This (slightly) edited version is dedicated to my girlfriend, to whom I hooked onto both Chrno Crusade and Fullmetal Alchemist. Here's lookin' at you, kid.

Authour's note: This story (as it takes place after the end of the anime version of Chrno Crusade) has MASSIVE, MIND-BLOWING SPOILERS. So if you are currently watching Chrno Crusade and don't want the ending ruined, skip this story (but please remember it after you're done, and come back and read it). Ditto if you're only reading the manga and not watching the anime, (as I'm told that they are no where near similar near the end) because chances are you'll only get really confused. Now that that's settled, for those of you who're left…

I just could NOT accept the anime's ending. I'm sorry, but there were loose ends (I still can't believe Remington's "Oh yeah, I'm an angel. pause . Didn't I tell you?" attitude over the phone in episode 20 or 21), and just that Aion, after Chrno clearly killed him (in a somewhat short and anticlimactic battle, I thought) pops up in Rome 50 years later to kill the then Pope… it just gnaws at me, you know? But the worst (cause it was the best part of the series) was when, of course, Chrno and Rosette died. They just sort of- faded away. That's fine. But where to? That's what this story's going to answer. Where they went.

So without further ado…

Koko Neeko Nai

Why?

That is what Sinner Chrno thought as his body slowly shut down from the small reserve of astral energy he had left being used up. Rosette's body, still warm, rested against his shoulder. Why Rosette? Why the stigmata? If she was so important to Him, why didn't he save her at the end? In fact, why didn't He intervene during the ritual of atonement? It was meant to put Aion in the seat of power, to turn to darkness what He- what Rosette and Chrno and Azumaria and Satella and everyone else- kept in the light.

These were the thoughts of the devil Chrno, the Hundred Million Killer, The Title Divested One, the last of the Sinners on Earth and the lover of the Magdalene, as he crossed the threshold from this world and on into the next.

And his lifeless body, almost as if needing to be close to her, slumped to lean on Rosette's vessel, now empty of the fiery spirit it had housed.

"Chrno…"

Chrno did not want to heed the call of his name. He was lost in a dream, remembering all of the good times with Rosette and Joshua, when they were younger, and then later with Azumaria, the first time they heard her sing, and their last Christmas together…

"Sinner Chrno…"

Go away, Voice! He silently pleaded. Go away and leave me in peace! Tears were running down his cheeks as he began to remember the bad times as well. Joshua emerging from the decimated orphanage, blood streaming down his face from his new horns, muttering about the "noise", Aion completing the Ritual of Atonement, carrying Rosette off with him, Rosette as the Saint that people flocked to be healed and to follow like sheep, a broken and brainwashed puppet of Aion, Rosette crying into his chest in her final moments, saying how she wanted to live longer, words that stabbed into his heart as he knew he was the cause of her suffering…

"Wake up, sleepy head."

And amazingly, he did. The dreams, both the good and the bad, were gone. What replaced them were two of the bluest eyes he had ever seen, eyes that belonged to the last person he thought he would ever see, and indeed, the last person he saw as his eyes closed for the final time.

"R…Rosette?" he asked timidly, as if afraid she would disappear into air if he said her name. She was lying down beside him in a white dress, he blond hair the same as when she died. She nodded, and reached down to hold his hand. But something was missing; he just couldn't place what.

"It's me, Chrno." She smiled softly. "Come on, I want to show you something." She got to her feet and extended her hand to help him up. He accepted, and got up… and up… and up, until he was looking down at her, a good three feet above where he usually measured to her. He looked down and gasped. He hadn't noticed before, but he was not in his Sealed form. No, this was his True form, the form where he had committed many great acts, both of charity and heroism and destruction and malice. The girl in front of him grinned, a glint of the old devilish fire back in her eyes.

"Rosette! Why am I in my- I need to change back, now!" he cried, looking around frantically for the Clock Seal, which would put a rein on his powers and protect both their lives from the drain of astral energy. Rosette calmed him by putting a finger to his lips. He stopped.

"Shhhh. Don't worry about it. It doesn't matter what form you're in now. We left all that behind, remember?" She smiled again. "Look around." She said as she stepped to the side, showcasing the view.

They appeared to be on a small hill in some sort of meadow, with grass and flowers everywhere. A little ways down the gentle slope was a large watering hole, surrounded on the far edge by a forest. He turned. The ramshackle farmhouse was gone, replaced with a roomy two-storey home. He looked in shock at Rosette, who giggled delightedly.

"This is our reward for those years of suffering, Chrno," she told the bewildered Devil. "The plan was pulled off perfectly."

"Plan?" Chrno asked dazedly. This sure didn't fit into any plan that he had heard of.

Rosette nodded, solemn for a moment. "While I was waiting for you to hurry up and- well, die, I was told by someone very high up," at this she raised her eyebrows; Chrno didn't think that they could possibly be thinking of the same person, "that ever since the Sinners rebelled in Pandemonium there's been a sort of contingency plan should Aion ever break out of there.

"It was decided that the Apostles and I were to be sent down to earth to tempt Aion into thinking that his plans could be achieved. When he completed the Ritual of Atonement, my powers were sent down to make him believe he had won." At this, she again took his hand and held it between them, as she began to relive some painful memories. "He…used me… to heal people so they would follow me, which really meant that they would follow him." She looked up at Chrno, gratitude, love and pride showing in her eyes. "But you were their secret weapon, Chrno. You fought Aion with the last of our strength and you won. But you didn't kill him as we thought. He can't die, now. Ever since he completed the Ritual, he's become invulnerable to attack by all except the highest of powers. You showed him this, and right now he's on Earth, lording over it, thinking he's won, while giving Heaven the time to gather the resources to defeat him, once and for all. Until then, we can rest. " She laughed. "Now you big lug, bend over and kiss me like you mean it."

And, laughing, he did, picking her up so that she was nestled in his arms as he spread his wings to their fullest and flew off towards the house. Almost as if it knew what he was thinking, the front door swung open, And Chrno saw that the entranceway was large enough for them to walk through, him carrying her like a new bride on their honeymoon.

'And that's exactly what we are,' he realized, as the door swung close on its behind them.

Authour's footnote: For those of you who're wondering, the title is rough romanji for roughly "Why don't you come sit down?". Rosette says it in the last ep.(remember, I see the subtitled versions) to Chrno, and thought it would fit with the whole resting thing.

P.S. Tell me what you think about It; it's my first published one-shot. I was going to include Azu, Satella and all the rest when they died, but I thought I'd let the two lovers be. 'Cause as we all know, When the house is a-rockin', don't come a-knockin'! ahem. Thank you.