him do things. I got him back and he's okay now." Except, even in his boy form, his temples wouldn't stop bleeding. She kept having to add to the bandages.
Kate was quiet a moment. "You're sure?" she asked at last.
"Yeah. It was these horns they put on him. Once I ripped them out, he was fine." She handed one to Kate and pointed over her shoulder at Dafau. "The other one's stuck in him. I think we should leave it there."
Kate looked at her evenly, leaving Rosette wondering what she was thinking. The nun had already proven she could make their lives pretty miserable. Finally, she sighed. "We'll talk about it later, after you give me your report. For now-" She gestured at the other militia and they came forward, bearing emergency supplies. Rosette sighed, smiled down at Chrno, and went to join them.
THE END
To be continued…
I'm heading off for two weeks vacation, so the next story will be a while coming. See you then.