By the way, I still haven't revealed Zachary's true identity, if any of you were still wondering.

Apocalypse means two things. Revelation and the end. Thus, the meaning of the previous chapter title is both odd and meaningful. It's for you readers to figure out what it means exactly.

I made a mistake earlier. When Chrno was fighting Mammon's demons, the bullet he got from Rico was another Last Rite, not the Testament.

Balance of Judgment

Chapter 4: Mistakes of Morality

With a yawn Zachary walked out of the room the Order had supplied him with. Sleep was one of the few human things he enjoyed. That and eating. And watching TV. Well, even he was allowed to indulge from time to time. There was no point in being perfect.

"Zachary."

There was no need to turn to see the speaker either.

"Aion. What brings you here? I thought the Order was keeping you under close watch."

"Oh please. The Order is hardly capable of containing me. Apparently they didn't believe your assurances that you had me under control."

"Sometimes I question that myself."

Aion walked over and stood at the angel's side.

"I have a question, which I feel deserves an answer."

"Go ahead and ask it. No guarantee I'll answer it."

"There are now two Saints present. Does this have anything to do with the recent resurgence of activity?"

Zachary started brushing his teeth and did so for about two minutes. After he had rinsed his mouth he turned to Aion.

"Even though it seems to be too much of a coincidence, I can't really say it is. After your little stunt with the Saints sixty years ago, we angels moved to ensure that line of action was closed off to any others that would attempt it. Of course, that doesn't mean the Saints might be used in some other way."

"Very well then."

"What intelligence have you been able to gather?" Zachary asked.

"Very little. My network extends primarily through Europe and the United States. What information I have gotten is mostly third hand at best. But apparently a good deal of activity has been centering on the Middle East and Eastern Europe."

"Oh?"

"There is a good deal of instability as well as unhappiness. The rulers there cannot seem to maintain their grip on power very well."

After he had eyed the razor for a bit Zachary applied the shaving cream over his face. Being human meant you had to take care of the body.

"There's unhappiness everywhere you look," Zach said as he began shaving. "It's part of being human."

"What about being a demon or angel?"

Zach shrugged as he tapped the razor on the side of the sink.

"You figure that out for yourself. You're the demon. As for angels, well, we feel content with just the little stuff."

"You're certainly not like Remington."

With a few more graceful swipes Zach was finished as he rinsed the razor. After he splashed himself to clean off any leftover cream he turned to Aion.

"Individuality is something all three of our people have, Aion. Try not to stereotype each group from just your prospective."

"Didn't you just do that?" Aion countered.

As Zachary passed Aion on his way out of the bathroom he sighed.

"I said humans have emotions," he stated softly. "That's what defines humans at any rate."

Aion chuckled and started disappearing from the room.

"You really like to be vague, don't you?" he said as a parting shot.

Once the demon had left, Zach went back to the bathroom and sat down on the toilet.

"Man, I thought he'd never leave."

With a flick of the hand the bathroom door slammed shut.

In another room in the Magdalan compound, Chrno had rested his head on the side of the bed. In front of him Rico slept peacefully, still worn out from the ritual last night. Though Chrno hadn't been so drained, the stress he had been under gave him a good excuse to be completely out of it. Still, there was no denying the fact that it's hard to sleep with light pouring down on you.

Rico shifted slightly and the movement awakened Chrno. His eyes opened and Chrno looked over at Rico with a smile. With her sleeping peacefully, the resemblance between her and Rosette were stronger than ever. She yawned and opened her eyes, looking back at Chrno.

"Good morning," Chrno greeted.

"Morning." Another long yawn. "What time is it?"

Chrno glanced over at the clock, having just woken up himself.

"It's eleven."

Rico shot up and immediately regretted it. She slowly fell back and sighed.

"Well, Azmaria had better not get mad at me for oversleeping this time. Ooooo, I have such a bad headache."

Chrno chuckled and leaned closer to her. "How are you?"

"Mmm, tired. Still very tired. But, it worked. I remember everything."

He placed a hand on her forehead and felt it. Rico didn't have a fever so she was simply exhausted, nothing more.

"I'm sorry you were hurt," Chrno said. "If I had known what was going to happen, I would have tried to find a different way."

Rico shook her head and took Chrno's hand. "Don't be silly. But, you were right about one thing. I'm not Rosette Christopher. I'm Rico Franklin."

Chrno nodded. "I know."

"But," Rico interrupted, "I do remember all the things that you had done because you loved us. Yes, us. Still, the ones you loved were Mary Magdalene and Rosette Christopher, not me, Rico Franklin. However, what I want to say is this. I want to learn to love you, Chrno, and I want you to learn to love me."

Chrno smiled and nodded. "I'll learn to love you, Rico. Not because you're the same as Rosette or Mary, but because you're you."

Rico shifted closer and took hold of Chrno. She tried to pull him over and Chrno got the hint. The two embraced and Rico closed her eyes again, letting Chrno support her weight. It felt nice being in his arms. One of her last memories from Rosette was Chrno holding her in his arms and it had felt so comfortable. This time, she could enjoy it without having to worry about it ending sooner than she wanted. Unfortunately, a knock on the door proved her wrong. The sound surprised them both and they nearly jumped back.

"C-come in," Chrno stuttered out.

Azmaria opened the door and walked in. She smiled at the two and noticed their blush.

"Not doing anything naughty, are we?" she asked.

Chrno's blush became even redder while Rico was turning red for a different reason.

"How dare you suggest that! Especially as you're a nun!"

Azmaria laughed and walked over to the bed. She sat down next to Chrno and looked at Rico.

"So how are you?"

Rico calmed a bit and leaned back again.

"Well, I guess I'm okay. It's weird. When I look at you, I see both the Sister that did her best to keep me under control, and the shy little girl I had saved."

"So you really are Rosette," said Azmaria.

"Well, at least we share the same soul," said Rico. "I see you took over command of the New York division. You finally became an exorcist after all, huh?"

Azmaria nodded. "And it was all thanks to you."

Rico shook hear head. "Sister Azmaria, please, don't assume that I've become Rosette. I'm still Rico. All I have are Rosette's memories."

"I see," said Azmaria. "But you are now an apostle like me. That much is true."

"Maybe." Rico sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. "I missed so much. I wanted to be with my friends so much, but I knew that my time was limited. So I, well, Rosette decided to share that time with Chrno."

Azmaria nodded. "I don't blame you, well, her. But when we found Rosette and Chrno, well, we were all saddened that we hadn't reached you two in time. There was so much that was left unsaid."

"You can say it now," said Rico. "Though I'm not her exactly, I would understand all the sentiments."

"Oh I know. That's why I brought some old friends of yours."

"Huh?"

"Come in ladies."

Through the door three elderly sisters walked in and stood before the bed.

"It's been a while," the brunette said.

"Hey Rosette! Chrno!" the blond shouted.

"It doesn't seem such a surprise that you're as destructive as ever, even after you're reincarnated," the redhead finished.

"Huh? What! Hey!" Rico protested.

The three laughed and Rico smiled, lowering the pillow she was about to throw.

"But at least I'm still the most beautiful," Rico said with a big smile. "That's one advantage of having died."

"No fair," Mary said.

She walked up to Chrno and patted him on the shoulder.

"You and Chrno are so lucky. You get a new body, while Chrno is still his adorable self."

"How have you three been?" Rico asked. "We never really talked, unless you three were scolding me."

"Indeed," said Clare. "You always reminded me of Rosette, blowing up buildings and whatnot. Fortunately you never destroyed a cargo ship, a blimp, and a train before."

"Hey, none of those were my fault," Rico protested. "The circumstances didn't exactly let me do anything to prevent it."

"Sure, sure," said Anna. "But still, it's nice to have you back with us. It was such a shock when we found you two again. I feel like crying just thinking about it."

Rico hugged her legs tightly. "How did we look?"

"Peaceful," Azmaria answered. "You two looked peaceful and almost happy. I think it was because you were together."

"But enough of that!" Mary shouted and twirled around. "You two must be hungry. After all, it is rather late."

She ran out of the room and came back in pushing a cart of food.

"You still have a lot of energy," Rico noted, "even though you're ancient."

"Hey, be nice. Especially since I was the one that brought the food."

"Thanks," Chrno said.

He picked up the fork and knife and started going through the pork chops.

"This is certainly better than what we normally get," Rico said as she chows down.

"Don't tell me you're complaining," Anna teased.

"Oh no I'm not," Rico said quickly. She stuck another chunk of meat into her mouth and savored the taste.

"So how do the two of you feel?" Azmaria asked.

"Tired," Chrno answered for both of them. "I feel really exhausted personally. Maybe another ten hours of sleep?"

"Yeah," Rico said through her mouthful of food. "That would definitely be nice."

"Don't chew with your mouth open, and don't talk with food in your mouth," Mary chided.

"Oh be quiet," Rico shot back.

"Be respectful to your elders," Anna said.

"Are you all against me or something?" Rico demanded.

"Calm down," said Azmaria. "After you two are rested, we can talk some more. But for now, I'll let you two sort things out and then you can tell us what you two have decided."

"About what?" Rico asked.

"Well, it is awkward not knowing who we're talking to," said Azmaria. "I know you're Rico, but Rosette and Mary are also in there."

"True," Rico admitted. "Grr, it's hard sharing your mind with so many different memories."

Azmaria stood and motioned to the other sisters.

"We'll leave the two of you alone to talk and eat."

The door closed after they had left and Chrno and Rico looked at each other again. Rico licked her lips and went through the food as fast as she could.

"Did Rosette eat like this?" Rico asked.

"Wouldn't you know?"

"Humor me."

Chrno nodded. "Yes, but only when she was mad."

"Do you think I'm mad?"

Chrno put the cup down and smiled widely. "I'm not hurt yet, am I?"

"Wipe that smile off, or you just might be."

Outside in another hallway Zachary was whistling as he walked. Having finished breakfast and feeling a bit bored, he was considering his options at the moment. Chrno and Rico would need more time to adapt before Rico dropped another bombshell on her demonic companion. For now, he would enjoy the quiet. Rushing into things never helped and Zach was at the least patient.

Out in the yard he sat down on one of the benches and unfolded the newspaper he was carrying under his arms. It was time to see how much of a mess the world was in, and the New York Times provided him with a good resource. The day was as near perfect as possible with the sun comfortably shining down and supplying just enough warmth. A light breeze blew from time to time and it felt delightful sitting in the open. So long as nothing disturbed him, Zach would have plenty of time to relax. Too bad his time was always on demand now that people knew he was an angel.

Today so far few people had approached him. As he looked through the papers Zachary considered his current options. Little information had trickled down so far and that meant neither Aion nor the Vatican's networks were receiving anything. That didn't seem too odd as the problems were now rooted in areas where the Vatican's influence was considerably diminished. The Russian Orthodox Church would cooperate but it would take longer for that information to be passed to his hands. The Muslims on the other hand would be interesting to deal with.

Though it could be said the Muslims were most believing in their faith, many in the Middle East had become increasingly unstable in how they carried out that faith. Sometimes Zach questioned the wisdom of his and his comrades' previous actions in influencing the birth and growth of religions that looked up to God. The religions were designed to prevent bloodshed within the cultures that adopted them, though it certainly hadn't worked out very well.

Zach sighed and folded the newspaper again. It was about time for another meeting, this one with the Magdalan Council. If they couldn't provide more intelligence, Zach would need to go out with and take Chrno and Rico with him, even if they might not be ready. Aion was already doing quite well in his assignments but the demon would another day or so to wrap up that particular piece of business.

When Zach arrived at the conference room the elders were all waiting. He took a seat before them and waited for their first words.

"It is certainly an honor for us to meet you," the head said. "However, there is much work to be done."

"I agree," Zach replied. "That is why pleasantries can be reserved for a less demanding time."

"Of course. The intelligence that we have managed to obtain is sketchy at best, but it has mostly been involving the UN's Atomic Energy Commission."

"And why is that?"

"They are investigating a potential problem with Russia's nuclear arms," another councilmen continued. "As you are aware of, the economical problems in Russia has prompted fears of possible sales of radioactive materials. Reports also indicate that an outside source is influencing some of this."

"A demonic source, I presume."

The councilman nodded. "While the demons are not bound by any laws that prevent them from interfering directly with our affairs, we believe that this demon in particular wishes to avoid taking action until chaos envelopes the world."

"Do you have any leads?" Zach asked. "There isn't much I can do unless I have a place to start."

"We have a place. The port of Odessa."

An envelope was laid down on the table and Zachary picked it up. He eyed it and nodded.

"I guess I better get to work."

"Godspeed, Lord Zachary. All our prayers go with you."

Once he was out of the room Zach looked down at the envelope again. Time was critical and he would need to draw Rico and Chrno into his assignment immediately. But first thing was first. He still had to read the information the Order had supplied him. He looked around and noticed Chrno and Rico walking about. Apparently they had regained their energy after that long nap. Zach smiled and walked off in the opposite direction. He could afford a little more time.

As they went down the corridor Rico kept a tight grip on Chrno's hand.

"My family was originally from Germany, but my mother married into a British family. Of course, that was before they moved to the United States."

"Were you born in the States?" Chrno asked.

"Yeah. I have an older brother and a little sister. My parents decided I should come here to the Order because of how hyperactive I was. They thought the Order could calm me down and make me a proper lady or something."

"That obviously didn't work," Chrno commented.

"Hmph! Would you rather I be like a lady?"

"Well, you enjoyed wearing dresses a lot before."

"That's because the dress these nuns wear are horrible! I'm a girl, remember? I do have sense of fashion."

"Right, right. After your family came to the US, what did they do?"

Rico laughed nervously. "You might find this surprisingly, but they were demon hunters."

"Huh? Really?"

Rico nodded. "My parents hunted down demons for a while before they settled down. You could say they were contracted by others to take down demons."

"Wow. But what will they think of me?"

"Oh please," said Rico. "You're famous! It might take some doing, but my parents won't give us too much trouble. I'll make sure of that."

Chrno smiled weakly and nodded. From his past experience with Rosette, he knew how determined the girl could be. For much of the remaining morning the two simply walked around, regaining their strength and taking the time to relax. It was clear that something threatened the world again and Zachary hadn't been completely forthcoming in terms of details. That was probably how the angel was used to working, as the Host rarely made a move openly. But the Order was beginning to mobilize, so that meant something big was up. How big, they would find out later.

Around noon Rico's stomach started growling again and she dragged Chrno back to the mess hall.

"How could you be hungry already?" Chrno asked.

"Hey, I'm a growing girl and also recovering from that ceremony! Of course I'm hungry!"

In the mess hall Rico magically made three bowls of soup and two loaves of bread disappear in a matter of minutes. It was simply amazing to Chrno as he watched her eat. Even Rosette never consumed this much food at once, though she had drank a good deal of alcohol once. At the moment though, this was not Chrno's concern. He was just hoping that the others watching Rico chow down wouldn't make a comment or anything. Rico didn't need to be full to dish out more damage. Chrno sighed and stirred his soup a bit. With access to the astral energies once again, he could extend his demonic senses and try to see who would be stupid enough to make a comment. Too bad he didn't have to wait.

"You know, gluttony is a sin."

It was a young man about Rico's age that said that. Chrno felt the room chill a few degrees and everyone waited for Rico's reaction.

"So is adultery, Sam."

The guy looked like he wanted to hit Rico but one look from Chrno and he backed off. Slowly eating resumed after Sam had ran off. Chrno looked at Rico with a questioning stare. Rico sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know why Sam is here. He's an idiot, as far as I'm concerned. Sam thinks he's the greatest exorcist that ever lived, though he isn't even Third Class yet. But when he found out about my family, he suddenly decided that he would marry me or some other nonsense."

"Your family is rich, right?"

"Of course. He's a gold digger."

"A what?"

"It means someone that tries to marry into a rich family because they're rich, not because they love."

"Oh. That just seems wrong."

Rico nodded. "Man, I so want to tear his little head off."

"Try avoid doing that until later," a voice said behind them.

Rico jumped and looked up to see Zachary peering down.

"Zachary! What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on you two, and wondering if you're ready for a mission."

That made Rico jump again, though this time it was one of excitement.

"We're actually going to do something? I'm not going to be stuck in here any longer?"

Zachary chuckled and pried Rico off of him.

"I just have to brief Azmaria and the two of you, and we're off. So calm down already, Rico."

"So where are we going? Where are we going? Where are we going?"

Zachary looked to Chrno for help but the demon just smiled helplessly.

"She is Rosette, after all."

"Right, like I need to be reminded of that," said Zachary. "Come on over to Azmaria's office."

Zachary then disappeared in a shower of blue energy, causing everyone to start staring at Rico again. After she realized what was happening she glared at all of them.

"Well? Don't you people have better things to do?"

This gained the reaction she wanted and the two made their exit shortly afterwards. As expected, Zachary was already waiting for them in Azmaria's office.

"Well, this is certainly unexpected," said Azmaria. "The moment you're slightly recovered and you have to go globe-hopping."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"It's about the mission," said Zachary. "We are going after several of the Nephilim."

"Nephilim?" Rico said. "Why them?"

"I'm sorry, but what are Nephilim?" Chrno asked. "It sounds familiar, but I can't put a finger on it."

"Fallen angels," Rico explained. "They're angels that sinned by mating with human women. Why in the world would we need to find them?"

"Because we're low on troops," said Zachary. "What? Do you honestly think I'll be able to complete my mission with two demons and a nun, no matter how powerful all three of you are?"

"I'll concede that," said Rico. "But why fallen angels? Can't you just call forth a bunch of angels to do your bidding or something?"

"Of course. But why should I go through all that trouble when I could just get a few fallen angels together? I am a man with priorities."

"Oh so screw that," said Rico. "How exactly is tracking down fallen angels more of a priority?"

"It would take too much of an effort to get more angels down onto Earth," said Zachary. "Besides, the more angels that come down, the more that might become fallen. Easier just to use the ones that have already fallen."

"You're certainly cold," said Rico.

"It can't be helped. Azmaria, would it be possible to get us transportation to Rome?"

"Of course," said Azmaria. "Though you may wish to be careful there. The Vatican inside of Rome is holy ground and I am not sure Chrno or Aion would be able to enter some of the places."

"No loss if Aion tries," Rico said under her breath.

"Aion will be on another assignment," said Zachary. "It'll be just you, me, and Chrno."

Rico smiled and nodded. "Well that's good to hear."

"Well, let's get packing then. I'm pretty sure this will be the first time Chrno and I have been on a plane."

"What? An aeroplane? We're going to ride an aeroplane?"

Rico sighed. "Sometimes I forget you're from another era. Well, just don't get airsick on me."

"Air sickness?"

"She means motion sickness," said Azmaria. "But then again, you should know all about that from Rosette's driving."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm a much better driver nowadays!"

As Zachary walked out of the room he couldn't help but make one last statement.

"Right, Rico."

A few days later the three were on an airplane heading towards Rome. While Zachary and Rico were perfectly fine, Chrno for some reason had trouble adjusting. Also considering he was sitting in between the two might have been another cause. The angel was quietly reading a French newspaper, with a German one sitting on his tray. Rico took the opportunity to nap and Chrno could only try to keep his stomach from spilling forward. The poor demon sighed and closed his eyes. Hopefully he would be able to sleep through the rest of the flight.

End of Chapter 4

For this fic I've had trouble with getting the meaning of the chapter title across. Hopefully I'll do better in the future. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to who the first fallen angel they're going to contact is?

Z98