SC: Okay! Here's chapter three!

Chrono: (Dully) Wow, SC, that was dramatic!

SC: Why thank you! …Hey! Don't be sarcastic! I don't understand sarcasm!

Chrono: We kind of new that…

SC: …I don't get you at all…

Disclaimer: I hate disclaimers…let's just forget about this…

Lawyers: (Cocks a gun and holds it up at SC's head)

SC: I-I do-don't o-own Ch-Chrono Cr-Crusade!

Lawyers: (Puts gun down)

SC: (Quickly grabs gun and starts firing it wildly around) DIE, YOU DAMNED LAWYERS!


Rosette stared at Joshua, Joshua doing the same. Um…what am I supposed to say? He just tried to rip my arm off, so what can I say? "You have a grip like a demon!" Nah…that's stupid…besides, isn't he supposed to be a demon? Crap. Got to think of something fast!

A bead of sweat appeared on Rosette's face, continuing her inner battle of what to say to the brother she had dedicated her life to finding. "Um…how are you?" Gahhh! Stupid! You don't say, "How are you!" She mentally punched herself.

Joshua scowled. "We…haven't seen each other…for a total of four years…and that is all you have to say to me?" Joshua turned his head, staring down at the floor.

See! That was not the right thing to say! Ahh! "Um…yeah…" Great. She had done it. Joshua was probably very upset now.

Joshua kept his face turned, still staring down at the ground.

Rosette had to say something, that wasn't the most proper of ways to greet somebody that you haven't seen in four years. "Joshua…I'm…"

She stopped as she saw Joshua struggling against something. She then just realized that he was struggling not to break out laughing! The nerve of him! Saying that to her and then laughing!

Joshua must have noticed that Rosette saw him trying not to laugh, account of the anger on her face. He looked up from the piece of carpet that he had been staring at and laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face! Ah ha ha ha!" Joshua sat back on his bed, still laughing.

Rosette resisted the urge to clunk Joshua's head against the wall. "Joshua! Still up to your no good tricks!"

"Well, to answer your question. I'm fine, now that you're here." He smiled a bright smile up at Rosette.

Rosette's anger instantly disappeared, how could she be angry with him? He probably waited forever to pull a trick on someone, unless he pulled one on Aion constantly. She mentally laughed, imagining Joshua putting make-up on Aion's face while he slept.

Rosette smiled. "Oh…Joshua!" Rosette broke out in tears. Joshua, confused on why she was crying, put a worried look on his face.

"Rosette…you never cry! What's wrong?" Joshua gasped when Rosette ran up to him and started hugging and kissing him, on the cheek, repeatedly.

"Ah! I missed your stupid tricks! I missed your stupid smiles! I missed your stupid cowboy books! I missed you!"

Joshua kept laughing. "You really missed my cowboy books?" He put a hand on Rosette's back, rubbing it, in attempt to calm her down.

"Yes!" She cried even more.

"Rosette! You're going to cause a flood if you keep crying!" Joshua smiled as Rosette glared at him, stopping her tears.

She looked at Joshua as if she had never seen him before. "Joshua…you look…so much older! And…" They both stood up. "Horse feathers! You're still taller than me too!"

Joshua stopped smiling, observing Rosette in return. "Well…it has been four years…and look at you! You look like a nun! And…you're chest isn't as flat as a pancake!" Joshua remembered himself constantly telling Rosette that back at the Orphanage.

Rosette smiled, ignoring his last comment. "I am a nun, silly!" She grasped her shoulder and turned around, showing him the cross, proving that she was with the Magdalene Order.

Joshua frowned. "You're…a nun…but how? Last time I saw you, you wanted nothing to do with God." He touched the cross, feeling the smooth metal.

"Well…" She stopped, thinking on how she would explain this to him. "Hmm…how to explain…" She turned around and sat down on Joshua's bed.

"Since that night, I've been training to defeat devils and demons, just to get you back. I am now currently in the Militia…an apprentice…" She mumbled the last part.

Joshua laughed.

"It's not funny! I tried real hard to join the Militia and all they do is put me in the lowest class! Probably because of Sister Kate…" She scowled.

Joshua sat down beside her. "So you're an exorcist…what happened after I left?"

Rosette put her hand on her chin. "Well, when you left, Chrono and I were left out in the forest. I think we were lost, I can't be sure because he kept on saying that he knew the way. But I don't think he did…we circled around the same spot twice, had to go rock climbing three times, and then he fell into the lake. When he got out, he told me he didn't see it! But I told him, "How can you not see a lake that big?" But he said, "That it was invisible." She stopped when she saw the look of amusement on Joshua's face.

Joshua shook his head, "Just get to the story."

Rosette sighed. "So, when we finally found our way back to the Orphanage, Father Remington was there—"

Joshua interrupted her. "Let me guess, you punched him and then spat on his shoe."

"Yeah, so after that he asked me where you were. I only replied that it was none of his business. Father Remington smiled and told me that he could help me find you, so here I am! I joined and he trained me and we've been looking for you since!" Rosette left out the part of Chrono's contract. She didn't want to ruin Joshua's happiness.

Joshua nodded, but saw a glint of light. He looked down and saw the exact pocket watch that used to hang off Chrono's neck. "Rosette…isn't that Chrono's watch?" He gestured to it.

Rosette grasped her hands around the watch. "What watch? I don't see any watch!"

Joshua only scowled.

Ah, crap! Looks as if I have to tell him now… "Well…there's one little thing I left out…actually…it's a big thing…Hey! I'm hungry! Let's go get something to eat!" Rosette stood up, making an excuse for not telling him right away, but Joshua would have none of it.

"Rosette, please! I'm your brother, you can tell me!" Joshua held a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

Rosette sat back down. "Joshua…fine… Do you now how a demon gets it's Astral Power?"

Joshua nodded. "Through it's horns."

"Yeah, well…since Aion gave you…Chrono's horns, he was dieing from the loss of power. Thanks to Aion, he had used all of the power he had left trying to get me away from that freezing barrier, if I hadn't done what I'd done, he would've returned to how he was when we first found him."

Joshua remained still, not seeing how this was going to end. "What did you do to save him?" This was like a suspense story to Joshua, waiting to know how it ends.

"I…made a contract with him…" Rosette bent her head down.

"What's that?"

Rosette practically fell off the bed. "Y-you don't know what that is?" Joshua shook his head. "Well…it's when a demon uses a human's soul for its source of power."

Joshua was silent, letting the information run through his head. "You mean…he's using you…as his source of power?" Rosette nodded. "Why? Why would you let him do that?"

Rosette was silent for a moment, "Because…I wanted to find you so badly…and at the time, Chrono was the only one to help me. I needed him. We needed each other." Rosette realized just how much she needed Chrono…she was starting to miss him.

Joshua was shocked. His sister, his dear older sister, was giving up her life to a devil that they had hardly knew, just to save him. Joshua clenched his teeth in anger. "Rosette…you didn't have to do that…"

"Yes I did! You're everything to me! Do you know how hard it's been for me all these years, living without you? It was hard for us when Mom and Dad died, but then you leave me? What were you thinking, why did you do it?" Rosette held her breath, then let it out, calming herself.

"I was going to find you…just…not now…" Joshua stared down at the floor.

It was silent between the siblings, until Rosette broke it.

"Listen, we'll talk about this later. We just found each other, so let's relax while we can! Besides, I'm hungry!" Joshua laughed and followed his sister out.

"I guess you're right…what's done is done…nothing to do to change it…but tell me this, how much of your soul has Chrono used?" His sister stopped.

"Let's…not talk about that…" She said sadly, turning to face him.

"How much?" He said more sternly.

"…Two/thirds…" She whispered, before turning around and continued walking. "But I'm glad, I've completed my goal before my end. And because of that, I'm happy."

Joshua didn't understand. How could she be happy? He was going to outlive her! And here she was happy because she got to live to see him! He followed Rosette, silent all the while.

Chrono paced in his room. Where was she? How was she? What if she was hurt? What if she was dieing? No. She wasn't dieing. He would feel it, considering that her life was bound to him… He glanced over to the Apostle Tracker.

Elder had left the Apostle Tracker with Chrono, considering that he would be watching it for twenty four/seven. Father Remington had left hours earlier, claiming that he was missing important things to be teaching to his classes. Elder, like usual, was making more bullets and sacred weapons for the Order to use. Chrono was slightly afraid of Elder's new bullets, considering that the last one had given power to a devil, in place of it's lost horn and almost got Rosette killed.

So here he was, pacing his room, alone. He was starting to miss Rosette's happy face bounding in to his room and yelling that today might be the day that they would find Joshua.

Joshua. It was because of him, he had met Rosette. It was because of him, he and Rosette were still together. Actually…it was because of him…that Rosette was gone…

Chrono asked the question over and over in his mind. Would he ever see Rosette again? He was getting scared, Rosette was everything to him. If she asked him to buy a ice cream, he would. If she had asked him to drive down and stop a building from falling, he would. Anything. She asked it, he'd do it.

He eyed the Apostle Tracker again. Nothing. Only continuous beeps could be heard from it. Chrono walked to the desk the Apostle Tracker was sitting on and examined it. It had a off and on button in front, with an energy level screen on top of it. Besides both the on/off switch and energy screen, was a miniature map. It showed nothing right now, but Elder had claimed that when an Apostle's energy was sensed, it would show the name of the city the Apostle was in, the name of the providence the Apostle was in, and show a little dot on where it was located where it was located when they were near to the Apostle. It also showed the buildings and walls the Apostle was next to, so it was kind of like a maze. They would follow the Apostle Tracker's map until they got to the Apostle. Next to the map, there was a save button, to save the location that the apostle was at, so that when the energy signal faded, the location of the Apostle would remain on the map.

Simple.

But so far, nothing had been spotted. It was an agonizing waste of time if you were to ask Chrono.

Chrono frowned, getting odd feelings deep down in his gut. "Darn it, Rosette!" He prodded the Apostle Tracker once, then left it alone. Chrono sighed and moved towards his bed, lying down. "Why? We would have found him soon enough." Chrono closed his eyes, feeling that he was needed somewhere… This disturbed him greatly, but suddenly, he snapped his eyes back open. Him. He was here…

Chrono pushed the odd feeling away as he leapt up from his bed and barred his fangs, stretching out his hands, used to the fact that he used to have claws that would have easily ripped a person apart with the slightest of touch.

Aion, as he sensed, appeared right in front of him, smiling.

"Aion! Get that damn smile off your face before I do it for you!"

"My, my, Chrono! Little prissy today, aren't you?" Aion walked coolly around Chrono, Chrono keeping as far of distance from him as possible, and sat down on his bed. "I've only come to let you know how your dear Rosette is!"

Chrono stopped in his tracks as his defensive posture relaxed…a little… "Where is she? What have you done to her? Is she with Joshua?"

"Relax, will you? She's fine. She's just finished having a nice lunch with Joshua, thanks to Fiore's fine sandwiches." He smiled. "Rosette is rather cheerful being with her brother again, but then again, who wouldn't?"

"Why are you telling me this? Why didn't Rosette come to me herself and tell me this?" Chrono was getting irritated with Aion's games.

"Ah, for your first question, I felt like saying hi to an old friend. And your second, Joshua wishes for her to stay a bit longer before you are able to see her." The white haired demon fiddled around with his jacket.

Something is not right! He's acting as if this is some sort of friendly reunion! "Aion! I have had enough of your tricks! Tell me the real purpose of you coming here!"

"I've told you already, just to say hi." Aion frowned, standing up.

"How is Rosette? Is she hurt? Because if you had hurt her in any way…" Chrono was starting to panic.

"Well…she had a little accident because she wouldn't do as I requested, but I think she'll be fine…once Joshua finds her…"

Right as Aion said that, the Apostle Tracker went off. Chrono's eyes narrowed to slits as he glared at the smirking Aion, then he leapt to the Apostle Tracker and pressed the save button.

"Aion! I'll kill you!" He was about to leap at Aion, but his door was shoved open and Remington appeared, his Militia team behind him.

"Aion! I thought you might have been the one to break the barrier again! The criminal always comes back to the scene of the crime!" Yuan fingered the crucifix that was always by his side, suddenly, a beam of energy appeared at the tip, forming it into a holy sword.

"Ah, a minister with the Militia. Exactly whom are you calling a criminal? Chrono or me? We are both criminals in a way…" He smiled as the Militia loaded their weapons.

Joshua scooted a chair out from under the table, gesturing for Rosette to sit down. "Why thank you, my knight in shinning armor!" Rosette smiled and sat down, Joshua pushing the chair back in.

"Anything for my lady!" Joshua laughed and sat down beside her. Sitting down together and smiling at one another, the maid came into the room.

"Master Joshua…what would you like for lunch?" The housemaid stood inches away from Joshua, her brown eyes shinning as if she were eager to please.

"Ah, my sister and I would care for anything." Joshua stared up at Fiore.

Rosette nodded, not really knowing who this weird housemaid was.

Fiore nodded and walked into the kitchen, preparing Joshua and his sister's lunch.

"Joshua? Who is she?" She nodded off to the room the housemaid went into.

"That's Fiore, Aion had assigned her to taking care to my every need. She has been like a sister to me, in the time that you were one." He gave a sad smile, but it disappeared quickly as he turned his head. "It seems as if Aion has awoken."

Just as Joshua had said, Aion walked into the room. He was wearing his usual white overcoat, white shirt, and along with the usual white pants and shoes. Aion gave a kind smile to Joshua and a small nod to Rosette, before seating himself next to Rosette and across from Joshua.

"Aion…" Rosette whispered.

Aion stared at her. "Yes?"

Rosette didn't know how to say this. As long as she had known that he had even existed, she had been told that he was far more evil than any of the demons she had faced. "I'd…like to thank you…for taking me to Joshua."

Fiore arrived with three sandwiches and sat them out the person's they belonged to.

Aion grabbed his sandwich and held it before his mouth. "I didn't do it for you, I did it for Joshua. Besides, I couldn't have my ward being sad could I?" He smiled at Joshua and Joshua returned it.

Rosette was having a really hard time. This guy almost killed Chrono! And here I am eating lunch with the guy! It's his fault in the first place that Chrono lost his horns and I'm going to die when I'm thirty! Rosette clenched her fist, but showed no other physical sign of anger.

Joshua stared at Rosette's fist, until she grabbed her own sandwich and started to eat. He smiled at Rosette and looked over to Aion. "So, Aion, how is the hunt for the Apostles?"

Rosette stopped eating, she wanted to hear this. "Yes, Aion. Tell us." She said coldly, now realizing that this guy was not her friend.

Aion simply stared at Joshua. "Ah, those Apostles…yes. There are a total of seven Apostles out there…but I have made a new discovery, there are only a total of six that we can use." Aion set his sandwich down.

Six Apostles? What about the seventh? Joshua put Rosette's thought into his words.

"Six Apostles? What about the seventh?"

Rosette stared at Joshua, then at Aion, waiting for his answer.

"One of them is deceased. Her name was Mary Magdalene." He continued eating, "Come, come, best not discuss this now." He glanced over to Rosette, giving Joshua a clue.

"Oh." Joshua looked down at his plate and continued eating also.

Smart move, Aion. So…one of the Apostles is dead. But, Mary Magdalene? The name of the New York branches, the Magdalene Order. Did they somehow have a connection? Rosette made a mental note to ask Sister Kate and Father Remington when she got back.

That is, if she got back. Rosette looked down to her plate. What if she never got back?

After Aion, Joshua, and Rosette finished their lunches, Aion went back to his room to do whatever he did in there and Joshua and Rosette sat down in the living room in silence; not knowing what to say. Until Rosette suggested that they go for a walk on the beach. Joshua instantly agreed.

They walked far from the beach house until Joshua pointed to a small cliff ahead and claimed he could beat Rosette there in a race.

Joshua won.

There they sat, near to the edge of the cliff, admiring the view. "Wow, Joshua! It's so beautiful!" Rosette leaned her head over to the crook of Joshua's neck.

Joshua smiled and closed his eyes in comfort as he laid his head atop of Rosette's. "Yeah…I go here when I want to be alone…and when I want to think about you…" He opened his eyes, "I dreamt that we would be meeting again soon. I had planned that I would show you all my favorite spots when you got here. Just like old times…I hope it stays like this forever."

Rosette sighed and opened her eyes. "Joshua…I need to go back…" She lifted her head a way from Joshua.

Joshua stared at her. "What? But why? You just got here!" No! They could at least stay together for a while longer…

Rosette sighed again and looked out into the ocean. "Joshua…the Order needs me, Azmaria needs me, and I bet Chrono needs me. He's probably worried sick and will have my head when I get back." She laughed gently.

"B-but…I need you! Rosette! I need you here…with me!" He was getting angry.

"I know you do! That's why you're coming with me—" Rosette stopped when Joshua stood up.

"No! I like it here! It's quiet and peaceful and there's hardly ever demons that come here! Rosette, you just got here! You can't leave now!" He glared down at his sister.

Rosette stood up and hugged Joshua. "Joshua, I'm not going to—" Joshua pushed Rosette away.

"No! I don't want you leaving again! I want you to stay here with me! You can bring Chrono here! We can be a family again like old times!" Joshua backed away from Rosette.

Rosette smiled sadly. "It can't be like old times until the Apostles are safe, Joshua. That means you. Aion has to stop whatever he's going to do with the Apostles for it to be like old times." Rosette frowned, the look on Joshua's face, wasn't like the usual look on Joshua face.

Rosette, at some point, had gotten scared. Who knows what he could do? He had demon horns now.

Joshua stared at her and frowned deeply. "You fear me…" He backed away even farther.

"Joshua! Please! I don't…just…I've never seen you like this before!" That was a lie, back at the Orphanage, Joshua had scared her most that night. Blood streaming down the side of his face and Chrono's horns sprouted out on the sides of his head. His eyes were what scared her the most…

Rosette reached out to Joshua, but he turned away, staring at her before he ran off.

She sighed as she watched him go. "Why is it that everything has to go so wrong?" She questioned to nobody, but apparently somebody had answered her.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have told him that you had to leave so soon."

Rosette, startled, turned around to face Aion. "You! Why? Why did you give Joshua Chrono's horns? That's…just not right…" She shook her head.

Aion sat down beside her. "Joshua was sick then, Chrono's horns helped him get better…stronger…have more hope for the future. But what you told him broke that hope."

"What…I told him?" Rosette asked in question.

"About Chrono's contract. You living to be thirty. That broke his hope. He doesn't want you to die, not at all. He'd rather die himself than to see you in pain." Aion kicked his feet, swinging them back and fourth over the ledge of the cliff.

Rosette was silent for the moment, "I told him the truth. He asked and I answered." She remained standing, not trusting the demon before her.

"But, you didn't have to tell him that you had to go." Aion stared up at her.

"How did you know about that?"

"I hear everything. Everything that passes through Joshua's mouth is heard by my ears." He looked away, still smiling.

Rosette was worried…why was he here with her?

"Shouldn't you be doing something other than talking to me?" Rosette asked coldly.

"Nothing to do. I have all my plans set and the Sinners who worship me are planning to make them happen. Tell me…why do you think you have to go so soon?" He said, not looking away.

"Because the Order needs me!" She shouted.

"No, they don't. They have the Militia, your quest is completed. You've found Joshua and you're going to live to be thirty, what more do you have to do, besides living your life out in peace?" Aion whistled out and his eagle flew down from the sky, resting on his outstretched hand.

He was right again! The Order really didn't need her. All she ever did was cause destruction. Besides, they had over twenty Militia agents willing to do the Order's dirty work…Wait…where did that come from? Then it hit her.

"Aion! Stop poisoning my brain! I can make my own decisions!" She screamed out, grabbing her head.

"Who me?" Aion smiled at her, "Rosette…there is something I've been wanting to ask you ever since you got here." Aion stood up, his eagle flapping its wings out in order to gain balance.

"What would that be?" She glared at the tall demon.

"You have Joshua. You can live with him peacefully until you die. There's nothing to do about that, but there is a way to make sure that you do live to see thirty." Aion stepped closer to her.

"H-how's that?" Rosette was afraid of his answer.

"Simple…" The words that came out of his mouth seemed to come out in slow motion, "…destroy the watch…"

The watch. The watch that gave Chrono her soul. The watch that read when she were to die. She made a promise with Chrono, long ways back, that once she had found Joshua, they would become explores and explore the Astral Line. Then write a book about it. Well, she had found Joshua, all she needed was Chrono to be here with them.

"No." She said it simply and calmly. "I'd never. Chrono would die if I did. Tell me, why do you want Chrono to die?" She glared coldly at Aion. "I thought the two of you were brothers?"

It was Aion's turn to frown. "He is in my way. Once his is gone, I can finally change Pandemonium and create the new end of the world!" He raised his arms out, causing his eagle to take to the air. "Once that is done, I shall have the power of God himself and take him down. There is no more need for Chrono."

So, that was Aion's plan. The usual way that evil chose. "Well, I have bad news for you! As long as Chrono and I live, there won't be an end of the world!" Rosette grinned in triumph.

Aion's frown deepened. "So, you still choose the path to stop me…very well. If this how you want it. You know…I would have let you and Joshua live peacefully in my new era, but…" His eagle squawked as blood was shed.

Rosette opened her mouth in surprise, expecting a scream to come out, but blood came out in its place.

Aion pulled out his hand and wiped it with his white hanker chief. "…since you choose to stop me, I have to put an end to it." Aion bent down to Rosette's level and lifted chin up, "Anything you want me to tell your lover before you die?"

Rosette's hands slid down to her stomach, blood running through her fingers. She opened her mouth to say something to Aion, but nothing came out. Her eyesight started to turn blurry as she thought she saw two Aions.

Aion frowned and let Rosette drop to the ground. "Well…I'll say hi to Chrono for you, but don't worry, he'll be joining you soon."

With that, he disappeared, leaving Rosette...alone.


SC: Yep. The usual cliffhanger.

Chrono: No! Rosette!

SC: Let me assure you all, there will be a next chapter. See ya'll later!