I do not own Chrono Crusade, it belongs to Daisuke Moriyama. The characters are being borrowed without permission for entertainment purposes only. So don't sue me, you won't get much anyhow.
This story takes place before the team leaves for San Francisco. After that it takes a sharp left into my own Alternate Universe. I will be using elements from both the Manga and Anime. Enjoy. C&C is appreciated.
Text Key:
() -- thoughts
'BOLD'-- sound effects
Speech -- Chrono/Demons in true form
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Black Sabbath
Part Six: Empty
By: Anime Otaku
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"Empty shells. That's what me and my sister have become. And no matter how much we love each other, it will never be enough to fill the void within our hearts."
-Joshua Christopher
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Outskirts of Manhattan Island, 1928
Father Joshua Christopher jammed his gloved hands into his pockets in a futile attempt to keep warm against New York's freezing January cold. The nineteen-year-old Militia member leaned against the Order's Ford Model-T car, watching his breath appear in front of him as he sighed. He cast a glance inside the car to see his partner curled up asleep, using his cold-weather coat as a blanket.
Joshua shook his head and turned away when he felt himself frown. He couldn't be upset with his partner for forgetting her own coat; she did have a really long day after all.
(And besides,) he quickly reminded himself, (you were the one who suggested that she get some sleep anyway AND offered her your coat.)
"Not exactly my brightest of ideas," he complained as a cold gust of wind hit him, kicking up snowflakes and causing his body to shiver. "Good thing that my shift is almost over. I don't know how much longer I can stand this."
Thankfully, Joshua didn't have to wait long. A pair of headlights appeared over a hill moments later and another convent car parked next to his. Sister Clair stepped out and came to stand next to him, pulling her own cold-weather coat tight around her.
"Good morning, Joshua," she said, smiling. "Ready to get relieved?"
"Am I ever," he said, returning the smile. "I'm glad you came when you did. I thought I was going to freeze to death!"
"Where's your coat?" she asked, worried. "I thought you were given one by the Order?"
"I was. But my partner is using it at the moment," he said, pointing behind him.
Clair looked to where he was pointing and saw a sliver of hair peeking out from under a bundle of blue cloth. "Poor dear. Has she been asleep the entire time?"
Joshua nodded. "Yeah, she has. But, she deserved it. She had already been on call all day long, so I told her she could sleep and I would take the entire six hour watch." Joshua looked around the area then asked, "Where are your partners?"
Clair giggled and pointed to her car. "Right over there."
Joshua looked over at the car and chuckled. Sisters Anna and Mary were leaning against each other, fast asleep. The two exorcists snuggled closer to each other when another gust of wind picked up, its iciness penetrating the car and their coats.
The Apostle shook his head. "Still Second Class, I see."
Clair nodded. "Yes. They've had the opportunity to become part of the Militia like me, but they turn the offer down every time. I wonder why?"
Joshua said, "I think it's so the three of you won't be separated. As long as you are in the Militia and they remain in the Second Class, you'll have to accompany them on missions. They've already lost one of their friends, so to speak. This is just their way of making sure that they don't loose another one."
"I suppose you're right," she said, bowing her head.
The two lapsed into a period of silence, the wind blowing again, causing snowflakes to swirl around them like a small tornado. Joshua shivered.
"Well," he said, "I'd better go before I turn into an ice cube. Do all of you have enough Sacred-Gospels?"
Clair nodded. "The Elder gave us a fresh supply before we left."
"All right then," he said, getting into his car. "I'll see you later, Clair."
"Joshua, wait!"
"What? What is it?"
"Today's the day, right?"
Joshua stared at Clair in confusion, then got a sad look in his eyes when he realized what she was talking about. "Yeah," he said in a whisper. "It is."
"The three of us picked a bouquet of flowers for her from the Order's greenhouse. Orchids and Lilies. We left them with the Elder before leaving."
"Thanks. I'm sure she'll like them. Well, take care."
Joshua started the car and drove off.
"You too, Joshua," Clair whispered to the rapidly departing vehicle. "You too."
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The long drive back to the Magdalan Order was done in complete silence since Joshua's partner still slept in the passenger seat. Joshua hated the silence. It gave him too much time to think about things. Things he would rather not think about. At that moment, he would have given anything to have some kind of noise around him. Hell, he would even prefer to have Chrono's horns attached to his skull again. At least then he would have SOME kind of noise to focus on instead of this maddening silence.
Joshua chucked to himself. Here he was, after four years of complaining about the noise that Chrono's horns caused him, wishing for something other than this silence to distract him form his thoughts.
Looking out the window, he tried to focus on something that could occupy his thoughts before they turned to things that he couldn't bare to think about at that moment. Through the window, he could see the streets of New York City, empty and devoid of any life whatsoever. Well, any HUMAN life, anyway.
The only thing that walked the streets were Crayak's minions. Hideous, black and red dragon-like monsters that the Magdalan Order had dubbed 'Fiends'. The monsters were two heads taller than any person and were extremely muscular, with razor sharp claws that could easily cut through steel and concrete like a hot knife through butter. The Fiends acted as both watchdogs and shock troopers for Crayak, protecting the city and ready to kill every human they came across when they escaped from the barrier. IF they escaped from the barrier.
When the Fiends had first appeared in New York City, the Order quickly found out that the only weapons strong enough to kill one of Crayak's monsters was the Gospel bullet or an Astral blade from a crucifix-sword. However, the Fiends proved to be much faster than they looked and made it hard to hit with an Astral blade. As for the Gospel, due to the amount of time it took to create one and the limited number they already had, a lot of Magdalan Order members and civilians had died as the city was being evacuated.
The Order needed a new weapon to defeat the Fiends and, after much trial and error -- plus the help of a new assistant -- the Elder had created his masterpiece: the Sacred-Gospel. The bullet was truly the greatest invention that the weapons developer had ever pumped out. While retaining the same shape and power of a Gospel, it had the recoil action and mass production ability of the Sacred.
Unfortunately, the breakthrough had come too little, too late. The Magdalan Order had already suffered a great loss while evacuating New York City, reducing them to less than fifty percent effectiveness. And they were still hurting to this day.
Watching the New York skyline as it passed by, Joshua's eyes landed on the still incomplete Chrysler Building. Inside that building was Crayak, the monster that had started all of this and had...
Joshua's hands tightened on the steering wheel. It was bad enough having that thing possessing Chrono's body, but, to find out what he was and how Chrono fit into the picture, that had been almost too much for him to take in.
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Six months after Crayak's escape, 1925
"Sister Kate, Father Remington reports that the last of the Seraphim Barriers are in place," the female radio operator shouted above the noise in the convent's war room.
Sister Kate turned away from a map of Manhattan Island she was studying and looked at the radio operator with tired eyes. "Very well. Tell Father Remington and his team to pull back immediately. I don't want anyone near that city. And activate the barrier as soon as they are clear."
"Yes, ma'am." The operator turned away to carry out her orders.
Sighing in exhaustion, Sister Kate left the room and leaned against the wall, putting her face in her hands.
Six moths. For six months the Magdalan Order had fought and bled so that New York City could be completely evacuated. And all the while that she had been in charge; Sister Kate had been there and heard as the reports for the injured and the dead had come across the radio. It had been almost too much for her to bear. On more than one occasion, she had been told to leave the room before she broke down and cried right in front of everyone.
(But just because the fighting is over, doesn't mean that I can forget all those who sacrificed their lives for the people. Their names will forever be etched into my heart and soul.)
"It's never easy, is it, Sister Kate?"
Sister Kate looked up to see the Elder standing in front of her, his hands in his pockets and a look of both sympathy and sadness on his face.
"Elder?"
"I know that right now you're blaming yourself for this tragedy. Thinking that you could have done more -- should have done more -- to prevent so much loss of life." The weapons developer shook his head. "But it's not your fault. So stop blaming yourself. If anything, I should be the one to blame."
Sister Kate looked at the Elder in shock. "How can you say that?"
"Let's just say that, there's so much more that I could have done, than I actually did. We'll just leave it at that."
"Elder...?"
"You should go to your office, Sister Kate," the inventor said as he walked away. "You have some visitors."
The Elder was gone before Sister Kate could ask him anymore questions. Sighing to herself, she headed upstairs to her office. Upon entering, she found that she did indeed have visitors. Five to be exact. The two strangers, Gabriel and Lucifer, were there. As where Joshua and Fiore and Satella.
"What are...?" she started.
"I was hoping to talk to you alone, Sister Kate," Gabriel said. "But, everyone else was here when I arrived and I couldn't get them to leave."
Sister Kate looked at Joshua. "Why are you...?"
"For my sister," he interrupted. "These two are going to explain why Chrono is possessed by this Crayak person. And since Rosette refuses to leave her room, I'm going to listen in and tell both her and Azmaria later."
"And you, Miss Harvenheit?"
Satella shrugged. "I've been involved in this since the very beginning. I think I deserve to know what's going on. Don't you agree, Sister?"
Sister Kate closed her eyes. "I suppose so. Please, Gabriel," she said, sitting behind her desk, "tell us everything."
Gabriel sighed. "Very well. But, before I begin, all of you must understand something. What I'm about to tell you has never been divulged to a human before. However, given the circumstances of the present situation, the Father has given me permission to tell you of these things."
The Angel took a deep and calming breath. "Crayak, to put simply, is the Father's opposite. He is the other side of the coin. The evil twin. The darkness that exists because of the light. However you want to word it, it all comes down to one simple fact. Where the Father is all that is good, Crayak is the purest evil that will ever exist in the universe. And it is their existence that keeps the universe together.
"One thing you must understand is that without balance, nothing can exist. Not you, not even this world. Eons before I or any of my fellow Angels were created, Crayak and God were the very embodiment of this principal, only on a much grander scale. They kept the universe in existence. At one point in time, the Father decided that he wanted to create life. He created many worlds with many forms of life living on them in peace. But, He forgot one very important thing. There must be balance. And because there was no Darkness to balance out the Light, the worlds could not survive on their own. No matter what, weather it is good or evil, one power must be present to balance out the other. If this is not done, the world on witch that power resides on must be destroyed. And Crayak, true to his name, was drawn to the worlds like a magnet and destroyed every one of them. And that's how it went for eons. Whatever God created, Crayak destroyed. Even after the Angels were created to protect the worlds, Crayak created his Fiends to counter us. And the war waged on, across countless worlds and numerous galaxies."
"What about you, Gabriel?" Sister Kate asked. "You exist because there is balance within you, do you not?"
The Angel shook his head. "No. Myself and the Fiends are an exception to the rules you might say. This is because we were created from either the Father's or Crayak's power directly. The worlds that God made were created by Him USING his power to reshape the already existing matter in the area however He saw fit. Not from his power directly, like the Angels and Heaven were. Understand?"
Sister Kate nodded. "I think I do. So, tell us, why was this world not destroyed by Crayak?"
"Because Crayak was sealed away when he tried to destroy it."
"How?" was the question asked by everyone in the room.
Gabriel scowled. "As much as I hate to admit it, it's all thinks to him," he said, pointing to Lucifer. "When the Father created this world, he decided that it would be the last one that Crayak destroyed. So He set a trap for him. As soon as the Destroyer appeared to unmake this world, the trap was sprung and he was sealed away. With Crayak gone, all seemed right. But, it was a short-lived victory. Because we forgot one very important thing."
"There must be balance," Satella said.
"Correct," Gabriel said, looking out the window. "There must be balance. In everything. And, although he didn't completely escape at first, Crayak did manage to leak some of his power out of the weakening Seal. The result of that was Lucifer's corruption and eventual rebellion. Apparently Crayak thought that the key to releasing the Seal was hidden somewhere in Heaven and he was going to use Lucifer to destroy it. But, something happened that he hadn't planned on. Lucifer was defeated and banished. And when sin was created and man started embracing the new, darker side of his soul, the balance that the world required was created and the Seal was complete."
"So how does Chrono fit into all of this?" Joshua asked.
Gabriel sighed. "I can't tell you that. But, he can."
"Are you finally done talking?" Lucifer asked, stretching. "I was falling asleep just listening to you."
Gabriel looked as if he was going to say something, but decided to keep his mouth shut.
"Alright then. Now that the sermon is over, I can put my two cents in. And the best place to start is where Gabriel left off."
"After having my wings ripped from my back and banished to Earth, my first order of business was to get revenge. And what better way to do that then corrupting God's Children? But, I wasn't satisfied. I wanted more. I wanted my own children, my own legion of followers. And with the help of Lilith, I was able to do that."
"Lilith?" Sister Kate asked.
Lucifer nodded. "She was an Angel who left Heaven willingly to try and find me. You might say that we were what you humans call lovers. All of you know her better as Pandemonium."
Everyone's -- but Gabriel's -- mouth dropped open. The Devil ignored this as continued talking.
"When she found me, I was nearly dead and she gave me one of my feathers she had stolen to help sustain me. An Angel's wings are like a demon's horns, we can't survive without them. Anyway, I'm getting off track. With my life no longer threatened and Lilith beside me, I got started on creating my children. But before that, I made it clear to Lilith that I didn't want my children to rely on the power of God as we had to. So she suggested that we use Crayak's power. What better way to wage war on God than to use the power of our most hated enemy to create my army."
Lucifer chuckled. "If that isn't irony, then I don't know what is. Anyway, it took us a while, but we were finally able to tap into Crayak's power. Using that, Lilith and I were able to create the first of our children. Chrono and Aion."
The eyes of every human in the room widened to the size of dinner plates. Again, Lucifer ignored their reaction.
"Unfortunately, I ran into a slight problem. It turned out that my sons needed a soul to bring them to life. As Lilith and I thought about a way to give them what they needed, an even bigger problem presented itself. It seems that when I created Chrono and Aion with Crayak's power, I also created a bridge between this world and the Destroyer's prison. Using this bridge, Crayak possessed their bodies and escaped from the newly created world of Pandemonium."
"Where did they go?" Joshua asked.
Lucifer smiled. "Straight into Heaven. Crayak still thought the key to releasing himself from imprisonment was in Heaven somewhere. I'm sure that by now you all know of Chrono's reputation and the various titles that have been given to him. 'Chrono the Sinner'. 'The Crooked Horn'. 'The Ignoble One'. 'The Terror of Pandemonium'. And of course, my personal favorite, 'The Slayer of A Hundred' -- referring to demons, of coarse. But, I think a better name for him would be 'The Slayer of A Hundred MILLION ANGELS'. This being the exact number of Angels that both he and Aion killed individually. And they would have done more damage if it hadn't been for Lilith. Using four of her remaining feathers, she created their horns. With the Astral energy flowing into them, a balance was crated and Crayak was forced out of their bodies. Lilith and I quickly brought the two back to Pandemonium and pondered on what to do with them. Lilith wanted to destroy them, saying they were too dangerous to be left alive. Personally, I wanted to let them live. I couldn't just give up two of the most powerful demons that I had ever created. Ultimately I left the decision up to her. Seems she made the right choice."
"How can you say that?" Gabriel shouted. "Look at what's happened because you let those two live!"
Lucifer scratched his chin. "A miscalculation on my part. One that Lilith and I made sure not to repeat. Using her last two feathers, Lilith crated her own set of horns to counter the dark power she had already absorbed into her body. And because of what she did, the first generation of demons, and everyone borne after that, had horns. Even if they lost them, their bodies would be so reliant on Astral energy that they would die without it. With Chrono and Aion, it was more of a game of chance on whether or not Crayak would find them again after they lost all of their Astral energy."
"Well he did and look at what--" Gabriel stopped mid-rant when a thought struck his mind. "Wait a minute. If those two lost their horns over fifty years ago, why did Crayak wait so long to possess one of them?"
Lucifer said, "From the information I've been given, it's because they were still absorbing Astral energy from another source. Chrono had his Contractors and Aion had a receptor of some sorts."
"Then what about six months ago? Chrono was obviously tapping into Crayak's power. How did he resist the Destroyer for so long?"
Lucifer shook his head. "It wasn't a matter of resistance. Aion was acting as a buffer for Chrono. Those two were special for a lot of reasons. One of them being that they really were brothers. They were crated by the same power, hatched from the same egg and even given the souls of human twins. So you might say that they had a special connection of sorts. And even though Chrono was using Crayak's power, he would be safe as long as Aion was still using Astral energy. But, as soon as Aion was killed, the connection they shared was lost and Crayak was able to move in."
Gabriel nodded. "Well, that explains that. But it still brings forth another question. How did Chrono tap into Crayak's power in the first place?"
As everyone pondered the question, none of them noticed the door to Sister Kate's office open and close.
"I believe I can answer that question for you."
Sister Kate looked up and blinked. "Elder?"
The weapons developer walked to the center of the room and let loose a tired sigh. "Chrono was able to tap into Crayak's power because of me. The first time it came up was after the Seal of the Seven Wings over Central City Park was repaired. Chrono came to me after the battle and told me about how he had absorbed vast amounts of miasma and had not been harmed by it. After conducting several tests, I told Chrono that the miasma could be used as another power source by him and I could make it possible for him to absorb it instead of Astral if he wanted me to."
"And judging by the mess where in now, I can guess what he choice he made," Lucifer said.
The Elder nodded. "Yes. Chrono chose to use this power without knowing what it would do to him. All for the sake of saving Rosette's life."
"My foolish son," Lucifer snorted.
"Yes, he was a fool." The Elder shook his head. "Sister Kate, the real reason I came here was to deliver a message to you from Father Gilliam."
"What is it?"
"Father Gilliam and the Pursuers that were working with him have located the Sinners' base. They also found Pandemonium's head and the last surviving Sinner."
"Shader!" Joshua shouted, leaping to his feet.
"You know her, Joshua?" Sister Kate asked.
Joshua furiously nodded his head. "We've lived together for four years. She's my friend. What are you going to do to her? You won't kill her, will you?"
Joshua almost cried when Sister Kate looked away from him and didn't say anything. Spinning on his heal, the teenage Apostle stalked out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Fiore apologized for his actions and quickly followed after him.
All eyes turned to Lucifer and the Devil swat-dropped. "Hey! Whoa! Wait a minute! What are you looking at me for? I don't care what happens to the Sinner. I just want Lilith's head returned to Pandemonium. What you do with the Sinner is your call."
Sister Kate thought for a few moments then picked up the phone on her desk. "Connect me to Father Gilliam, please." A few moments of silence lasted then the other end picked up. "Father Gilliam, this is Sister Kate, I have new orders for you. Pandemonium's head must be secured at all costs. I will send Duke Duffau to retrieve it. As for the Sinner known as Shader... This is what I want you to do..."
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the present
Joshua sighed in exhaustion as the city skyline gave way to the hills and pastures of the countryside. Not much longer and he would be home. As the car bumped along the country road, he would sneak a glance at his partner to see if she would wake up. She didn't, however, the bumpy road not having any effect on her sleep.
(Just like Rosette,) he thought, smiling. (She could have slept through World War I and not bat an eyelash.)
The moment he thought about his sister, the smile left his face and he felt tears at the corners of his eyes. Jamming his eyes shut, he shook his head, trying to hold them back.
(Damn it! Not here and not now! If I'm gonna break down, I'll do it when I go and see her. And not a minute before!)
The Magdalan Order Headquarters loomed in the distance, two armed sentries posted at the gate. After waving him through, Joshua took the car to the motor-pool and parked it. Rubbing his eyes, the Apostle glanced at his partner, who was still fast asleep. Smiling softly, he reached over and gently shook the bundle of blue cloth.
"Azmaria," he whispered. "Hey, Azmaria. We're home. Wake up."
There was a long, sleepy yawn as the sixteen-year-old stretched, causing Joshua's cold-weather coat to fall away from her body.
"Is it morning already?" she asked sleepily, absently adjusting her Militia uniform.
"Yeah, it is," Joshua said, hauling the ammo box out of the backseat. "You slept through the entire watch and the ride home. Which in itself is a metrical, seeing how bumpy the road is."
Azmaria blushed in embarrassment as she stepped out of the car, tightening Joshua's coat around her. "I'm sorry! I didn't know I was so tired!"
"Don't worry about it," Joshua said, heading in the direction of the armory. "You had a hectic day and deserved a few hours of sleep. I already told you that I didn't mind standing the entire watch by myself."
The female Apostle bowed her head. "But still... I should've at least stood some of the watch with you. You shouldn't shoulder every responsibility by yourself."
"..."
The two walked the rest of the way to the armory in silence and Azmaria waited outside as Joshua turned in the ammo box that contained their 'heavy' weapons. After finishing his business in the armory, Joshua collected Azmaria and headed in the direction of the women's dormitory. Azmaria sighed when they walked inside.
"I'll go ahead and get things ready for later," she said, breaking away from him and handing him back his cold-weather coat. "Let me know when you're done."
Joshua smiled down at her and mouthed a 'thank you'. The Apostle of Charity just smiled at him and went in the direction of her room, leaving the young priest standing alone in front of a door.
Joshua felt his heart pounding in his chest. It always did when he came to see her. And no matter how many times he did this, he was never able to keep his body under control. His heart would pound; every part of him would shake and break out in a cold sweat at the very sight of her. It was bad enough that he was always so nervous around her, but, no matter how much he loved her, no matter how much he cared, he always felt a sense of fear when he stood in front of her door. On several occasions he had to stop himself form bolting away from her room and never come back. But he wouldn't do that. He loved her too much. She was all he had in the world.
Joshua took a deep breath and slowly released it. (Alright, here we go.)
Reaching out with a badly shaking hand, Joshua turned the handle and opened the door.
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The room was dark. It always was. She refused to have any kind of light anywhere near her or the room. Like she was trying to hide from it and immerse herself in the darkness. Just as he had. And she had succeeded -- partially, anyway. Some small streams of sunlight still managed to penetrate her closed curtains and give the room a soft, buttery colored glow to it. But even this small amount of light seemed to redirect itself in order to keep from touching her, leaving her in the shadows.
But even in the dim lighting of the room, Joshua could still see her. She had changed. A lot. Her once shiny hair was now as dull as his used to be. Her skin was whiter than freshly fallen snow because she never got any sun. And her eyes, once so vibrant and full of life, were now dull and clouded, their inner fire having gone out a long time ago. Eyes that were staring straight ahead, not really looking at anything.
She was a living ghost.
Swallowing loudly, Joshua walked slowly over to the bed and sat down next to her, pulling her into his arms.
(She's gotten thinner,) he noted in worry. Looking over, he saw a barely touched plate of food sitting on her bedside table. Sitting next to the plate was a small, rectangular box, no bigger than any old music box. Joshua looked away and tightened his hold on the girl slightly.
(Why are you doing this to yourself?) he thought in anguish. (Has loosing him really taken away your will to live? Do you need him with you that much?)
Joshua began to rock the girl slowly back and forth and began singing a song from his childhood out of habit. As he softly repeated the words, he could imagine two other voices joining him. The three sang together until the song's end and the other voices faded into the background. Heaving one last sigh, Joshua carefully placed the girl back where he found her and stood up, kissing her on the forehead.
"I'll be back to visit you later tonight after I catch up on my sleep," he told her, pausing at the door. He didn't get an answer. He didn't expect one. "Azmaria will be along later to see you as well."
"I love you, Rosette. See you later." Quickly leaving the room, Joshua softly closed the door behind him, leaving his sister to sit alone in the darkness that she had created for herself.
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"Elder!" Joshua shouted as the entered the workshop. "Elder, are you in here! Elder!"
The Apostle frowned when he didn't get an answer. But, he should have known better. The weapons developer could tune everyone and everything out when he was working on a new project.
Joshua smiled. (Sounds just like a certain cat-demon that I know.)
No sooner had the thought passed through his head; Joshua heard the sound of rapidly approaching feet and a high-pitched squeal.
"JOSHUA!"
"Gah!" Despite his Militia training under Father Remington, Joshua was still taken by surprise and knocked to the ground, a very lively Shader bouncing on his stomach. "Hello, Shader," he wheezed. "I'm back."
"Welcome back," the cat-demon chirped, wrapping her arms around his neck. "How was your shift?"
"Long and boring. Do you mind getting off of me, Shader? It's kinda hard to breathe."
"Oops, sorry," she said, quickly hopping off of him.
Joshua groaned as he got to his feet and brushed himself off. (Same old Shader. She'll never change.)
Joshua didn't know how it happened -- he tended to stay out of the affairs of grown-ups when he was a child -- but somehow Sister Kate had bargained with Duffau to let Shader stay at the Magdalan Order under their care. The only condition that the Pursuer had given them was that the Sinner had to reattach her horns. Shader had straight up refused, saying she would rather die than be under Pandemonium's heel again.
Joshua didn't really understand why she had to reattach her horns, and in all honesty, he didn't care. All he knew was that if Shader had her horns again; she could stay with him and Fiore. Just as it had been at Eden. And after much begging and crying -- he even went as far as saying that he would place himself between her and Duffau if he had to do it -- Shader finally agreed to take her horns back. Joshua couldn't have been happier.
With her smarts and technological know-how, Shader had been sent to work with the Elder. At first everyone thought that she would kill the old pervert but the cat-demon seemed to take the weapons developer's antics in stride. She even seemed to get a kick out of them. The Order didn't bother to ask questions. If she could put up with the Elder's strange behavior and still concentrate on her work, then that was fine by them.
About a month later the two had created the Sacred-Gospel to help in the Order's fight against Crayak's Fiends. Even if the bullet had come all too late in the game to be used in the evacuation, all the exorcist's were grateful non-the-less. And despite who she was and what she had done in the past, the Order had accepted her. Just as they had done with Chrono.
And Joshua couldn't have been happier.
"So where's the Elder? He's got something I need."
"In the back working on the Gate. Come on, I'll take you to him," she said, looping an arm through his.
"He's still working on that?" Joshua asked in amazement.
Shader nodded. "He seems hell-bent on completing it no matter what it takes."
"But I thought he stopped working on it because he couldn't gather enough Astral energy to power it?"
"Come on, Joshua, you know the Elder. He's not gonna let something like that stop him. He's going to keep working on the Gate until he finds a way around the problem."
Joshua stopped at the door that lead to the back room and chuckled. "Yes, the old coot can be rather stubborn at times."
Opening the door, Joshua scanned the room for the Elder. He didn't see him. The only thing that occupied the room was a scaled down version of the Gate that Shader had built in Eden. Various types of machinery and tubes were attached to the Gate and most of them had their front panels removed and exposed the many wires on the inside of them. Joshua knew these to be the receptors that the Elder was using to try and gather Astral energy so he could power the machine.
"So... where is he?"
Shader scratched behind one of here ears. "I could have sworn he was in here when I left. How odd."
Joshua entered the room, looking for the Elder. The teenage Apostle rounded a corner then leaned against it with a sigh.
"So this is where you were," he said.
The Elder looked up from another receptor and smiled. "Ah, Joshua, good to see you. I didn't hear you come in."
(Not surprising,) he thought. Joshua looked at the other occupant of the room and nodded his head in greeting. "Hello, Father Remington. Had another run-in with a Fiend I see."
The priest stood off to the side, the top of his Militia uniform removed and three tubes connected to his back. The other ends of the tubes were attached to the receptor that he Elder was standing over and examining. Joshua could see the Astral energy as it was collected by the receptor and transferred through the tubes into Father Remington's body. The Apostle watched as a large gash across the man's chest slowly began to heal over, the Legion implanted in his body using the Astral energy to fix the wound.
"Yes, I seem to be getting rather careless in my actions," Father Remington said with a smile. "Maybe it's due to old age that I've gotten so careless."
"Bah! That's ridicules, Ewan, and you know it! Even if you've lived for over fifty years, you still have the speed and stamina of that little twenty-seven-year-old punk that I fist treated so long ago. And you're still not making things any easier on me," the Elder grumbled. "This is the second time this week you've come back with an injury this severe. I swear, Ewan, you need to take it easy for a couple of days."
Father Remington chuckled. "Little punk? You haven't called me that in years. And you know that I can't sit back and take it easy," he said, removing the tubes and slipping on his vest. "The situation with Crayak is approaching its Zero Hour. We don't have much time left."
Joshua blinked and pushed himself away from the wall. "'Zero Hour'? What's that?"
Father Remington said, "The Elder has calculated that Crayak will finish pulling the last of his power out of his prison by the end of this month."
Joshua's eyes widened. "How is that possible? Pandemonium's head was returned to her body! All the vents were closed after that! How is Crayak still pulling his power from his prison?"
"Don't you remember, Joshua?" the Elder asked. "Chrono's body was created using Crayak's power. So Chrono is acting like a receptor for the power. And with Crayak possessing him, the rate at which he's absorbing the power is boosted quite substantially."
Joshua bowed his head. "Right... I keep forgetting that."
"Joshua, there's something I want to ask you," the Elder said after a long moment of silence.
Joshua looked up. "Yes? What is it?"
"Your sister, Rosette, how is she?"
The Apostle looked away, the subject of his sister being a very sensitive one for him. "Okay, I guess. She still won't talk to me. Or anyone else for that matter. She's still not eating very well. I think she's gotten thinner from the last time I've visited her. I'm really worried about her. If this keeps up, she's gonna starve herself to death."
"But she's still alive, right?"
"Of course she is! Why wouldn't she be?" Joshua said angrily.
The Elder sighed. "Joshua... I don't know how to tell you this but... From my calculations, Rosette should have run out of Astral energy and died over three weeks ago."
Joshua felt like he had been punched in the gut. "She... what?"
The Elder nodded. "But, somehow, she's still alive. I don't know how that's possible. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever."
"I don't care if it doesn't make any sense to you! Rosette's alive and that's all that should matter to us!"
The Elder stared at Joshua and the angry look he had on his face. Turning away from him, he said, "You're right, it shouldn't matter how much time she has left or when she was supposed to die. Rosette's here with us right now and that's the most important thing. I'm sorry for bringing it up."
Joshua scowled at the Elder's back then turned and stalked away.
"The flowers are on my workbench in the main room," the Elder called out to him.
Joshua didn't bother to answer back. He simply grabbed the bouquet and left the hut, slamming the door on his way out.
"You really shouldn't have done that, Elder," Father Remington said, pulling his jacket on. "You know how sensitive he is about his sister."
"I know."
"Then why?"
"Curiosity. Rosette's ability to live beyond what I thought she would has been nagging at me for some time now. As a scientist, I just can't let something go without it being answered."
"I might have an answer," Shader said, stepping around the corner.
The Elder raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and what might that be?"
"Chrono's horns. You told me that Rosette was the one that removed them from Joshua's head, right? What if, while pulling them off of Joshua's head, her body absorbed some of the Astral energy that they were gathering?"
The Elder scratched his chin while he thought about this, then said, "That could be possible. And it would explain why she's been able to live this long. The gathered Astral energy would have given her already depleted supply an extra boot, refilling what she had used up."
"Although," Shader said sadly, "how much Astral she absorbed and how much time she has left is still unknown to us. It could be a few more weeks, or a month. We have no idea of knowing."
"And that's the worst part of it all," said the Elder. "Knowing she's going to die, but not knowing when. I wonder if she felt the same way we do when she was under the Contract with Chrono. I don't see how she could have lived with it."
"But she did live with it and it made her stronger than any of us," Father Remington said.
"Until now," whispered Shader.
(Yes,) thought Father Remington, (until now.)
-----------------------------
Joshua stormed across the convent grounds, an intense scowl on his face. He was still upset with the Elder and the subject of his sister. But, at the same time, it pointed out something that Joshua didn't want to think about.
The fact that Rosette was running out of time.
That alone scared him more than anything else in the world. If she was to die before he was able to reunite her with Chrono, he would never be able to forgive himself. Just as he could never forgive himself for HER death.
Joshua stopped walking and the scowl on his face gave way to an overwhelming look of sadness. Yes, HER death. The single most important person that he held close to his heart -- other than his sister, of course -- had been killed right in front of him and he had been too weak to help her. To weak in so many ways.
Joshua started walking again, slower this time as he came closer to his final destination. Nestled in the back of the Magdalan Order's grounds, out of view from outsiders, a memorial cemetery had been erected to honor those who had given their lives while trying to evacuate New York City.
Although located at the Magdalan Order, the cemetery was home to people who were outside the Order, but helped just as much as they did. Police officers, firemen, and National Guardsmen who had lost their lives were laid to rest there as well.
Once Joshua entered the cemetery, his body automatically started to move between the rows of headstones. Coming to a stop, the Apostle kneeled down and brushed the snow off the top of the headstone he was looking for. He placed the bouquet on the ground in front of it and took a step back. He read the name engraved on the stone and tried not to cry. But it was no use. His vision became blurry and he felt the tears start to slide down his face.
Florette "Fiore" Harvenheit
Born: July 19, 1904
Died: January 16, 1926
Beloved sister and cherished lover. May her soul find everlasting peace within the Kingdom of God.
Fiore's body had been taken back to Germany by Satella and laid to rest at the family estate. Satella hadn't returned to the States afterwards. And Joshua couldn't blame her. Why would she want to be around the person who was responsible for her sister's death? He wouldn't want to be around that person either. But, unfortunately for him, he couldn't escape from himself. He would have to live with the pain of loosing Fiore. Now and forever.
Joshua was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of crunching snow behind him. Turning around, he saw Azmaria walking towards him, her cold-weather coat pulled tightly around her.
"I thought I would find you here," she said, coming to stand beside him.
"Azmaria? What are you doing here?"
"You never came when you were finished talking to Rosette. I was worried about you." The female Apostle blushed after saying this.
Joshua snorted. "I've only been gone for an hour. No need to panic. Besides, I'm sure that if I tried something like that again, you wouldn't find me in time."
Azmaria bit her bottom lip, feeling the tears at the corners of her eyes. A few escaped and fell down her cheeks when she looked up into his face.
Joshua looked at Azmaria for a split second then turned his attention back to the headstone. "Sorry," he whispered, "bad attempt at a joke." A moment of silence passed between them before he asked her, "You still worry about me when I'm alone, don't you?"
"All the time," she whispered, taking his hand in her own.
Joshua sighed inwardly. He couldn't tell Azmaria not to worry about him when she had every right in the world to.
After the death of Fiore, Joshua had slipped into a deep depression. He had shut himself off from everyone around him and stopped eating for days on end. He would have suffered the same fate as his sister if it hadn't been for Azmaria. She had refused to let him drown in his sorrow and did everything in her power to try and bring him out of his depression. She would visit him everyday and talk to him all the time, even though he didn't answer back.
Even with Azmaria's constant support, Joshua couldn't take the immense pain he felt in his heart. Finally, he came to a decision; he would be reunited with Fiore -- one way or another. Waiting until Azmaria went on patrol, he retrieved a pocket knife that he kept hidden from everyone and slit both of his wrists.
He didn't remember how long he sat in his room, watching his blood ooze out of his wrists to form a pool of crimson on the hardwood floor. Finally, his vision started to get blurry and he found it extremely hard to keep his eyes open. Joshua smiled. It wouldn't be long now. A few more minuets and he would be reunited with Fiore. As his vision gave way to darkness, Azmaria had picked that exact moment to enter his room.
Joshua could only guess what she had done when she saw him. Screamed probably, he didn't really remember. He was already too far gone. Then, almost painfully, he was suddenly jerked back into reality. He began to panic. He didn't want this! He wanted to die. He wanted to be with Fiore again. When he was able to open his eyes again, the protests he had been ready to voice died on his lips.
Azmaria was kneeling in front of him with her hands wrapped around his bloody wrists. Her wings were spread out to their full length and she was softly singing her Gregorian Hymn with tears falling unchecked down her face.
In that instant, Joshua had thought she was the most beautiful being he had ever seen. His own personal Guardian Angel.
His own personal Guardian Angel that immediately slapped him when his wrists were healed over. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder, repeating over and over that he'd better not do something that stupid ever again.
After that little incident, Joshua had gradually pulled himself out of his depression. And Azmaria had been beside him the entire time. Even after they had both been accepted into the Militia, she still refused to leave him. And secretly, Joshua didn't want her to.
This brought him to his current dilemma. Even though he still loved Fiore with all his heart, he could feel himself starting to have feelings for Azmaria. Feelings that went beyond just regular friendship.
And he hated himself for feeling this way. How could he even think about having these feelings for Azmaria? He was betraying Fiore's memory by doing this! Joshua had done everything in his power to rid himself of these feelings, but they refused to go away. And it was driving him insane.
(As if things weren't complicated enough,) he thought angrily.
"Joshua, is something wrong?" Azmaria asked, her head slightly tilted to the side.
"Not really," he said, trying to avoid eye contact with her.
"You're lying."
One of Joshua's eyebrows twitched. "Why do you say that?"
"Because," Azmaria said, looking up into his face, "you can never look me in the eyes when you lie to me."
Joshua snorted. "You know me too well."
Azmaria just smiled. "Now, do you want to tell me what's bothering you?"
Joshua sighed. There was no point trying to hide something from Azmaria. She always found out sooner or later. A great annoyance on his part sometimes.
"I found out some rather... disturbing news from the Elder."
Azmaria nodded, encouraging him on.
"It turns out that Crayak will be able to free himself from his confinement by the end of this month."
Azmaria's hands went to her mouth. "But, that's in less than two weeks!"
Joshua nodded. "Yeah."
(No sense in telling her about Rosette. She has enough to worry about already.)
"What are we going to do? The Elder hasn't finished the Gate yet. How are we supposed to rescue Chrono?"
"I wish I could tell you, Azmaria. But I don't have any answers. Neither does the Elder."
Azmaria looked as if she was going to cry again. "This can't be."
Joshua sneaked a glance at Azmaria then quickly turned away, clenching his teeth. He had to stomp down on the irresistible urge to take Azmaria up in his arms and hold her until she stopped crying, until all her sadness was gone. But he couldn't. No matter how much he wanted to, he just couldn't. He would be betraying Fiore if he did.
"I'm turning in," he said, walking away from the headstone. He had to put as much distance between himself and Azmaria before he gave into his desires. "I would suggest that you do the same. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
Azmaria didn't have a chance to answer before Joshua was gone, leaving her standing alone in the graveyard as fresh snow started falling. Without really thinking about it, she brought the hand that had been holding Joshua's and placed it on her cheek. She smiled to herself.
It was still warm.
-----------------------------
In New Jersey, a young woman in her early twenties with long, flowing red hair stepped off a luxury liner in the early morning hours. She was greeted by an elderly gentleman who ushered her to a waiting car. Getting behind the wheel, the man started the car and began the long drive north.
-----------------------------
Azmaria walked down the dark corroders of the Magdalan Order, her path lit by the small flashlight she held in her hand. Her other hand was gently holding one of Rosette's as she was being led to the women's showers. Azmaria had started taking her showers after everyone had gone asleep so she could bathe Rosette as well. She didn't do it because of modesty's sake -- far be it from that -- she was anything but body shy. No, her reason for waiting this late in the evening was to avoid the looks that Rosette would receive from her fellow Sisters. The looks of pity from those who knew her and the looks of fear she would get from the new Sisters.
Rosette had always been a person of strength, both physically and emotionally. And even though most wouldn't admit it, a lot of the Sisters had looked up to her and tried to follow her example. Excluding the property damage of course. But all that had changed when Chrono had been taken away from her. The strength that had seemed to radiate off of her in waves suddenly disappeared, leaving Rosette in the state she was in now. Azmaria had started taking Rosette to the showers after everyone else was asleep soon after. Not just to avoid everyone's questioning gaze, but also because she didn't want everybody to see the horrible state that Rosette was in now. To see the woman that everyone held in such high regard reduced to an empty shell of her former self.
They reached the showers and Azmaria lead Rosette inside, turning on the light as she entered. Rosette didn't as much as flinch at the bright light that assaulted her vision. She just continued to stare straight ahead, her eyes as dull and clouded as ever. Releasing Rosette's hand, Azmaria quickly undressed herself and Rosette. Grabbing a nearby stool the Apostle led Rosette into a stall and sat her down. Turning the water on, Azmaria quickly washed herself then started on Rosette.
"I'm sorry I haven't been able to do this the past couple of days," she whispered to her best friend and surrogate sister. "Things have been really hectic lately. The Fiends have been building up their numbers and attacking the barrier more often than they used to. It's got everyone on edge. Also, I think that Joshua is hiding something from me. Don't you just hate it when he doses that?"
Rosette didn't say anything, but Azmaria didn't mind.
Azmaria paused in the middle of washing Rosette's hair and bit her bottom lip. "Actually, there's something else I want to talk to you about. It's about Joshua. Oh, don't worry, nothings happened to him. It's just that... I'm worried about him. Actually, I worry about him all the time. Even when he's out of my sight only for a second, I find myself wishing he was there beside me."
Azmaria bowed her head when she felt herself blush. "Rosette, I think... I think I'm in love with Joshua. But, even if I am, I know he'll never return my feelings. He's still in love with Miss Fiore. And I know he'll never betray her memory."
The Apostle sniffed as tears started to slide down her face, mixing with the still running water. "I don't know what to do, Rosette. I want him to notice me and choose me, but at the same time, I don't want to make it seem like I'm forcing him to choose between me and Miss Fiore. I just don't know what to do. I'm so confused."
Azmaria never received an answer from Rosette. Instead all she got was the sound of her own crying as it echoed off the shower walls.
-----------------------------
"Father Joshua, wake up! Father Joshua!"
Joshua's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright in bed to the shouting of his name and the pounding on his door.
"I'm awake!" he shouted. "Come in!"
The pounding stopped and his door swung open. Joshua turned on his bedside lamp to see who had woken him up at... ten o'clock at night!
"This had better be important," he growled, rubbing his eyes. "I'm still on duty recovery."
"I'm sorry, Father, but there's a strange woman at the front gate asking to be let on the grounds."
"Front gate?" Joshua stopped rubbing his eyes and looked at the Order member that was standing in front of him. Joshua recognized him as one of the newer members of the Order. "Brother Morris? Where's you partner? Alex?"
The Third Class exorcist shifted the weight of his fully loaded Thompson sub-machinegun. He ran a hand through his blond hair and sighed. "He's still at the gate. He's holding the woman there."
"Why did you come to me about this matter? It's up to Sister Kate weather or not civilians are allowed on the grounds. Not me."
Brother Morris nodded. "I know, Father. But when we told the woman that she couldn't come in without the Head Sisters permission, she started asking for you."
Joshua raised an eyebrow. "Asking for me? You mean she knows me?"
"Or so she says," the Third Class said, shrugging. "What do you want us to do? Should we send her away?"
Joshua bit his bottom lip in thought then said, "No. Go back to your post; I'll be out there in five minuets."
The sentry nodded and left.
Joshua hauled himself out of bed and quickly got dressed. Not taking any chances, he grabbed his Colt six-shooter and checked it for bullets. Satisfied that it was fully loaded, he holstered the gun and grabbed is cold-weather coat, pulling it on. Leaving his room, he quickly made his way out of the men's dorm, nodding a greeting to the sentry that was roaming the halls.
The moment he stepped outside he was hit by the cold once again. He instinctively pulled his coat tighter around him and tried to ignore the fact that his face felt like it was going numb.
"I swear, the temperature must have dropped a couple degrees since this morning," he grumbled to himself.
Joshua finally reached the front gate and saw the two sentries and a still running car with its headlight on, but no woman.
"Okay," he said to the two Order members, "where is she?"
"She's in the car, Father," the second sentry, Alex, said. "Said it was too damn cold out here and I'm entitled to agree with her."
"I second that," Brother Morris said.
"You'll get no argument from me," Joshua said. "Brother Morris, tell our guest to step out of the car. I'll have a word with her."
"Alright. But I'll warn you, Father. You might want to watch the way to talk to her. I think she's an aristocrat. She seemed a little stuck-up to me."
Joshua nodded and sent the Order member on his way. Inwardly he groaned. (Great. Just what I needed. One of the filthy rich. I don't know how much more of this I can take.)
One of the car doors opened moments later and Joshua got a glimpse at who their late night guest was. She was tall and had a red fur coat pulled tightly around her. Her long, red hair stopped just below the small of her back and was tied off at the end with a yellow ribbon.
Joshua didn't even need to see her face to know who their guest was. His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach and he felt all the color drain away from his face.
"Miss... Miss Satella...?"
Satella smiled sweetly at the distraught Apostle. "Hello, Joshua. It's been a long time."
(End of Part Six)
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Author's Rant: I LIVE! I thought I was never going to finish this chapter. It seems that my muse decided to up and disappear on me so it took me longer than normal to finish this chapter. I hope you all continue to enjoy reading this fic as much as I enjoy writing it. I'm sorry if it seems a little shorter than my previous ones, but I don't want to jam all my ideas into one chapter. Anyway, thanks for the C&C and I'll be looking forward to hearing what y'all think.
Next chapter:
-- Battle plans are made as different forces start to gather
See ya next chapter.