Chapter 3

Bad news, joining forces

Take a moment from your past
Breathe it in and make it last
Today is tomorrow and yesterday
Take your pick, bring it my way
Oooh, yeah, freedom is remembering
The worlds of men and beast
Free to live under the sky
Free to be whatever you want
Fly away – take a moment just to see
What will become of you and me
I lay down my heart for you here
Take me away – so far away
Will we see the grand scheme
Of what lies beyond our dreams
The cosmos shine bright, so terrible
That we can only imagine the Grand Design
Nothing is coincidence
Don't believe, that's your right
Can you fly me away from here?
Take a moment to dry your tears
Cuz I'm flying on my own wings
My love, I'll help you to sing
Dance and since with the grace of One
When the dawn shows its light again
Be all that you want to be
At dawn, just take a moment

Your life's finally begun –Author unknown-Hee hee! I liked this poem!

He cracked his eye open a little as the sun fluttered through the window, rousing him from his peaceful slumber. Rosette had apparently rolled half onto him last night, because she had her head rested in the crook of his neck as well as half her body sprawled over him. He blushed as her warm breath tickled his skin lightly, but didn't move as he looked around. Rosette wasn't awake yet, he saw with some dread, but decided to let her sleep.

The puppy had apparently forfeited trying to get a good spot on the pillow-y end of the bed, and thus, was curled tight against his foot at the end of the bed. He took a deep breath, feeling the icy air on his face and in his lungs. It was cold in the house?

He yawned, then gently moved the arm Rosette had flung around his shoulders. A blush sprang to his cheeks when he realized that he had his arm around her shoulders and waist, pulling her closer to him and that their bodies were practically glued together. He quickly pulled his arms back, but that only caused her to wrap her arms around him tight! He wriggled, with trouble, from her grasp and stood up, loathing the cold floor beneath his toes.

'Might as well get a start on breakfast…' He thought tiredly, grudgingly pulling on his socks, but left his shoes off and walked towards the door. It was cold in that house! That stupid Elder had better not have touched his thermostat, or he would have one seriously ticked demon on his hands.

It soon became obvious when he came that the Elder did not know how to operate the heater or AC at all, thus, it was Chrono's job. He practically had to fight off the Elder when it got hot or cold, because he liked the room at 75F sharp and 62F in the summer, though the Elder didn't, causing the conflict of it all.

He yawned as he entered the kitchen. Okay, breakfast time…what to cook today? He sighed in irritation as he realized it had been his turn to cook for the past two months, and the dishes, and laundry, and cleaning. Lazy-butt Elder…making him do all the work as he fiddled with his petty toys.

He turned on the small gas stove and reached for the familiar box of pancake mix in the cabinet as he poured some oil into the frying pan. The Elder should get up soon, and it was the job of the person that cooks to have it done before the other gets up. For several minutes he ran around the kitchen, trying to keep things from burning and setting, until he was finally finished. He sat down at the table, suddenly feeling tired.

Done; every morning he had to do the same thing: Pancakes w/ butter and jelly; biscuits w/ sausage gravy; sausage that was deep fried w/ peppers; fried green tomatoes w/ some hot sauce and salt; then milk and orange juice with a glass of cream set aside. Could one old man really eat this much? It's not like he himself could eat very much anymore, but then again, it was mostly the Elder eating everything in the morning.

The Elder walked into the room with a slight whistle and laugh as he caught the tempting waft of breakfast.

"Now that looks good." He said happily as he sat down at the small table, which was groaning slightly in discomfort at the amount of food placed on it randomly. Chrono's only reply was a big yawn and to close his eyes as he leaned back in his chair tiredly. The Elder piled his plate full of food, then set some on Chrono's plate as it seemed he wasn't moving, then dug in.

"This is good, Chrono, thanks." Elder said as he tried to start up a conversation, though, it appeared Chrono was too tired to speak. Picking up the fork tiredly, the demon took a few small bites of the food, then set his fork down with a sigh.

"You can have the rest, I'll be outside under the old oak after I get out of the shower if you need me…" Chrono replied weakly as he made his way for the door; Elder blinked in shock. Chrono had never been this tired before, especially after just waking up, and he definitely never ate so little…was something wrong with the purple haired demon that he wasn't telling anyone about?

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He stood still as the scorching water poured down around him, making his hair fall in his eyes lazily as it smoothed out from the clear liquid. He didn't know what was so enticing about taking a hot shower to him, but he didn't mind. It helped him wake up, and helped to slightly ease the pain that grew stronger everyday. As the water got hotter, his mind wandered back to last night. Rosette said she'd had a dream about him…and he'd died? What did that mean? He doubted it would come true anytime soon…but then again-

"Aargh!" He yelled involuntarily as pain exploded through his chest and spread on down through his body, paralyzing him as he covered his mouth to keep from yelling again. He fell to his knees, barely feeling the water as it poured down his back, stinging it darkly. The only thing he could register at the moment was the pain and not to yell…for Rosette's sake…then it finally began seeping away. Slowly it left, making him cough as it stung his lungs again. He coughed and was responded by tasting a coppery liquid in his mouth. He looked down at his hand to see his crimson blood being washed away by the pouring water, seeping away without a care in the world…not caring that he would soon be dead along with them… He coughed again as he stood up, and ran his hands through his hair, trying to calm his heart back down before he fell again.

It was getting worse everyday…and harder to keep from Rosette…

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It was a beautiful day outside; birds were soaring through the skies, singing in harmony, as they seemed to dance around each other in a peaceful manor. The squirrels sat chirruping at each other as they argued over the fresh oak nuts that had been shaken from the light storm last night.

Chrono chose a dry spot on the ground and laid down, leaning against the trunk of the giant tree that shadowed the sun from his eyes mercifully. He had tied his hair into a rough braid, though he knew Rosette would redo it. The Elder had dragged him to a summer party last night, and they had just got back when Rosette had came. It hadn't been a 'bad' party, just a little weird.

The Elder had forced him to dress in tight leather clothes before he would allow the demon out the door…not that Chrono wanted to go; the Elder had forced him. He would have been just as happy alone and asleep, but no. If the Elder was going, then so was his assistant. He hadn't had very much sleep in over two days; the Elder had kept him up the night before to help with bullets, something Chrono despised thoroughly. Then last night, he had finally got to sleep when Rosette started to snore…no chance after that. He was so tired that he didn't even hear Rosette sneaking up on him.

"Chrono, good morning!" She yelled as she pounced on him, though, she earned no response from the sleeping demon underneath.

"Huh? Hey Chrono, anyone there?" She said as she knocked on his head playfully. When there was still no answer, she sighed and rolled off him. 'Might as well let him rest if he's so tired…' She thought as she laid down next to him and shut her eyes, grasping his hand in hers as she felt an answering grasp on her own.

Someone was shaking him by the shoulders roughly. He opened his eyes barely to see a blinding light being shined in his eyes. He shaded his eyes with his hand and looked away from the torturous light that was keeping him from getting back to sleep.

"Chrono, come on Chrono, wake up! We need you, this is urgent!" A hurried voice said.

He recognized the voice; it was Sister Kate, but why was she here? Where was he anyway? He felt someone grab his shoulders again and looked back at them. Father Remington was there too, he saw as the light shifted from his face.

"Wake up, Chrono, this is extremely urgent!" He called as he shook him harder.

"I'm awake…I'm awake…" Chrono mumbled tiredly as the light once again shone in his eyes, then shifted again. He could smell Rosette somewhere nearby, but he just wanted to shut his eyes and sleep since he was still exhausted. Why was he so tired? Two nights of little to no rest shouldn't take this much out of him, should it?

"Can you stand?" Rosette asked quietly, not wanting to push him. He nodded slowly, though he really didn't want to. "I'll help you." She held out her hand expectantly, waiting for him to take it. He slowly raised his hand and grabbed hers, treasuring the warmth, then pulled himself up…but instantly regretted it. He reeled away from her, feeling like he was gonna be sick.

"Chrono! What is it? Are you okay?" Rosette was by his side at once, though he quickly pushed her away as his stomach lurched, making him clasp his hand to his mouth suddenly. He felt his stomach give another violent lurch…then he was puking. He leaned over, one arm against the tree for support as his gut gave another violent wrench, making him puke some more…though he hadn't eaten in awhile, so it wasn't very much he spit up. Rosette rushed back to his side as Sister Kate and Father Remington took a step back.

"What's wrong Chrono?" Rosette asked as she put his arm around her shoulder, rubbing his back comfortingly. He didn't answer, but his legs folded and he slid down into a sitting position on his knees, Rosette moving with him. He was breathing hard as he said quietly,

"It's the…poison and…alcohol…" He managed slightly as he fell back to lay against her. Her blood ran cold as he said that.

If the poison from that Soul Commander was affecting him, however slowly it was, and the alcohol had stirred it on, then…

Her thoughts were once again interrupted as sudden barking rang through the night air, making all of them turn their heads to see what was the cause. The puppy had morphed into what looked like a bigger version of it because it was now at least three times the size it was since she had last seen it. She felt her heart sag with sadness as she saw it.

"… It's able to tell exactly how much energy the demon has, depending on its size. When it grows bigger, it means more life of the demon's has fled, and when it reaches it's full size…" She broke her thoughts as tears began to well up in her eyes, blurring her vision. Though, the words still rang in her head like a death note.

"Rosette…he is coming…" Chrono murmured, drawing her attention back to him. He was shaking slightly as he clutched his stomach weakly, eyes opened a little as he stared up at hers. Rosette was about to respond, but then they heard it; the Order alarms suddenly boomed into life, erupting over the grounds deafeningly as exorcists poured from the buildings, guns at the ready.

"What's going on?" Sister Kate said as she took off for the streams of people leaving the buildings.

"Come on, we have to go and we can't leave Chrono here like this." Father Remington said, picking Chrono up deftly, making him cover his mouth with a hand at the sudden movement. Remington took off after Sister Kate, Rosette following close behind.

"Hurry Rosette!" Azmaria squealed as she hung onto Chrono's barely-conscious form tightly. He had slumped over in the seat from the minute they had set him down in it, so Rosette had flung him in the back seat so Azmaria could watch over him properly. They had left the puppy at the Order so it could watch over things there, at least, that's what Sister Kate thought it could. Apparently to her, if it has Chrono's energy, it has enough of it to defend the Order buildings, or so she said.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Rosette yelled as she passed a car with a screech on the tires, speeding up and spinning in front of it as another car coming in the other lane approached her dangerously.

"Be careful!" Azmaria shrieked as one of the cars on the right swerved into them, rocking their car dangerously. Rosette was seeing red with anger.

"YOU STUPID LITTLE MAN! GET OUT OF MY WAY!" She screamed in response, slamming into the said car and running it off the road. Azmaria sweatdropped…maybe it was a good thing Chrono was in the back with her; he wouldn't be hit with broken glass when Rosette crashed the car. "NOW TRY AND PASS ME, IMPATIENT CORKSCREW!" Rosette yelled, laughing evilly.

"Uh…Rosette?"

"Yeah, what is it AZ?"

"Don't you think that was overdoing it a bit?"

"Nah! He was asking for it, and that's what he got. That'll teach him to mess with this nun!" She shrieked maniacally as she swerved the car in front of another, earning more disgruntled honks from her victims.

"R…Rosette…?" Chrono mumbled quietly, though both of them heard him clearly, causing Rosette to slam the breaks in shock and go sliding into another car, running that car off the road as well before she hit the gas again full-force and forced more people out of her way.

"Chrono! Are you okay?!" Azmaria whimpered as she rubbed her elbow where it had hit the door painfully.

"He is there, Rosette…Aion is in the…park…" He whispered as he slumped over in the seat and fell against Azmaria, who rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Aion is in the park?!" Rosette yelled as she hit on the gas again, speeding around a cop car and making it's light start flashing before she hit the break, making the poor copper's car hit it's break to avoid hitting them and go sliding into another car as Rosette drove off, laughing insanely.

"Uh, Rosette? Don't you think you should be more careful since Chrono isn't doing so good?" Azmaria reminded her. Rosette sweatdropped and was about to respond, but was cut off by a huge explosion and smoke billowing up in the distance.

"We better hurry!" Azmaria yelled.

"Right!"

"Where have you three been?!" Father Remington yelled as he shot down several low-class legion that were rising up from the ground.

"Sorry sir!" Rosette yelled as she rushed forward, taking her gun out in the process. "We were held up in traffic." Inwardly, Father Remington doubted a little 'traffic' would stop Rosette from anything she wanted, considering the way she drives and all.

"Rosette, what about Chrono?" Azmaria asked, supporting Chrono with her arm around his waist. Chrono didn't look too good. He had his eyes open slightly, though he saw nothing as he gazed at the ground numbly.

"Why didn't you leave him in the car?!" Rosette yelled. Azmaria cowered a little as she answered quietly,

"Because I didn't know if he'd be okay…like, if some demon found him…he'd be defenseless in the car by himself…" She mumbled, looking at the ground as she waited for Rosette to start yelling at her. She didn't though, much to Azmaria's surprise.

"Good thinking Azmaria! Now, make sure you two don't get hurt." She said, turning around and continuing to shoot her gun wildly at the oncoming demons. Azmaria nodded and scooted off to the side, sighing in relief that she wasn't yelled at and didn't have to fight.

She stopped under a tree that was out of the way and laid back against the tree, leaning Chrono against the same tree next to her on the right, making their elbows touch faintly. She watched as though she was in a trance as Chrono's eyes flicked back and forth under his eyelids deliriously. What was wrong with him? Rosette had just brought him to the car and ordered her to watch him. He'd be okay…right? He was a demon, after all…and demons can't get sick. How ridiculous…the very thought made her laugh at her stupidity. …At least, she didn't think they could…

She was so busy thinking, she didn't notice the legion approaching her greedily until it was right on her. It's axe came crashing down to her left, barely missing her outstretched arm. She screamed as it raised it's hand to strike, covering her head as she expected the pain to come…

CRACKLE

BOOM

A sudden explosion erupted through the chilly air, drowning out all of the other noises and making people glance their way. She looked up to see Chrono standing in front of her in his demon form, hand raised as smoke twisted around his hand before rising slowly up into the sky harmlessly, the frozen demon in front of him apparently turned to stone.

"Chrono!" She yelled, scooting up to sit on her knees. He smiled at her warmly.

"Hey AZ. Looked like you were in trouble." He said as he held out his hand for her. She grabbed his hand in a flash and pulled herself up, trying hard not to blush as she looked up at him with a thankful smile.

"Thanks! That was a close one!" She said, panting from the previous excitement. He smiled happily to her. "What did you do to it, anyway?" She asked curiously, peering cautiously at the frozen demon behind him.

"I froze it with a Time Freeze. He won't be moving for a while. Now, let's go." He said as he picked her up and spread his wings, stretching them slightly and pulling the delicate muscle to their limit before he leaped off the ground, wings spread wide. Down below, he heard Rosette gasp and say something, followed by several other gasps and yells of surprise from several Order exorcists. He laughed slightly before saying,

"Looks like they weren't expecting us to show up and fight." Azmaria laughed, slightly nervous since she was in his arms, after all. And it's not like he was wasn't handsome… Plus she was afraid of heights.

"I guess, but-" She was cut off as Chrono suddenly jerked upwards. "What is it?" She asked as they stopped to simply hover in the air.

"Aion…is near. He's using these as a diversion for something." He replied simply, eyes narrowing in anger.

"A diversion?! But…what should we do?" He didn't answer, though, as he scanned the ground below quickly, then nodded.

"Okay, hold on." She didn't have time to register what he said before it was too late.

Suddenly, the sensation of free falling enveloped her as the wind rushed past her, tearing her scream of surprise from her throat deafeningly. Chrono had folded his wings, she saw, as the wind ripped the tears from her eyes. Seeing the ground coming up all too fast, she closed her eyes and hid her face in his chest, not wanting to see that sight at the moment. She didn't like heights much at all.

Chrono opened his wings with a loud 'snap' just a few feet above the ground, not even clearing the people's head as he flew past them, trying to keep Azmaria from falling or jolting to much as he finished off the weak demons attempting to fight back. After he saw the last one fall to the ground, he stopped and touched back down to the ground, running a little from his momentum. He sighed a little as soon as he came to a stop, panting slightly from the sudden burst of energy he had just used.

"That takes care of the distraction." Chrono said simply, setting her down on the ground. She nodded, still too shaken to speak clearly.

"Chrono!"

He turned his head to see Rosette running towards them, waving as she shoved through the shocked crowd. He smiled and waved back.

"Hey Rosette." He said as she came to a stop in front of him, gasping for air as she leaned over with her hands on her knees.

"You're…awake…?" She panted, looking up at him with a confused look on her face.

"Aion is using the legion as a distraction so the Order will use up all their gun power and think they defeated him…so I got rid of them." He responded, going back to his child form with a small flash of golden light. Rosette opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a sudden laughter.

"It looks like that little trick couldn't fool you, aye Chrono?" Chrono spun around at the voice, anger on his face. "Oh, don't look so mad. We're both Sinners, aren't we? Why don't you help me? I could use a little help…"

"Do you really think I would come back to you after what you did to me?" Chrono responded icily.

"I thought so. However, I'm in a position where I desperately need your power, so you can't refuse." Chrono paused, what did he mean? "Look behind you, my little friend." Chrono turned, apparently not believing Aion. Though, when he turned, his eyes widened as they saw the group of exorcists.

"Don't…" He whispered, earning confused muttering and stares from the exorcists.

"What is it Chrono?" Rosette demanded as she walked over to his side, not seeing anything that he saw around the group.

"You tricked me, Aion." He responded, venom in his voice as his red eyes narrowed.

"I'm sure you have felt the recent demonic activity coming from the East lately, even through the Order barrier, and I'm sure you know what that means. Just as he promised, Chrono, he will extract revenge on you too for doing that to his mom. He has increased his strength by far, and thus is no longer someone to be taken lightly, I assure you. Will you still refuse to help me? If you do…they'll all die alongside you." The evil voice laughed. "What will it be? You refuse and they're dead. You join me, however…" Chrono clenched his fists as he closed his eyes and turned away from the shocked crowd.

"I have felt the demonic energy pouring through the Order barrier lately, and I know it belongs to him, yet I could care less. You were the one that laughed in his face, not me. So, I have no reason to worry since you'll probably finish each other off." Chrono replied, a laugh playing at his words as he saw the effect on Aion's face.

"Then watch and learn, little Chrono."

An invisible force suddenly dragged someone in the Order's crowd outwards, barely touching the pulsing ring of energy that they couldn't see. As his hand touched it, blood erupted and poured down his hand, deep gashes on his arm as the guy stared in shock. Several people screamed as they too, were forced to touch the ring, and had the same effect every time.

"Stop! Don't touch it!" Chrono yelled as he watched several figures rise up behind the ring…and they couldn't see a thing.

"Will you still refuse me? I can always make the ring smaller…ya know, make 'em suffer more…" The voice called smugly. Chrono clenched his fists as he shut his eyes, apparently thinking. After a few seconds, he spoke.

"You will let them go?" He asked quietly, despising the odds against him.

"I will, promise. They will go unharmed back to their little Order." Chrono didn't look up as he responded.

"I will join you…if they are free to go, unharmed."

End Chapter 3, Bad news, joining forces

Whew! I've noticed something lately, and that is: YOU'RE NOT REVIEWING!! WHAT, HAVE YOU PEOPLE FORGOT HOW TO REVIEW?! IT'S SIMPLE, JUST HIT THE STUPID BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE THAT SAYS 'submit review' 'go'!! REVIEW OR ELSE I WON'T UPDATE!! Yeah, before you flame me, read the rest because this is gonna be a good story. Like, don't say 'No! Chrono wouldn't join Aion!' or 'He wouldn't leave Rosette!' you better wait and see what happens, my little chickadees! JK But seriously, the next chap is an info chap, tells about what the heck Aion is talking about, and it is LONG!! Have you people heard that the tsunami that hit south Asia actually threw off our rotation by a millimeter? Yep, it did and now we have a fraction of a second more daytime because of it. Scientists say it should correct in about 3 years, but it's kinda scary. You should listen to some of the stories in the paper and on TV. One woman had to choose between her 2 sons to live. She chose the infant, saying that the 2yr old should know what to do and the infant wouldn't. Hate to be her kid. Hey! I been reading some of the current stories, and I am happy only a few people have read the entire series. I only read 1 to 3, then watched 1&2 DVD, but I lost #1, so I can't really recall much from that…heh heh… WOW THIS IS A LONG END-CHAP NOTE! I BETTER GET OFF BEFORE I TAKE UP TOO MUCH ROOM ON MY STORY! Okay, see ya later people! God loves you and so do I!

SincerelyDoveofLight