Author's note: I do not claim to own any of the characters ^_^ they are a creation that is best kept by it's author. I hope he might read this one day and get inspired to write a sequel to Chrno Crusade.

If you have not read the manga, do so!!! It's good. ^_^ this fic is based roughly off the manga, interspercing some stuff inside of it, so if you're confused that's why.

Denizens of Darkness, Harbringers of Light A Chrno Crusade fanfic by Nightelfcrawler@yahoo.com Chapter Three: Rushing Slowly

She felt empty inside. It wasn't just the blank empty when you felt upset, tired, or depressed, but the lonely ache that started from deep inside your heart, and spread out to each nerve, from fingertips to toes.

What was her life worth anymore?

The past four years she had been so intent on just one goal, finding Joshua. Now she had found him…and found out that he was more lost than simply finding where he was… His mind was corrupted, fogged, and distorted from what it had been. When she had faced him, she had come face to face with the realization that it wouldn't be easy to reach him.

Rosette sighed, and looked up at Chrno's still form as he lay in bed, pale and drawn. This was all her fault. She had hesitated in a moment of crisis, that night in San Francisco. And her hesitation had not only almost gotten both her and Chrno killed, but had cost the lives and welfare of the city when Chrno had gone berserk, nearly leveling the whole Knob Hill district. It was only thanks to his strong constitution, and the cover of the Order of Magdale, that they had managed to extricate themselves, and retreat back home.

The first time she had lain eyes upon Chrno, bound to the sealing cross, his form distorted and warped as his body fought against the holy wards keeping him put, half human, half demon…she had cried.

Remington assured her that Chrno had insisted on the restraints, and precautions, out of guilt for his actions…after all, he had probably sucked up nearly half of her life that she had left…all in a matter of minutes. His guilt was further enhanced by the damage he had caused in full view of everyone…

Yet it didn't help knowing that it had been what Chrno wanted… And she had realized, after the encouragement of Azmaria and Stella, that she had to show him he was worth more than he seemed to think.

It had worked, but at a price. She had been given a glimpse into his mind, his life, his thoughts that she never thought existed in the small quiet demon boy. He had been an ass, before…she thought wryly. But he grew up. Yes, he grew up when he fell in love with Magdalena…

Rosette had never asked him why he had been in that grave before…but now that she knew the reason, she saw an entirely different side to him. Now she knew the pain he had gone through, the longing, and the desolate emptiness he had wallowed in for fifty years… yet he had fought through it, and come back, for her.

For her sake.

Rosette smiled, and brushed his hair back. She still felt weak, and she knew that it wouldn't get much better, since her soul was gradually weakening. She had little time left…and they had so much to do still. Would she even make it to see Joshua free? Would they finally be able to complete their dream of traveling the world? They had promised each other they would see it through to the end, but now…was she so sure?

She sighed lightly, and pushed his hair to the side as he lay sleeping. He was still recovering. Though she had lent him his power to heal the wound that he had received from Ion's sword through his chest, he had only taken what he needed, and still needed rest.

A sound from behind her caused her to turn her head, and with some surprise, she saw Sister Kate enter the room. "Sister Kate?" She asked quietly, beginning to stand.

The elder sister just held a hand up, and slowly sat down in the chair adjacent to hers, and turned her gaze to rest on Chrno with a thoughtful look.

"I know what you're going to say." Rosette said quietly, looking back down to her sleeping companion. "He finally proved he was dangerous…that he shouldn't be trusted…that you knew it was going to come."

Sister Kate smiled faintly, and slowly shook her head. "No, actually that wasn't on my mind…in fact, quite the opposite." Rosette lifted her head, surprise registering on her face. Sister Kate continued. "I was thinking…that he proved how much he cared for you, by stopping when he did, and by requesting what he did of Remington…" She glanced over at his face, and her eyes studied it carefully. "At first, I admit, I disliked him and mistrusted him because of what he was…but I think recently…now that I've come to know him as a person, my opinions are changing."

Rosette blinked, and then grinned widely. "Maa, he does grow on you…"

"Yes…" Kate smiled in response, "I suppose he does." She looked thoughtful, her fingers running over the cross around her neck as she turned her gaze out the window, to watch a few birds playing on the tree branches. "There is much more hidden inside him than even I knew…thought Remington and the Elder had told me some of the story, to hear the rest from you who witnessed it through his eyes is somewhat overwhelming, and surprising."

Rosette shrugged a bit. "I don't see what difference it really makes. He's still the same person, just I think I understand him a bit more."

"True, there is that." Sister Kate smiled and stood slowly, brushing her skirts off. "We will be gathering the Militia here within the week. Our strike force will begin their planning, and I would like your input, as well as Chrno's. Somehow, I don't think simply using the 'Testament' cannons will have quite the effect we hope…"

Rosette frowned, and looked suddenly extremely thoughtful, as if she had remembered something that turned over an unpleasant thought in her mind. Sister Kate noticed it, raised an eyebrow, but Rosette remained silent.

She rose, and inclined her head to Rosette. "Well, anyway. Keep an eye on him, and when he wakes, give him my best." Sister Kate smiled with an expression that almost reminded Rosette of a wicked smirk. "He should enjoy pondering over that for a while…"

Rosette gave Sister Kate a failing nervous grin, and watched as she walked out.

"That woman has issues."

~~~~~

"Chrno?" Sister Rachel poked her head into the room, and found him pulling his coat on. "Ah good, you're finally up! How are you feeling?" Her sunny smile was infectious, and he returned it in full as he turned to face her.

"Much better." He pulled his coat tight, and glanced over his shoulder at her. "Where's Rosette?"

"She's downstairs with the Elder working on the Testament Cannons." Rachel said, lowering her eyes. It was clear the idea of war disturbed her. "She wanted you to come down when you were ready."

The Testament Cannons…the newest and most powerful result from the Elder's lab since the Gospels. They had never been tested, but the sheer size and power behind them spoke magnitudes of their power. They easily had ten times the power of a single bullet…and there were fifty of them.

It had taken some time to locate Ion's retreat, but locate it they had, and the whole Order across the states was preparing for war. The final strike was to be organized here at HQ, and then carried out as quickly as possible with as little warning to the enemy as possible. There was still bound to be a leak, for no information was entirely safe from prying ears, but with all hopes, their strength in numbers and weapons would be underestimated.

Rosette didn't think so.

She had spent a long time helping the Elder out that morning, thinking over the plans in her head, and she KNEW that it wouldn't work.

It just wasn't enough.

She glanced up suddenly, as she heard the door squeak open, and her mind instantly brightened off of it's dark turn. "Chrno!" She jogged over to stand in front of him, and grinned brightly. "Are you feeling better?"

He smiled back in return, and nodded. "Yes. Thanks to your encouragement."

Rosette blushed a bit on her cheeks, and lowered her eyes, though it was becoming increasingly more difficult to avoid looking at him, as she grew taller, and he remained the same. "Yeah well…" She scratched her nose. "Come on… I think everyone's gathered in the main hall…why don't we go listen in?"

The entire Order stood assembled, from all across the state, the country, and the world, beneath the Abby roof in New York. It was quite a magnificent sight to behold, for the habits of all the orders were different colors and styles.

Rosette stood in the rafters on the balcony, Chrno at her side, staring down at the mass of people gathered beneath. Rosette leaned forward watching, a sad look on her face.

They had not managed to gather any of the Apostles, after they lost Azmaria their morale began to plummet… All they had now was the hope and power of the whole world's populace of the Order to back them up.

They had to strike now. Ion had all the Apostles, and would act any day now. They had managed to trace his floating fortress, and were ready to storm the beach house where the transporter was hidden, and carry out their plans.

However…

Chrno was watching her face closely. Ever since she had discovered more about his past, she had been quiet, distant, and aloof. He knew his actions of the past would hurt her if he revealed them, which is why he had kept silent… but when she discovered out of turn, it was more of a shock than if he had broken it to her. He was rather ashamed, since he had not initially thought she would take it so hard, knowing he had been in love, and lost her.

At least now, she knew everything… well, most everything. She knew how many demons he had slain, what terrible deeds he had done… She knew of his loyalty in carrying out Ions orders to guard Mary Magdalene… She knew of his decision to go against Ion for her… and she knew of his downfall, and of her death. She knew of the pain he had gone through afterwards, and why he had decided to stay with her…. There was a lot to know about, and finally, he felt as if his soul was free now. She could judge him as she liked, without prejudice.

"Rosette?" He asked quietly as he stood at her side, watching the Sisters and Brothers mill about down there.

She hesitated, then smiled faintly. "Ne, Chrno… do you think we can win this?" She asked quietly, before slowly turning to face him, tears still in her eyes.

Chrno bit his lip, and looked away from her. The question was as difficult as the one she had asked back when they had first met. But this time, he knew he couldn't hide the truth from her.

"I'm not sure." He replied quietly, watching as Sister Kate spoke with Remington down below. "Ion is more powerful than you realize…" He shook his head. "He will have known what we're planning by now… If he wasn't prepared, then he wouldn't be as formidable as he is."

Rosette sighed a bit, and smiled, as if she had been expecting that answer. "Then we'll have to think on our toes, ne?" She straightened as they began their meeting below. She watched for a few moments, then turned to him. "You know Ion better than anyone. You should be down there briefing them." Her gaze turned hard. "After everything you've done for me, and for us, they still don't trust you!" She grit her teeth in anger, and Chrno took a step back in surprise.

"Rosette…" He gently reminded her to be quiet, as a few people glanced their way. "Calm down." He spread his hands. "There's not much I can do…."

She bit her lip. "They wont' consult you for your advice on defeating Ion… they won't even let us sit down there and participate." Her eyes met his, and he was stunned to see intense loyalty there. Despite what she had found out about him… no, probably because of it, she was even closer to him than before.

Rosette sighed. "We'll make them see… it's stupid to go in blind like this, isn't it…"

He nodded once, gazing down with a thoughtful look. "But yet, what else can we do?"

Rosette turned and walked away, a firm step in her pace, and Chrno jogged to keep up, following her silently. This battle would see them either through destruction, or salvation, and what would happen after that was unknown. Rosette seemed to have something in mind though, and hopped down the steps, and appeared on the side of the dais where Sister Kate was.

"With all of your help, and prayers, we will be victorious." Sister Kate was saying proudly to the crowd.

Remington glanced to the side, and spotted Rosette standing there, looking rather cross, and stepped down to speak with her quietly, as not to disturb the Sister's pep talk. "What is it, Rosette?" Remington spoke softly, glancing up to Chrno with an inquisitive look. Ever since their last showdown on the beach a few days ago, the two seemed to have gotten past any differences they had once, well mostly Remington. He wasn't as wary of Chrno anymore, but he still was aware of his nature.

"Minister, our plan won't work." Rosette said firmly, and didn't wait for Remington to interrupt as his eyes widened. "There's only one way we can completely destroy Ion and win this."

Remington sighed a bit, as if he had been over this argument before with her, thought they had not. "Rosette, we can't risk going up directly just to rescue Joshua. He would likely destroy us all in the process." He glanced up and met Chrno's eyes, as the demon nodded once in affirmation.

"That's not what I'm talking about." Remington blinked, and Chrno looked surprised as well as Rosette scowled. "Both of you are selfish idiots." Chrno jerked his head back, and Remington frowned. "There's one thing we can do to completely obliterate Ion and save Joshua!" Rosette turned her head, and stared directly at Chrno.

Chrno met her eyes, not certain what she was getting at. "Rosette, I can hardly stand against Ion, with or without my horns." He reminded her gently. "He's stronger than I am, and has much support."

"That's not true." She said quietly, her voice lowering. "There is one thing we can do."

Chrno's brow furrowed, then the realization hit him like a sledgehammer, and his eyes shot open, slitting even a little bit in alarm, and his breath sucked in sharply as he fought the urge to shout out aloud. "Rosette!!" He gasped, fear and shock rocking him. "How… how did you find out about…No… NO!" He grabbed his head in both hands and screamed that final word out loud, demanding silence as Sister Kate trailed off, staring their way. Chrno didn't notice, as he took another step back, still holding his head. "Rosette….I CAN'T use that…."

Rosette turned and folded her arms across her chest. "It would destroy Ion. It's guaranteed to do that, it's the ONLY thing we can count on!"

Chrno shuddered and shook his head, refusing to meet her eyes. "Rosette…."

"Chrno, if you have something that can help us, why do you refuse." Remington spoke softly, though his words rang clearly in the silent hall. "What power is this?"

Chrno was silent, and then slowly lifted his face. Everyone could clearly see the distraught look he gave Rosette, before he straightened up, and tried the best he could to get a grip on his emotions. But clearly, he didn't have a firm grip on them as his voice shook, and tears welled up in his eyes. "It is a devastating power." He said quietly.

Remington's eyes narrowed. "Why have you said nothing before?"

Chrno lowered his eyes and averted his head in silence, and Rosette turned about. She had seen more than he thought she had seen… and as a result she explained what he physically was unable to continue doing. "Chrno used it once before, but Ion doesn't know he can use that power." Chrno kept his head averted, and his jaw worked quietly as he fought to keep control. Rosette continued however. "It would take an enormous amount of energy to use, that's why he doesn't want to use it." She stood taller, her clear blue eyes intense. "But I don't think we have a choice."

Remington's gaze fell on Chrno, and Sister Kate also looked directly at the small demon, and pursed her lips. "Is this true, Chrno? Have you been keeping this information from us for a reason?"

Chrno shuddered a bit, then drew himself up as tall as he could, and fixed them with a piercing gaze. "There's a reason I have never tried to use it, nor mentioned it. It's not something that… can be done without consequences." His voice cracked audibly this time, and he gave up trying to hide his raging emotions, and began to talk more vehemently. "It doesn't just require an enormous amount of power…" He felt everyone's eyes on him, but it hardly mattered anymore. "It has other after-effects that…are unstable." He trailed off.

Rosette lowered her eyes and shook her head lightly. "You underestimate your power. You've had access to that power the whole time, and the only reason you don't want to use it is because you're too concerned with other people to realize that you HAVE to make sacrifices sometimes in order to save the whole. Ion has no idea you can use it, since you never told him, or showed him. With it, you can defeat him."

Chrno's head jerked up, and his eyes widened, then flashed bright red, startling everyone. "NO!" He grit his teeth, and shut his eyes, as Rosette winced as a flicker of electricity escaped the sealed clock. But it faded as he regained control and stood there silently breathing hard, before speaking. "I refuse to sacrifice your life, Rosette. I just won't do it." He fought out in a strained voice.

Sister Kate stood tall. "Chrno, we are certain our plan will succeed, but if it does not, having a back-up plan would be ideal.. otherwise the obliteration of our world is at hand. Anything you know, anything no matter how devastating it is, would be helpful." Her eyes slid over to Rosette, who absently had put a hand around the clock hanging around her neck.

Chrno stood in silence, his eyes downcast, as the two women set to convince him. Rosette in truth, didn't know the specifics of the power…she knew that he could use it, and was aware of it, but there seemed to be a black section in his memory, where he had either blocked it out, or forgotten something related to it. He had used it when fighting the 100 demons, during the rage of passion and anger that had overwhelmed him, over 50 years ago. But still, most of the details around it was very fuzzy. All she knew was, it was very very powerful.

There was an audible murmur through the crowd, as he continued. "IF I manage to cast it right, since I…don't really remember how I managed to cast it before, then there's a strong possibility that…" His voice quieted. "…I would lose control of my senses, and become a worse threat than Ion."

Rosette's eyes widened in shock, as she listened to this, and stared at him in fear, as something cold clenched at her heart. "Lose… control?"

He kept his eyes locked on hers. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely. If I handle that much power, I can't be sure that it wont' change me… I…have a very bad feeling about the source of power from it…it's not of this plane. If I use it now, I could go back to being someone that I don't want to be." He lowered his eyes.

There was a tense silence in the hall, as everyone assimilated that information. It seemed at first that Sister Kate was going to nod in understanding, and dismiss that idea, but Rosette stepped forward. "Chrno...?" He glanced up slowly, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "It doesn't matter to me what consequence occurs…the only thing we have to remember, is that the world's very existence is on the line. I knew that one of these days, my time would run out.." Her eyes smiled sadly at him, as a grief-stricken look crossed his face. "Like you said, there isn't much time left. If we don't use this power, and lose our lives anyway, then everything goes to waste, and the world perishes. If we use the power, we might lose our lives, but have saved everyone else." She took his hands into hers, and smiled, bumping her forehead against his. "I would much rather have my soul go to a good purpose, than go to waste."

He averted his eyes, and his shoulders shook with heavy emotion. It was obvious to everyone in the hall, that he did NOT like the situation, but he could hardly disagree with her reasoning.

Sister Kate and Remington exchanged a look. Sister Kate turned back to Chrno, and fixed him with a thoughtful look. "Chrno. If we consider this option, we would need your full co-operation…. We would only use it as a secondary back-up plan…. If all else fails…" She trailed off meaningfully.

He took a deep breath, and stopped shaking, appearing to draw himself together, then nodded once and stood straight. "I understand. I will do it. But I must ask one favor."

"Anything." Sister Kate smiled sadly at him, understanding now, just how hard it was for him to live this way… so much power, so much responsibility, and he had not abused it. He was indeed an honorable, and kind person.

Chrno smiled sadly, and glanced once at Rosette, then back to Sister Kate. "If we have to resort to doing this, and I do lose who I truly am, and who I wish to be…promise me that you will end my suffering. I would rather die, than to live working against everything that I have fought so hard to achieve in the past years." His gaze was firm, and intense on the three of them, despite Rosette's shocked look of fear and terror.

Sister Kate, however, smiled sadly, and Remington nodded once in agreement as she spoke. "I understand. I promise you we will ensure that it is taken care of for you."

He smiled and lowered his head. "Thank you."

**

"CHRNO!!"

He stopped short, turning about as Rosette's angry voice rang out from the hall behind him as he walked slowly down it, deep in thought. He cringed a bit, as she stomped towards him like an angry bull. "Ah…. Rosette." He greeted quietly as she came to a stop in front of him.

"Just WHAT do you think you're doing, asking a thing like that!?" She fumed, her eyes red-rimmed with tears threatening to fall.

He smiled sadly, and watched as she stood there, shoulders shaking, eyes hidden behind her hair. "Rosette… would you rather see me trying to destroy humanity and know I'm alive, or know that I'm resting the way I wish, not causing more damage against what I've fought to preserve."

She bit her lip and looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "There has to be another way…I won't let them kill you, even if you are… corrupted."

He shook his head. "It may not happen… we can only hope… But…if it does, I would like you to be the one who lets me rest, Rosette.. If this doesn't take both our lives, that is." He took both her hands and smiled up at her kindly. "Because it is you whom I trust the most in this world. I would like to know someone I care for will be there to see me off."

She sighed, and stood there for a moment, then slowly nodded, a sad smile on her face. "Ah. I understand." She wiped the tears away from her eyes with an angry shove. "But you'd better not talk about that kind of thing…cause it's not going to happen."

"Ah…right."