Heya, sorry for the late update (yet again!). Here's chapter 16. I finally got off my fat arse and decided to put it into a chapter. Took me long enough. Okay, then. Here goes the first chappie that doesn't have Rosette or Chrono as the main POV! Enjoy!

WARNING: See chapter 1.

WARNING 2: This chapter has lots and lots of blood and angst. If you don't like it, then don't read it. Oh, yeah, and some Aion, Adrian, and Aidan mischief.

Disclaimer: I do not own Chrono Crusade or anything affiliated with it. They all belong to Daisuke Moriyama-san. I only own the OCs Aidan and Adrian.

Return to Times of Yore
By GundamWingFanatic90
Submitted: 8 November 2005

Past, Eden, Aion

I opened the door to Rosette's room silently, my gaze searching through the gloom for my nun friend's gun and holster. I had a prank in mind- repayment for the last one she and Chrono had pulled on me- and I needed the weapon for material. Finally, I found it, lying on her bedside table next to her ammunition pouches and a couple of baby supplies. I smirked evilly, tiptoeing without noise over to the small surface and picking up the steel weapon- my hand was covered with my sleeve- before sliding it into my inner coat pocket and exiting the room exactly as I had come, heading back out to the grounds and whistling a merry tune.

It had been nearly a month since we had returned to find that Rosette had had twins (courtesy of Chrono, of course). The babies were growing rapidly, their demon blood contributing to the accelerated process, and they were now almost the size of a normal human toddler. They acted like them, too, their minds maturing just as fast as their bodies.

They come in damn handy for pranks, too. I thought with a stifled snicker. Currently they were distracting their parents long enough for me to retrieve the needed item from Rosette's room and get back out. I could see them from where I now stood. Chrono was trying to catch a wayward Aidan- who was running across the grass, naked as the day she was born- while Rosette attempted to wrestle some clothes onto Adrian. Both had just had a bath, I knew, and I laughed heartily at the sight of my brother chasing a youngling around with soap suds all over him. The twins, hearing my mirth, turned in their mischief to launch themselves at me and latch onto my arms.

"Unk Ai! Unk Ai!" they cried in unison, unable to pronounce my name properly, and therefore calling me by the nickname they had given me.

"Aidan, Adrian, hello!" I said, chuckling. "Have you been giving your mom and dad trouble again?" They expressed their amusement with matching hoots, nodding as they did so, and I raised my arms out to my sides, them still hanging on- about three feet off of the ground, might I add- and walked over to my brother and Rosette. They smiled at me gratefully, looking harried, and took the kids off of my arms before pulling clothes on their tiny bodies. The twins pouted a bit, their lower lips sticking cutely out under their noses- they had inherited that expression from Rosette, most definitely- but then, when I grinned and scooped them up under my arms, they instantly cheered up, giggling and squealing in childish delight.

"Hey, Aion." came Chrono's monotonous greeting, though it did hold a hint of amusement in it.

"Where have you been all day, mister?" Rosette growled playfully, poking me in the ribs before turning to Chrono.

"Hey, Chrono, come with me for a few minutes." she asked. "I need to help Mary with the laundry, and it's your turn to carry the basket." Chrono rolled his eyes, but nodded and turned to go. "Aion, could you watch the kids for just 15 minutes or so?" I nodded, grinning.

"Yeah! We'll have a ton of fun, right, Aidan, Adrian?" I replied. Aidan and Adrian nodded vigorously, loudly releasing their mirth into the daytime air.

"Fun! Fun!" they cried in unison. Chrono and Rosette smiled, and then began walking towards the laundry lines hanging in the distance. After they were out of earshot, I watched as Rosette suddenly froze, and then said something to Chrono, and then they both headed off towards her room. I smirked evilly, and set the little half-demons down, pulling them into a team huddle.

"Good job, you two." I said to them, bending down to look them in the eyes. "You distracted them long enough for me to accomplish… 'The Mission'." I ended dramatically. They giggled madly, and beamed at me.

"Yay!" they exclaimed. "Yay! Mis compwe! Mis compwe!" They bounced a little bit on the balls of their feet, covering each others' mouths to stifle their amusement. I felt a surge of pride at them, but I quickly quashed it, moving on to the next part of our plan.

"Okay, now you two hide here…" I murmured, picking them up and putting them into a basket of clean clothes before covering them with a sheet. "And that way, when your mom comes after me, you won't get hurt. But remember, when she walks over and picks you up, you have to jump out and shout, 'BOO!' Okay?" Identical squeals of excitement met my ears, and the white lump in front of me quivered a little bit. "Okay. Now, you have to be very quiet, and very still, otherwise your mom and dad will find you." The lumps stilled, and a united 'shh!' noise met my ears. I grinned. "Good job." Suddenly, a screech of rage echoed around Eden.

"CHRONO, YOU IDIOT! GET THE HELL BACK HERE!" It was Rosette. I paled. She thought Chrono had stolen the gun.

"Unk Ai? Wha dos 'hell' mean?" came a toddler's voice from the basket. It was Adrian. I sweatdropped.

"Uh, it's a bad word. Don't say it again." I said. "I have to go help your daddy, now, so stay here. I'll be right back." The lump nodded, and I straightened from where I'd been kneeling before turning around. Chrono and Rosette were coming towards us from my right, I could sense, but they were a little ways away, still. Suddenly something caught my eye, about 40 feet away and slightly to my left, near the clotheslines. There was a white, gate-like thing hovering in the air, similar to the one we had used to escape from Pandaemonium, and standing in front of it, looking around, was what appeared to be a little boy. However, though I couldn't see his facial features from this distance, I could tell that he was looking over at me, and the red coat, purple hair, and- I could just make this out- the pointed ears gave it away that he was a demon. I tried to read his mind, but there were shields up, so I couldn't decipher anything.

"Unk Ai?" Aidan's voice came from behind me, and I glanced back to find her and Adrian peeking out from under the sheet. "Unk Ai, wha's wong? Why didn't you weave yet? Wewen't you gonna hewp momma and daddy?" I smiled faintly, kneeling and pulling out the gun from the inner pocket. It was already loaded, though the safety catch was on.

"I am, but there's a bad guy that I have to take care of real quickly." I told them, my smile fading as, with a telltale 'click!', the safety came off. "Stay here, and stay down. If the demon comes over here, bite and claw and do all you can to hurt it. Do you understand?" They nodded, their eyes wide with a sudden onset of fear. "Alright. Do as I said, keep hidden, and don't make any noise. I'll protect you." They disappeared in a flash of white linen, and I looked back at the demon, raising the gun and taking aim. I'd had experience with revolvers, and though this one was differently designed- much more advanced- it had the same aiming system. I will never be able to forget what happened next.

I pulled the trigger, the gunshot ringing out across the grounds, launching the bullet from its chamber at a speed that none would be able to evade, and it screamed towards the demon. At first, it seemed like it'd stay on its course, but then… A blur of purple and white streaked in front of the projectile, and time seemed to stop as Chrono froze, sharp ruby eyes catching sight of the Gospel, and he turned to face it, not knowing what it was. My eyes widened in shock and desperation.

"CHRONO, MOVE!" I screamed as loudly as I could, but I was too late. With a flash of white, feathers, and a cross shape, the shot embedded itself in my brother's stomach, crimson flying in all directions as it shredded his insides with its holy energy, knocking him back off of his feet and onto the ground. His eyes were wide with shock, an expression that will never, ever, leave my mind, even in my insanity. Two cries of pain and anguish followed the spilling of Chrono's blood, one from Rosette, who had to watch as her lover was wounded, and another, younger-sounding one from the demon that the bullet was meant for. Without any more thoughts, I found myself running forward, gun falling from my hand, the twins launching themselves from the basket behind me at the same time, and all of us making a beeline for our fallen comrade and father.

In a split second, I was at his side, kneeling, as Rosette cradled his head in her lap, her whole body shaking in fear, and I put a hand on his shoulder for a second before whipping my gaze up to glare at the seemingly 12-year-old demon, only a matter of meters away. I found myself looking into ruby eyes that matched Chrono's. This demon… this demon that I had mistaken for a Pursuer or Legion… this demon was Chrono. In a sealed form, yes, but Chrono nonetheless. He gave me a look of great sadness, and then he disappeared through the small, white portal behind him.

A portal to the future… I thought, not even realizing what that meant at first, and then, just as it clicked in my mind, the Chrono from this time coughed harshly, blood flying into the air, and I was reminded of my terrible error. I turned back to him, a fine mist of tears clouding my eyes a little, and I looked at Rosette, who was crying openly, pressing the cloth of her habit to the gaping wound in an effort to staunch the flow of blood.

"Chrono, can you hear me?" I exclaimed, turning his face to look at me. I risked a glance to his abdominal region when she took the habit away, and felt sick to my stomach at the very sight of it. Torn and burned flesh and organs spilled out across the ground beneath him, blood flooding out in torrents to stain the green grass. Normally, I wouldn't give a rat's ass if it were a Pursuer or Legion or similar, but this was my friend, my brother. And just the thought of him lying here, wounded by my hand, was enough to make my stomach roil.

His eyes rolled hazily under fluttering, half-closed lids, his breathing strained and coming in heaving and uneven pants. I knew that the shot had just narrowly missed his lungs and heart. Closing my eyes, I mentally shouted at Shader and the others to get over here quickly and bring the emergency med-kits, and then I turned back to my brother. Soft sobs of panic and fear reached my ears, and I glanced over to see the twins clutching at each other, eyes wide, faces scrunched in terror, as they took in the sight of their father laying there, dying.

"Rosette, the others are coming with medical supplies." I softly informed her, my voice sounding strained even to my ears. She nodded a little, still fearful, and glanced up at my niece and nephew.

"Get them out of here, Aion." she commanded quietly, but her voice held all the venom of a snake waiting to strike. She would shoot me herself if I didn't comply. Of course, she'd probably shoot me later, anyway, when she found out that I was the one who accidentally shot Chrono, but I would wait for that. For now, I had to get the toddlers out of there before they were scarred for life.

'Not that they aren't already, but…' I shook that thought off, and turned to the twins, picking them up and jogging towards Mary and the others, who I could see running towards us through the clotheslines. When I reached them, I handed the twins over to the Holy Maiden, my face twisted in an expression of the guilt and horror that I was feeling inside.

"Mary, take them, and go to the other side of Eden. Do you hear me?" I ordered lowly. She nodded, eyes wide, face pale, as she got a glimpse of Rosette and Chrono, and she balanced Aidan and Adrian- one on each hip- before starting on her way to the North Pond as I led Shader, Rizelle, Genai, and Viede towards my other two friends at a run. At the sight, I heard a couple of gasps from the rest of them- a squeal of dismay from my eccentric feline friend. Genai and Viede came to a halt a couple of feet away, but Rizelle, Shader, and I kept going, emergency aid kits in our hands. I knelt next to my brother just as his eyes slipped shut.

"Chrono!" I cried, slapping his cheek to wake him up again. His eyes fluttered open, and he faintly looked around at me.

"A… Aion…?" he whispered. "Ros…ette…? It hurts… it feels like… every vein in my body… is on fire…" I bit my lip with one elongated fang. "And… I'm so… tired… I wanna sleep…" He sounded like a hatchling, but I felt the blood drain from my face.

"Chrono, no! Don't close your eyes! Don't go to sleep!" Rosette exclaimed frantically, gently slapping his cheek with one hand. "If you do, I'll beat you up later!" His eyes were slipping shut. We were getting desperate, Shader and Rizelle trying to staunch the bleeding as best they could, though it didn't work. Rosette bit her lip, but suddenly, she dropped her crimson-soaked habit and lifted Chrono's hand to her chest, where the Life Clock hung around her neck.

"Chrono the Sinner… I am going to make a Contract with you." she announced grimly, and placed her hand on his chest. He hissed at the contact, his claws reflexively clenching, digging into her soft flesh with a gasp. A trickle of blood slipped out of the corner of her mouth, but she gritted her teeth, and with a flash of white light, symbols appeared over my brother. The Watch flared to life from its dormant state, flooding with green light and illuminating the dials on its sleek face. The seal clicked open, and Rosette gasped loudly, the Clock's hands spinning wildly. All it did, though, was staunch the bleeding, before it snapped shut and Rosette collapsed across my brother, unconscious.

"ROSETTE!" I shouted, and pulled her off of Chrono as he, too, slipped into the void. "Get him to an Astral pool! I'll take Rosette to her room." Their expressions, I'll remember for the rest of eternity. It was only the beginning of the insanity.

Okay, that's how Aion first began to lose his marbles. (grins) Hope you liked it! Hee hee! Like I said, pretty gory. And Rosette and Chrono have a contract again, now! KK, I have to go, but please leave a review! I'd so much appreciate it!

-Fanatic