Author's Note: Hi there~ Ahhhh, frankly, this one made me a little nervous lol;; I feel like if I keep editing it, it'll never be seen by the public in this lifetime and so I hope it's something that's met your expectations even a little bit! So onto chapter 2 of my Harvenheit History~! I hope you enjoy! Again, any review is well appreciated so thank you so much for taking your time to read my story~3
Spoiler warning: If you have not read the book yet, please refrain from reading this fic.
Disclaimer: Chrno Crusade © Moriyama Daisuke
San Francisco, California. 1914. August.
The view of the blood-soaked beaches of San Fran even made the breathtaking sunset seem less appealing. The four sinners stood in a staggered line, two of which were half exhausted from their brief battle with the pursuers from their motherland, Pandemonium. Aion's white and gray demon form partially painted red, his comrades silently watched him clench a fist around a lifeless limb in fury as he held his own head by the horn with his other. Reverting back to his reserved form, the leader of the sinners glanced back at everyone as he sternly spoke. "This won't do. They'll keep tracking us down at this rate." He placed a foot onto the body and pressed in as a deep grunt escapes it. Viede slowly made his way beside their Boss to discuss matters further. "It must be the horns as we suspected. Its connection to Pandemonium is far greater than we had imagined it to be."
"Yeah, I could almost feel the geas running its course. It's like the umbilical to a mother's womb. Unless we cut our ties, this will never end." Aion concurred. "Shader's technology will work but we'll need contractors to keep us alive."
"I recall once overhearing one of the superiors mention of a demon who had also gone missing from the society. A demon with the beauty to seduce any man and a holder of special jewels. Perhaps if we-" Viede attempted to continue on when their leader's eyes grew wide as well as his grin. The jewel summoner he had also heard of during their time below. Aion's gradual maniacal laughter threw Viede off his train of thought as he stared at his Boss in bewilderment.
"Tch, what's so damn funny!" Genai jumped in overriding the laughter with an aggravated outburst of his own as Rizel backhands him on his arm to silence him.
"That's it… That's the answer." Aion finally spoke as his laughter settled to a satisfied sigh. "We'll finally be able to cut our ties with our 'mother' and our chances of winning have more than doubled."
"Doubled?" Viede questioned in disbelief. "Our chances of winning against Pandemonium have been less than fifty percent this whole time, how is this possible?"
Aion lifted his arm, hauling the body up a bit. "You know where she's located, don't you? Spill it." He questioned the pursuer still beneath his foot but no answer was given except a snicker mocking him. Taking it as a sign that they knew of her location, the sinner stomped down to end his life and threw his body to the side along with the rest in the pile. He started to head back towards their white boarded beach house when he gestured with his hand and strongly commanded. "Find out from the other pursuers of the location of this demon. As soon as we find out, we'll pay her a visit and I guarantee it'll all make sense then."
Germany. 1914. Early September.
Triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on June 28th, the country had just entered World War I involving multiple nations including the US. It was difficult and complicated to say the least in order to travel across countries at such a time but one that was necessary for the revolution they too were about to start.
The leaves had only begun to change when the sinner set foot on the Harvenheit estate. Observing the mysterious powers right before his eyes by a young girl sitting beneath a tree was more than enough evidence that this was the right place. All their hard work of having to interrogate one demon after another for a month had finally paid off. He softly called to her and their eyes met. This one was promising. After holding a brief conversation with the long dark haired girl, Aion returned to the nearby inn the other sinners were staying to report his finding. He learned quite a bit from what the little girl had openly shared with him.
The Harvenheit family consisted of four members; the mister and misses as well as two daughters: the eldest daughter, Florette and the young Satella. Living the upper-class life as an art dealer and collector, the husband was an intelligent businessman where as the wife was in charge of crafting and selling rare jewels of her own. The daughter spoke of her father going through stressful times with the outbreak of the war and how it's been affecting his business. She spoke of another secret besides her abilities, which she overheard him speaking of one night. The plans of having the whole family leave the country for the brief period to survive the war.
Opening the door, Aion optimistically smiled at his comrades. "Good news. We found it and just in time at that. We'll wait till sunset before heading over." Rizel followed him with new sets of bandages in her hand to the nearby seat; clearly a concerned look to her face. Aion plopped down into the old wooden seat as he allowed her to undo the bandages around his head.
"Did you see her?" Shader asked while fiddling with another invention of hers involving springs and metal plates.
"Not specifically her but her child. I saw with my own eyes what she's capable of and the precise ability we need in order to succeed." Aion somberly explained. The cat girl glanced his way to take a quick look at how the circular plates on either side of his head were looking, nodding towards Rizel that it was all right for her to bandage back up.
"Seems like they're healing well. Let's just hope you're right about this." She replied with a worried frown. Losing one's horns meant death to demons, having lost the only way to channel the astral powers to stay alive. True, she had come up with a way to fight the system for Chrno but even he was capable of staying alive because of Mary Magdalene's life source. It was only a matter of time before Aion would need one as well. The day he ripped out his horns on the whim (or so she saw it to be), was even before finding this said demon. Sometimes the things he would think of and do seemed so far fetched and yet, he was always fully confident in his decision, which only made it harder for her to object to his plan. Not that she didn't trust him or anything, but ever since Chrno left, she noticed Aion becoming more and more distant or rather preoccupied with something. Obsessively chasing it and in haste.
At nightfall, the sinners all approached the well light three story mansion as the dark gloomy sky hovered over them. "You guys stay here while I go negotiate. Be prepared in case I'll need you guys for anything." Aion calmly demanded as he began to walk across the small field with his hands in the pockets of his white customized frock coat before the others even had a chance to object. Wearing a black vest with a matching western black bow tie for the occasion, the leader of the sinners knocked on the door. A well groomed butler answering, they briefly conversed as he asked to see the mistress of the household. Right when the young gentleman was about to go inform her of his request, as good timings concerned, she walked out from the dining room at that instance. Bingo.
"Yo..." he began as he could see the pure shock in her eyes. A beauty just as rumors has claimed her to be; jet black hair with a petite face that went rather nicely with her slender body. A delicate hand briefly covering her mouth, the lady of the household gathered herself and sternly stared at him. "Aion. What are you doing here?" A harsh tone heard in her elegant voice.
"Now now, don't be that way. We are family now, after all." Aion lightly snickered as he walked in further, gesturing with both arms raised to his side. "We're the same kind, you and I. I came to speak of a promising proposal that you may well be interested in considering.. Mrs. Harvenheit, was it now?" She quickly held her hand up for him to stop talking and glanced toward her butler, who was about to run for the phone. "It's all right, Bernard. I'll take it from here. Please make certain that the girls are ready for bed." The young man quickly complied with a small bow of his head and stepped away with a wary glance towards their unwelcome guest.
"This way." She commanded as she lead him to the living room. Aion followed with a grin and entered the grand room as she closed the door tightly behind her. The flames of the fireplace flickering to the cold draft seeping through the niches in the wall. "What is it that you want?" She flatly asked, desperate to get this conversation over with as soon as possible. He slowly roamed the well decorated living room with the suspected fine arts scattered about. Placing a hand onto the back of the French Louis XV gilt wooded sofa, he calmly began. "You have a lovely home and two beautiful daughters, especially Florette. She looks just like you, you know? Interesting how you've managed to acquire it all." He gave an amused snicker with a light shrug of his shoulders. "Being who you are and seems in secrecy nonetheless."
She shuttered to his knowledge of her daughters and approached him with hands balled into fists. "My husband knows of who I am." She shot back agitated. "He was the one who saved me. Now you answer me! What is a demon like yourself doing here! How did you find me!"
Aion raised his brow to that news, genuinely surprised by it. Another one who had ties with the humans. He decided to cut down on the prodding and grew a serious expression of his own. "Settle down. I'm not here to drag you back. Don't clump me with those low class maggots." The sinner mocked with a flick of his wrist. "On the contrary, I'm here to help you remain on Earth. As I said, I have a proposition that you may well be interested in." Aion swiftly took a seat on the sofa, crossing his legs over as he made himself comfortable. Her shoulders relaxed to know he wasn't a pursuer and allowed a relieved sigh to escape her for the moment. However, things still weren't making much sense. She gathered her composure and gracefully joined him on the sofa, sitting up right with her body facing him. "Please continue."
Aion stared at the sparks of the fire as he continued on. "Roughly several years ago, a group of us were able to take down Pandemonium's adjacent terminal core system, even managing to bring her head to Earth. We were able to figure out certain weaknesses that may allow us to destroy her once and for all but our horns are still a problem. They are like the antenna that allows her to stay in control of us and monitor our every move."
The color on the woman's face almost went pale. Take down the whole society? Surely he was mad, she silently thought. Aion glanced her way as his deadly eyes could have almost pierced her heart. "We need your assistance in order to go beyond and to reform the world."
"Just how am I to be of any help?" She sternly questioned him with a nervous chuckle, fiddling with her dress. "You have a talent that could spare us from having to be attached to her womb any longer. Your jewels. I'm well aware of what they are capable of." Aion confidently answered with a smirk, a hand idly raised towards her face to caress. She quickly retracted herself and looked away. "You're mad. If I were to do that then.." She couldn't even finish the sentence.
Aion's violet eyes narrowed to her hesitation. He sighed disappointed to what she had become - a spineless human. "Have you forgotten who you are? A human or two, what does it matter? They wouldn't have much time to live anyhow at least this way they'll hold a purpose." He coldly responded. She gave him an angry glare. "You're asking me to take the precious lives of others nonetheless on our behalf."
"Well, this was unexpected. Frankly, I'm a little disappointed. Are you truly the one who had seduced and deceived the number of men and brought them back to the society in the form of jewels to use as an energy source?" The sinner blatantly revealed her true nature.
She bit her lower lip and dropped her head in guilt. How much she wanted to throw away that past. The door suddenly opening, her eyes instantly widened as she heard the familiar voice behind her.
"Is this true, dear?" A soft yet deeply concerned voice questioned. A painful look in his eyes, a man with red orange locks and with the height of 5'11" stood at the doorway. Seifert Harvenheit slowly entered the room, having heard it all through closed doors. The butler had spoke of his concerns of the mysterious visitor to his master and decided to see for himself who this man may be. He knew of how rather different his wife was from the start. Perhaps not even human, yet he couldn't help but assist her that one dreadful day.