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 Seven: Gathering
By: Anime Otaku
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"Even if we had every Angel from Heaven and every Devil from Pandemonium, could we even begin to stand a chance at defeating a being that is on the same level as God?"
-Father Ewan Remington
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Magdalan Order Headquarters, New York Branch, 1928
Vyacheslav Aleksanyan -- or Alex as he was more commonly known in the Magdalan Order -- and his family immigrated to the United States from Russia when he was still just a child. Like most immigrants of his time, his family came to the States in search of the American Dream. And through hard work and determination, Vyacheslav's father found it. Working at a steel mill, he was able to bring in enough money to feed his family, send his son to school and have them live somewhat comfortably.
Unfortunately, disaster soon struck the Aleksanyan family. When Vyacheslav was ten there was an accident at the steel mill where his father worked. Though not involved in the accident directly, Vyacheslav's father was killed while trying to save some of the other workers.
After that, things became tough. Vyacheslav's mother had a series of odd jobs that she would do but it was barely enough to feed the two of them and keep her son in school. So Vyacheslave quit and took to selling papers on the street corner. It helped, somewhat, but money was still tight and food was very thin.
Finally, with the threat of being thrown out on the streets drawing closer, Vyacheslav's mother did the only thing she could think of doing to make sure that her child didn't starve to death.
She began to sell her body.
She never told her son what it was that she did, only that it required her to stay out very late and to rest during the day. She didn't like the work she did but, if it was for her son, she would do anything.
Vyacheslave, for the most part, didn't understand why he couldn't see his mother as much as he used to, but he still tried to help her out as much as he could when she was home. He would wake her up for work and would give her all the money that he made from his paper sales. He had even become a decent cook and usually had some food waiting for his mother when she returned home.
But the little slice of Heaven that the two had found didn't last long. Vyacheslav's mother soon became very ill. She told her son not to worry and that she would be over it in no time. But she never did and as the days went on she became visibly weaker and weaker. Finally one day after coming home from selling his papers, Vyacheslave went into his mother's room to give her the money he had earned and found her dead.
The funeral was a rather small one. Only he and some of his mother's close friends showed up. After that, Vyacheslave was sent to an orphanage where he eventually met his friend and future partner, Jason Morris. Unable to pronounce his name correctly, Jason had shortened down Vyacheslav's last name to simply Alex.
The two left the orphanage at fifteen and took to stealing in order to survive on the streets. As luck would have it -- or misfortune as Jason would put it -- the two landed at the Magdalan Order after a failed attempt at pick-pocketing an undercover member.
The two were then given an option; they could join the Order and 'repent' for their crimes. Or they could go to prison. They didn't need to be asked twice.
Which is how they ended up here, freezing cold and ushering Order members through the front gate of the grounds. Aleksanyan, for his part, was glad to be a part of the Order. Jason, on the other hand, wasn't as enthusiastic.
"Jesus Christ, I'm freezing my ass off!" he complained. "How the hell did I get stuck with gate watch? Again!"
Aleksanyan shifted the weight of his Thompson and sighed. "Are planning on complaining all night about this? Because if you are, I'll just shoot you right here and now and save my ears the pain."
Jason snorted. "You'd be doing me a favor. At least then I wouldn't be as cold as I am now."
The Russian native sighed. "You are such a pain in the ass, you know? How is it that you and me have remained friends for so long?"
Jason smirked. "My overwhelming charisma and charm captured you and has refused to let you go."
Aleksanyan made a disgusted face. "Save that line for the women you try and pick up. It doesn't work on me."
The two chuckled and lapsed into silence. A convoy of Order cars came to the gate and the two let them inside.
"Hey, Aleksanyan?" Jason asked after a while.
Aleksanyan raised an eyebrow. (He used my full name. He must have something serious to talk about.)
"Yes, Comrade, what is it?" Aleksanyan used the nickname that he only gave to the people that he trusted the most to show that he was ready to listen to whatever he had to say. And take it seriously.
"There sure have been a lot of Order members gathering here lately. And they're all from different branches."
"Really?"
Jason nodded. "Yeah. Most are from the East Coast but, I'm pretty sure that I saw a few from the Chicago branch. And I know that I saw Father Gilliam as well. And he's all the way out in the West Coast! Just what the hell is going on here?"
Aleksanyan thought for a few moments then said, "I think we're going to launch an assault on New York City soon."
Jason's eyes went wide. "Are they crazy? Don't they remember what happened the last time we did that? Just what the hell are they thinking?"
His partner shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe they finally found a way to take down Crayak."
Jason turned away and frowned. "I hope you're right, Aleksanyan. I lost a lot of good friends the first time through. I don't feel like loosing anymore."
Aleksanyan slowly nodded. "I know how you feel, Comrade. I lost many as well."
The two soon drifted off into silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Jason finally broke the silence when he stretched.
"Oh well," he said, "I'm not really all that worried."
Aleksanyan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why's that?"
"Because if we get into a real pickle, we always have the Mad Russian to come and save us," he said with a smirk.
Aleksanyan started to growl in irritation, but couldn't help it and ended up laughing instead. "I'll try not to let you down, Comrade."
Jason smiled and turned towards the road as another convoy of Order cars started heading their way.
"I know you won't, Alex," his voice serious. "I know you won't."
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Sister Kate, Father Remington and Father Gilliam all watched through the window of Sister Kate's office as the army of Order members came through the front gate by the hundreds. The members dismounted their vehicles and began to set up a tent city on the convent grounds. They could see Joshua as he directed them where to go.
"It won't be enough," Father Remington said darkly. "In the end we'll become nothing more than a liability to the others."
"That's a harsh thing to say, Ewan. Especially since we haven't even spoken to the others yet," Father Gilliam said.
Father Remington's eyes narrowed. "I'm merely being realistic, Jack. And realistically, we don't stand a chance."
"But you're still going to fight, aren't you, Ewan?"
Father Remington closed his eyes. "Of course I'm going to fight. I've never given up before and, even though the odds are against us, I'm not going to give up now."
"I'm glad to hear that, Father Remington," Sister Kate said. "We are going to need everyone that we can spare for this battle."
Father Gilliam nodded. "And what a battle it will be. Angels, humans and demons working together to defeat a common foe. I don't believe that anything like this had ever happened before."
"It hasn't."
The three whirled abound and saw Duke Duffau sitting on the arms of one of the couches. Pulling a few hairs from his beard, he looked up and fixed all of them with a cool stare.
"And it will never happen again. No matter the outcome."
Sister Kate nodded a greeting. "Duke Duffau, welcome. I'm glad to see that you came."
"The very survival of Pandemonium is at stake, why wouldn't I come here?"
"I didn't mean it like that..."
"How many demons will Pandemonium send us?" Father Remington asked, cutting off Sister Kate and changing the subject at the same time.
Duffau twisted the hairs between his fingers before blowing them away. "A hundred thousand."
"A hundred THOUSAND?" Father Remington shouted. "Only a hundred thousand? Surely she can send more than that!"
"They're all Pursuers," Duffau said calmly. "The strongest demons in all of Pandemonium. Myself included. They will be enough."
"I hope you're right," Sister Kate said.
"I am. What about your forces?"
"Right now we're a thousand strong with another one thousand arriving tomorrow," Father Gilliam said.
Duffau nodded. "Impressive. What about Gabriel and his Angels?"
Sister Kate shook her head. "No word as of yet."
Duffau smirked. "Predictable. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't show up at all."
"But we did."
All eyes turned to see Gabriel by the office doors, dressed in an all white business suit.
"The Father is sending eight thousand Archangels under my command to help us fight against Crayak," he said as he walked forward to stand beside Duffau.
"A force of Angels, demons and humans one hundred and ten thousand strong," Father Gilliam mused. "It might just work."
Sister Kate looked out her window. "I hope it does. For us and for them."
Nobody had to ask who she was talking about.
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Joshua was exhausted.
Since five a.m. this morning he had been directing the arriving Order members where to go and set up their tents. He had no idea what time it was now. Only that it was late in the evening. Thankfully, the sun hadn't set all the way yet so he could still see what he was doing.
As the last car of the currently arriving stick came through the front gate and was sent to its respective area, Joshua let loose a long, tired sigh. His eyelids felt so heavy and it was becoming hard to keep them open. Even while he was standing up. If he didn't get any sleep soon, he was going to collapse from exhaustion right here and right now.
"Joshua, are you alright?"
The Apostle rubbed his eyes and turned around. He was met with a blurry image of Clair. At least, he thought it was Clair. Her hands were folded in front of her and her head was tilted to the side with a look of worry -- at least that's what Joshua thought it was -- on her face.
"Yeah, I'm alright," he sighed, which turned into a yawn. "Just a little tired."
Clair shook her head. "You're a little more than tired, Joshua. I know that you've been doing this since the first convoy arrived this morning." Walking closer to him, Claire leaned in close and looked into his eyes. "Go. Get. Some. Sleep."
Joshua swallowed and took a slight step back. Rosette used to look at him the same way when he would try and stay up all night and finish the latest dime story novel that he bought. To say that Joshua was a bit rattled was an understatement. So, naturally, he caved in.
"Alright," he sighed, slumping his shoulders. "I'll get some sleep."
Clair smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you."
The Apostle turned around and walked away. "I swear," he grumbled, "you and Rosette can be so alike it's scary sometimes."
When Joshua was halfway to the men's dorms, he suddenly stopped and looked in direction of the graveyard. He didn't know what strange impulse made him do it, but, he started walking in its direction. When he reached the entrance he saw a lone figure standing in front of a grave that he was very familiar with.
"Miss Satella," he whispered.
As if she had heard him, the Jewel Witch turned around and beckoned him forward. Joshua swallowed loudly and slowly made his way over to Fiore's grave.
"You really loved my sister, didn't you?" Satella asked once Joshua was standing beside her.
"I still do," Joshua said in a whisper. "I still do."
The two lapsed into a period of silence before Satella finally said; "When Florette and I were reunited four years ago, I was so happy. Whatever spell had been placed on her by Aion was gone and she fully recognized me for who I was. But, even though she was my sister and loved me because of that, I could also see how much she loved you."
Satella chuckled. "I'll admit that I was a little jealous of you. You had what I really wanted most at that time. My big sister's attention. But I wasn't worried. I was convinced that Florette and I would have all the time in the world to be with each other, so I didn't mind sharing her with you. I could see that you loved her just as much."
Satella's jaw clenched and tears started to brim at the corners of her eyes. "But then, just as I was getting used to having Florette back with me again, she was taken away from me. You will never know how angry I was when you told me that she was dead, how much I wanted to hate you for taking my sister away from me again."
Satella closed her eyes, a few tears escaping them. "And I did hate you. I hated you so much that it hurt. For the past three years, I've spent every waking moment of my life hating you and cursing your name, wishing that you had never met my sister. And I would have spent the rest of my life hating you if it hadn't been for my sister."
Joshua looked at Satella for the first time since he came into the graveyard. "What?"
Satella opened her eyes and looked to the sky. "I had a dream about her one night. She came to me and asked if I still hated you. Naturally I told her yes and that I would for the rest of my life. Do you know what she did after that? She smiled at me. She smiled at me and said that it was okay for me to hate you. As long as it was for the right reasons."
"What happened afterwards?" Joshua asked softly.
"I did some thinking. A lot of thinking actually. I thought about all the reasons that I hated you and came back with the same conclusion every time. You took my sister away from me and I hated you for that. I was about to dismiss the dream and continue blindly hating you when a thought struck my mind. Yes, it was true that I hated you for taking my sister away from me. But, did I hate you because of her death? That was what Florette was trying to make me see."
Joshua tensed up. "And what was your answer."
Satella smiled. "The answer, believe it or not, was no."
Joshua gasped, he eyes wide and mouth hanging open.
"Surprised? Believe me, so was I. Confused was more like it. I kept thinking to myself how could I not hate you for Florette's death? Then I realized that you weren't responsible for her death. She chose to sacrifice herself to protect you. Just like she had done for me when Aion attacked us."
"So... you don't hate me?" Joshua asked in a whisper.
Satella walked over and put her arms around Joshua's shoulders, pulling him into a hug. "No. No, I don't hate you anymore. I can't. That's why I came back. To make sure that my feelings weren't misguided and to apologize to you for hating you for so long." Satella sniffed and tightened her hold on Joshua. "And also to thank you, for loving my sister as much as you did. You made her extremely happy."
Joshua slowly brought his arms up and returned the hug, a few tears dropping from his eyes. "Thank you."
Nothing more was said between them. Nothing needed to be. Satella had forgiven him and Joshua's heart was at ease. That was all that mattered to him.
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Azmaria smiled as she watched the scene unfold before her. She had seen and heard everything that had transpired between Joshua and Miss Satella. She was happy for Joshua, she really was. Miss Satella had forgiven him and she was sure that some of the burden that he had carried after Miss Fiore's death was lifted a little. But, at the same time, she was also extremely sad. Once again, Joshua had displayed his undying love for Miss Fiore and it broke her heart.
Turning away from the two, Azmaria headed in the direction of the women's dorm. But with every step she took, she could feel her heart breaking little by little.
(Why?) she asked herself as tears started flowing down her face. (Why do I want to be near him when I know that there's no room for me inside his heart? Why do I keep trying?)
Azmaria was halted in her thoughts when a tremendous explosion shook the entire convent grounds and sent her to her knees. Looking up she saw black smoke coming from the direction of the Elder's workshop.
Quickly getting to her feet, Azmaria took off running towards the workshop.
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The Elder closed the panel on the last of the receptors that he was working on and made sure the screws were nice and tight. Stepping back, he did one last check to make sure that everything was in working order.
"Okay," he said, "ready over here."
"Same here," Shader said, stepping back from her panel. "We can start anytime you like, Elder."
The old man nodded. "Alright then. Let's give it a try."
Stepping over to a large control panel, the Elder looked down at the four levers that corresponded to the four receptors that were attached to the Gate.
Taking hold of the first lever, the Elder took a deep breath and said, "Alright, here we go. Activating receptor number one... now!"
The Elder pulled the lever and waited. The soft hum of the activated receptor invaded the quite of the room as it started to gather Astral energy from a nearby window and stored it within itself. Shader walked over to the receptor and checked a gauge.
"So far so good," she said. "We're still in the green."
The Elder nodded. "Alright. Activating number two." Again, he pulled another lever and the second receptor came to life.
Shader walked over and checked that one as well. "No problems here," she called. "They're both still okay."
"Very well." Placing his hand on the third lever, the Elder paused for a moment and tightened his grip. "This is it. Time to see if the past four years of our lives meant something. Activating number three... now!"
The Elder pulled the lever and the third receptor came to life. The hum of the activated machines became louder and the Astral energy that was flowing into the room increased greatly. Shader quickly checked the three receptors, holding her breath at the same time.
This was the crucial point in the procedure. In the past she and the Elder had never been able to activate the fourth receptor. The first three always shorted out and exploded five minuets after the third ones activation. There was simply too much Astral energy being stored at one place at one time. And over the past three years, herself and the Elder had been trying to figure out a way to overcome this obstacle. But their ideas had always ended in failure. But, maybe this time, it would work.
Looking down at the gages, Shader let loose the breath she had been holding and nearly shouted with joy. "We're still in the green, Elder. And it's been over five minuets!"
The Elder blinked behind his red-tinted glasses. "Really?"
Shader nodded excitedly. "Yes! In fact, we're going on ten minuets right now!"
The Elder smiled. "Well I'll be! This is great. We just might do it this time." Grabbing the last lever, the Elder gave Shader one last look.
The cat-demon knew what this meant and quickly checked the gauges again. She nodded. "Still green. We can activate anytime."
"Alright then. Activating fourth receptor... now!" The lever was pulled and they both waited.
The hum got to near deafening levels and the entire room suddenly turned green as more Astral energy was drawn into the receptors. Shader quickly went between each receptor, checking to make sure they didn't overload like last time.
As for the Elder, he simply watched Shader work and kept repeating over and over again in a low voice, "Please let it work. Please let it work. Please let it--"
"Elder, we have a problem!" Shader suddenly shouted. "Receptors two and four are approaching redline! One and three in the yellow!"
"Damn it! We were so close! I'm shutting them down." Turning to the control panel, the Elder pulled all four levers at the same time. "Well?"
"No good! Astral is still being absorbed!" she said in a panicked voice. "Two and four approaching critical mass! One and three in the red! They won't last much longer!"
"Blast it! No time left! Shader, get over here!" Grabbing the stationary cat-demon by her lab coat, the Elder drug her behind a nearby wall and covered his ears. Shader flattened hers to her head and covered them as well.
The flow of Astral energy began to bend and fluctuate as all four receptors reached critical mass. They exploded seconds later, black smoke and bright green light filling the room. Coughing and wheezing, the two scientists pulled themselves from behind the wall.
"Find a window, Shader," the Elder wheezed. "I can't breath."
"I'm trying, Elder. But I can't see anything."
At that moment the door to the back room flew open and Azmaria ran inside. "Elder! Shader! Are you all right?"
"We're fine, Azmaria," Shader shouted. "But we can't breath. Help us find some windows to open."
"All right. Hang on!"
Azmaria turned around and started to head for the main room and open the window in there, but didn't look where she was going and ran into Joshua, who had followed her after he heard the explosion. Squealing in surprise, Azmaria started to fall backwards when Joshua reached out and grabbed her, pulling her close to his body.
"You okay, Azmaria?" he asked her.
Cheeks flaming red, the Apostle nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."
Joshua smiled. "Good. I'd hate to see you hurt because of me."
Azmaria smiled back at him, but inside she nearly cried. (But I already have been.)
"Come on," he said, releasing her, "let's get this smoke out of here."
With Azmaria and Satella's help, Joshua got all the smoke out of the workshop. The Elder and Shader thanked them and tried to remove some of the soot from their cloths. The tip of Shader's tail had been singed somehow and she wined about how long it would take her to get the blackness out of her fur. Joshua couldn't help but laugh.
"Damn it!" the Elder cursed, kicking a blown up receptor box. "This'll take me a week to repair! And we're pressed for time enough as it is."
"What the heck is going on here?" Satella asked as she stepped through the doorway.
"The Elder tried to activate the Gate again," Joshua told her.
"Again?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You mean he still hasn't figured it out yet?" Joshua shook his head. "And he's been working on it for how long?"
"About three years," Azmaria said. "The Elder wants to use the Gate to put us closer to Chrono. That way we won't have to cross all of New York City to get to him."
"Makes sense," Satella said as she watched Shader and the Elder gather up the unusable parts. "So what happened this time?"
Joshua shrugged. "The same thing that happens every time. The collected Astral become too much for the receptors to handle and they exploded."
Satella put a finger to her chin in thought. "Why don't you just have a constant flow of Astral energy coming into the Gate?"
"We tried that already," the Elder said as he dumped the parts into the trash. "None of the receptors that I have created are powerful enough to draw in the correct amount of Astral energy needed to power the Gate with a constant flow. If I was going to do that, I would need a receptor the size of Ricardo's blimp."
"Why so big?" Azmaria asked.
"We're talking about punching a hole through space and time itself. It's going to require a very large amount of Astral to power something that can do that," the Elder said.
"Oh."
"We could always use the other method," Joshua said, looking at Azmaria.
The Elder sternly shook his head. "No. Absolutely not! I refuse to do it."
"But, Elder, it may be the only chance that we have," Azmaria said.
"Again, no."
Satella leaned in close to Shader and whispered, "What's the other method?"
"To use the Apostles," the cat-demon whispered back. "I've calculated that with all seven Apostles present, we would have enough Astral energy flowing into the Gate to power it and use it to our hearts content."
Satella blinked. "Sounds like a good backup plan. Why doesn't the Elder want to do it?"
"He doesn't want us to feel like we're nothing but tools," Azmaria said, moving over to stand by the two women. She watched the Elder and Joshua argue back and forth for a moment then said, "Aion tried to use us for his own reasons. The Elder just doesn't want us to feel like we're being put in the same position again. That's all."
Satella nodded. "Good intentions."
"It is," Azmaria agreed. "But, he may not have a choice."
Satella tilted her head to the side. "Why not?"
"Crayak will be able to escape his bindings by the end of the week," Shader said.
Satella's mouth dropped open. "What? This can't be!"
Azmaria nodded. "It's true. That's why the Elder is trying so hard to complete the Gate. We need to rescue Chrono so he and Rosette can be together again."
"Speaking of Rosette, where is she? I haven't seen her since I got here."
Shader and Azmaria looked at each other then back at Satella. "You mean you didn't know?" Azmaria asked.
"Know what?"
Azmaria took Satella's hand and led her out of the Elder's workshop. "I'll show you."
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Satella could not believe what she was seeing. Her mind couldn't register that the ghostly pail woman sitting in front of her was really Rosette Christopher. It was sheer insanity.
"This can't be," she whispered.
"But it is," Azmaria said in a low voice.
"How?"
"Chrono," Azmaria explained. "After he was taken away from her, Rosette just stopped caring about everything. And nothing we say or do can get through to her."
"What the hell?" Satella said, the fists balled and shaking. "How can you just sit there and do nothing while everyone is out doing something about the problem."
Before Azmaria could react, Satella grabbed Rosette by the front of her nightgown and pulled her close to her face. "Aren't you the one who's always saying that we should keep moving forward no matter what? And not let anything, not even time, stop us? Huh? Well aren't you?"
Rosette didn't answer and Satella's grip loosened on the nightgown, letting Rosette slide down to her sitting position again. Her body wracked with emotion, Satella slid down to her knees and put her head on Rosette's bed. Azmaria walked forward and knelt down beside the Jewel Witch.
Listening very carefully, she could hear Satella saying over and over again, "Why? Why? Why? Why...?"
The Apostle put her arm around the woman's shaking form and pulled her close. "It's all right, Miss Satella. Just you wait. We'll get Chrono back and Rosette will be her old self again. You'll see."
But Azmaria had to wonder. Did she really mean the words she spoke? Or, was she just saying that so she wouldn't break down and cry like Miss Satella was doing right now.
The answer to the question escaped her.
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"All I'm saying is that you should at least consider the option."
"And, again, I'm telling you that I will not."
The Elder and Joshua had been arguing back and forth for the past five minuets. Joshua, trying to convince the scientist to use the Apostles to power the Gate. But the Elder refused to give any ground. No matter what Joshua said, he would not, absolutely would NOT, use the Apostles to power the Gate. They were human beings, not some tool for anyone to use at their convince.
Joshua scowled. (Stubborn old coot! Always making things harder than they have to be.)
The Elder snorted. "Don't even make that face at me, you little punk! I've made my decision and I'm standing by it. End of discussion!"
Joshua groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "You stubborn old... Azmaria, I'd really like you help--! Azmaria? Where'd she go?"
"She left with Satella a few minutes ago," Shader said, dumping the last of the broken parts into the trash. "I'm surprised it took you this long to notice."
"I was a little distracted," Joshua said, glaring at the Elder.
The Elder simply folded his arms over his chest and snorted.
Shader looked between the two men, a look of worry on her face. She had to think of a way to ease the tension between the two before the situation turned ugly. Thankfully Satella and Azmaria waked through the door at that moment, and she let loose a sigh of relief.
"Are you alright, Miss Satella?" Shader asked once she noticed the woman's red rimmed eyes.
The German woman sniffed once. "I'll be okay. Really."
Shader didn't press the issue. Instead she turned to the Elder and asked, "So what do we do now? Should we start to rebuild the receptors and try again?"
"What's the use?" the Elder sighed. "We'll just end up failing again. Plus there's no time to rebuild the receptors. It's hopeless."
Everyone was shocked. They had never heard the Elder talk like this before. To have him just give up on a failed experiment was unheard of. They all watched as the weapons developer walked over and sat down at a workbench, his shoulders hunched in defeat.
"Elder?" Shader whispered.
When he didn't answer, she tried to move towards him but Joshua put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. With a slight shake of his head, he ushered Shader and the rest of the women out of the room and into the main workshop.
"Poor Elder," Azmaria said. "I've never seen him like this before."
"Neither have I," Joshua agreed. "There has to be something we can do to help him out."
"But we've tried everything," Shader said, looking up from a table with blueprints scattered all over it. "And every time we rebuild and retry the receptors, the machines still explode. Nothing we do seems to work."
The group fell into silence, each person -- or in Shader's case, demon -- tried to think of a way to help the Elder get out of his newly found slump. They stood around for at least five minuets before a thought crossed Satella's mind.
"Shader, can I ask you something?"
The cat-demon didn't look up from her blueprints, but nodded her head to show that she was listening.
"You said that you tried everything mechanical wise and had no success, correct?"
Again Shader nodded.
"Have you ever thought of using something non-mechanical? At least where the actual receptor mechanism is concerned?"
That got Shader's attention. Looking over her shoulder, she asked, "Such as?"
"My jewels. Do you think you could use them to store the amount of Astral you need in order to get the Gate to work?"
"Could they really do that?" Joshua asked, excitement growing in his voice.
Satella shrugged. "I don't see why not."
Azmaria said, "But, I thought that your jewels worked on magic, not Astral energy."
"You're correct. To a certain extent my jewels do use magic. But they also use a vast amount of Astral energy."
Shader blinked. "How?"
Satella put a finger to her chin in thought. "How to explain this...? Alright! How about this. The jewels I use do require some magic power in order to use them, but, I don't use that magic to create the monster per say."
"Then how?"
"The magic lies in the controlling of the monster. Once summoned, I have a psychic established link with the beast. That way I can control it with my thoughts. In truth the jewel monsters are nothing more than my thoughts and emotions given physical form. That's the magic usage on my part."
"But how are they given physical form?" Joshua asked.
"That's where my psychic link comes in. I have to envision in my mind what I want the summoned monster to look like. It usually depends on which jewel I'm using. After I have the picture in my mind, I call forth the beast's spirit from the jewel. Now this is where the magic of the jewels comes in. The jewel releases the monster's spirit and at the same time gathers Astral energy from the Astral Lines. The energy is stored within the jewel until there is enough of it and then it releases it. The monster's spirit is then encased within a crystallized body of Astral energy and then I can control the monster how I see fit afterwards. The whole process seems long, but in reality only takes about five seconds."
The whole room was quite, each person going over the new information that Satella had given them in their minds. Joshua and Azmaria both had big grins on their faces and Shader was practically radiating excitement.
"Miss Satella," the cat-demon said, "do you have any idea what this means?"
"Not really."
"It means that their is still hope. If what you said is true, then the Elder and I could create a new type of receptor. One that used you jewels to store and release the Astral energy that we need to power the Gate." Shader's ears and tail stood strait up and she let loose a squeal of happiness. "This is just to--"
"PERFECT!"
Everyone turned around to see the Elder standing in the doorway, a smile on his face and tears streaming down his cheeks. Rushing forward, he wrapped his arms around Satella's waist and buried his face in her chest.
"Oh, Miss Satella," he cried in perverted glee. "You have no idea how happy you've made this old man! And how happy you're making him right now. I feel like my old self again." The Elder confirmed this by slipping his hands lower and giving Satella's rear a nice squeeze.
Satella turned red with a mixture of embarrassment and furry and brought a fist up. "Why you sneaky, little PERVERT!"
The German woman proceeded to whack the Elder over the head repeatedly until he finally let go of her and sank to the floor in an unconscious heap. Satella dusted her hands off and stared down at the old man.
"Serves you right," she mumbled.
Joshua and Azmaria couldn't help but laugh at the Elders antics. The two looked at each other and before Azmaria could say anything, Joshua wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He then spun her around in circles, laughing all the while.
"This is great!" he said, over and over again. He laughed again and sat Azmaria down, but didn't let go of her.
Azmaria at this point didn't know what to think. While she loved being held by Joshua, she didn't know if it was because he was excited or if it was because of something more.
(If only I knew how he felt,) she thought to herself. (I could understand him a little bit more.)
The clearing of someone's throat alerted the two that they were still holding on to each other. They both blushed darkly and quickly separated, turning away from each other in embarrassment.
"S-sorry about that," Joshua stuttered.
"I-it's okay, really," Azmaria replied.
The two shared an uncomfortable silence before Joshua cleared this throat.
"Well," he said, he cheeks still slightly pink. "I'd better go tell Sister Kate about this."
"W-wait! I'll come with you," Azmaria said, starting for the door.
"No!" Joshua said, the tone of his voice making the female Apostle stop in her tracks. "You stay here. I'll be okay on my own."
"Joshua..."
Joshua quickly left the workshop, leaving Azmaria staring at his retreating form, feeling more confused than ever before.
"It'll be okay, kitten," Shader said, coming up behind Azmaria and giving her a hug. "He'll realize his true feelings towards you soon, you'll see. Everything will be okay, I promise you."
Azmaria sniffed and nodded. "Thank you, Miss Shader."
Shader just smiled. Releasing Azmaria, she walked over to the Elder and grabbed him by his collar. "C'mon, Elder, let's go. We've got a lot of work to do and little time to do it in. Miss Satella, would you come with me? I might need your help with a few things."
With Satella following behind her, Shader dragged the Elder's limp form into the back room and shut the door, leaving Azmaria along in the main room with nothing but her thoughts.
-----------------------------
Joshua walked across the convent grounds, his mind going a mile a minute and his heart a confused whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Why had he done that? It was bad enough that he had grabbed Azmaria in the first place, but then he didn't let her go when he sat her back down. Things were getting out of control. It was like his heart had more control over his body than his mind did.
"Why?" he softly lamented. "Why does this have to be so damn hard? And why does it have to hurt so much?"
Joshua wasn't a fool. He knew that he was in love with Azmaria. He also knew that he shouldn't be. He also knew that if he acknowledged his feelings for Azmaria, then that would mean that he was betraying Fiore's memory. But it was becoming harder and harder, he realized, to ignore his feelings for Azmaria. If he didn't do something, and soon, he was going to give in to his desires and tell Azmaria how he felt.
Joshua clenched his teeth in anger. That was the absolute last thing that he wanted to do.
Lifting his face to the sky, he softly prayed, "Help me, Fiore. Please, help me. I don't know what to do anymore."
He didn't receive an answer. And he didn't really expect to get one. Sighing in defeat, Joshua started walking again. Before he realized it, he was in front of the double doors that lead to Sister Kate's office.
"Come in," she called after he knocked.
Joshua walked inside and stopped short of the threshold when he saw who was inside.
"Oh, sorry," he said. "I didn't know you were busy. I'll come back later."
"It's alright, Joshua," Father Remington said. "Please, come in."
The Apostle walked in far enough to close the door but didn't move any closer to the group. Sister Kate and Father Remington looked at each other, confused, but didn't say anything.
"So, what can I do for you, Joshua?" Sister Kate asked.
"I've just come to tell everyone the good news," he said, the excitement back in his voice. "The Elder might have a way to activate the Gate at last."
Sister Kate smiled. "Really? That's wonderful, Joshua. This means that we can use our original plan."
Duffau raised an eyebrow. "And what plan was that?"
Father Remington said, "We're going to use the Gate to transport a small strike force right on Crayak's doorstep. They would then locate him and return Chrono's horns to his head, driving out Crayak and saving Chrono."
"That's a suicide mission, Ewan," Father Gilliam said.
"I realize this," Sister Kate said. "However, it is also a very good way to end this conflict without anymore loss of life."
"And what if it doesn't work?" Father Gilliam asked. "What then?"
"Then we do as originally planned," Father Remington said. "We'll attack Crayak with the bulk of our forces in a last ditch effort to save this world."
"It'll work," Joshua said, his face set in determination. "I'll make sure that it does."
(Then Rosette will be reunited with Chrono and she'll be her old self again. And we'll finally all be together, just like before. Then we can all put this nightmare behind us once and for all.)
But for some odd reason, Joshua wasn't convinced by his own words.
-----------------------------
The next few days seemed to pass by at a snail pace for Joshua. He tried not to think about the upcoming mission that he would be on and did everything in his power to keep his mind focused on other things. He spent the majority of his time in the pistol range, sharpening his marksman skills to a finally honed edge. He wanted to be ready for anything that came his way.
Other times, he could be found practicing with his crucifix-sword. But it never really helped much. The days still dragged on slowly, making him more agitated than ever before. And the nights were worse.
Every night, Joshua would lie awake in his room, staring up at the ceiling, trying not to think abut the next day and will himself to sleep. It never worked and he would always end up staying awake half the night.
For him, this was a bad thing. Because no matter what, no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts -- and dreams, when he actually did fall asleep -- always turned towards Azmaria.
Again, his thoughts and feelings towards her were thrown into utter confusion. And even worse, he felt his desire to protect her and be with her slowly covering over Fiore's place in his heart.
That realization scared him more than anything else.
So he did the only thing he could think of. He tried to avoid her at all costs. This, however, didn't work out as well as he had hoped. She seemed to be everywhere that he went. Weather it be physically or in his thoughts. And it was driving him to the brink of insanity. Even worse, she had told him that she was coming with him when he led the assault on Crayak.
"I'm going with you and that's final," she had said with a stomp of her foot and a frown on her face.
Joshua tried to maker her change her mind, he really did. But she was stubborn to the very end and refused to have her mind changed. And secretly, no matter how much he tried to deny it, he was glad that she was coming with him.
Joshua sighed and rolled over on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Tomorrow was the day. The Elder and Shader had said that the Gate would be complete by tomorrow afternoon and he could leave by that night. He couldn't have been happier. After four years of waiting, he would finally have the chance to set things right.
Joshua felt his eyes getting heavy and smiled to himself. He was going to need all the sleep he could get. Tomorrow was going to be a very busy day. And an even busier night.
-----------------------------
Azmaria stood alone in the shower, barely aware of the warm water as it cascaded down her body. Her mind was too caught up in other things. And most of them were centered on a certain Apostle.
His actions over the past couple of days had been so confusing. When the day they had learned that the Elder might be able to finally get the Gate to work, he had been so happy, holding her like a lover would. Then he had harshly pushed her away before going to see Sister Kate. And this whole week, he had been doing his best to ignore her.
It was confusing at first, then she had realized what he was doing. He was trying to stay loyal to Miss Fiore's memory.
It tore at her every time she thought about it. He was trying so hard to stay faithful to someone who wasn't alive anymore. Strangely enough, it sounded exactly like the same thing that Chrono had done. But Chrono had found Rosette and he had loved her just as much, if not more than, he had loved Mary.
(If Chrono was able to do it,) she thought to herself, (then why won't Joshua? What keeps him attached to Miss Fiore's memory?)
The answers escaped her. Just like they did every time she asked them. Shutting the water off, Azmaria stepped out of the stall and grabbed a nearby towel. As she was drying herself off, she didn't notice the shower room door open and Satella walk inside.
"Azmaria?"
The Apostle squealed in surprise and whirled around, the towel pressed close to her body. "Miss Satella? What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you actually. I was wondering if I could talk to you about something."
"Well, sure, I guess. What do you want to talk about?"
Satella shook her head. "Not here. Come to my sister's grave. I'll tell you there."
And with that she was gone. Azmaria stared at the door in confusion then shook her head. Quickly drying off, she ran to her room and got dressed, wondering what Miss Satella could want to tell her.
-----------------------------
"Thank you for coming out her," Satella said as Azmaria walked up beside her, the Apostle's cold-weather coat pulled tightly around her body. Satella had her own red fur-coat as well, although it still didn't do very much to keep out the cold.
"Not at all," Azmaria said, smiling sweetly. "So, what is it you would like to talk to me about?"
"I want to talk about you and Joshua."
Azmaria blinked. "Oh?"
"Yes. But, before I start, I have to know one very important thing. And you have to answer me truthfully."
"Okay."
Satella looked Azmaria in the eyes. "Do you love him?"
Azmaria blushed dark red but didn't look away from Satella. "Yes. Yes, I do love him. With all my heart."
Satella smiled. "Just as I thought."
The exorcist tilted her head to the side. "Why do you ask?"
"Because Joshua loves you just as much, if not more so."
Azmaria looked away. "That's not true. He just cares about me as a friend, nothing more. It's Miss Fiore that he still loves, not me."
Satella chuckled. "Oh, but that's where you're wrong. Joshua does love you, he just can't bring himself to admit it fully to himself."
"Why not?" Azmaria whispered, hope in her voice.
"It's mainly because of my sister and what happened to her." Satella was looking at Fiore's grave as she said this.
Azmaria began, "I understand that--"
"I don't think you do," Satella said, cutting her off. "At least, not all of it."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you know how my sister died?"
Azmaria shook her head. "No, I don't. Joshua never told me and I never asked him. The subject seemed rather painful to him."
Satella nodded. "I figured just as much. Then maybe I should tell you. You remember what happened after Crayak was sealed away in New York City, right?"
"Yeah. The Magdalan Order evacuated everyone off the island. It took them six months to do it."
"That's right. And near the end of the campaign Rosette was injured and taken out of the fight. After the city was fully evacuated, the barrier was raised and no one was allowed on the island again. I learned from the Elder that when Rosette heard this she started to fall into her depression. And it was this that led to my sister's death."
Azmaria blinked. "I don't understand."
Satella smiled. "When Joshua saw what was happening to his sister and he wasn't able to bring her out of it himself, he decided to take matters into his own hands to save her."
Azmaria thought about what Satella said for a bit then gasped. "Chrono. He went to try and save Chrono."
The German woman nodded. "That's right. Without telling anyone, he took Chrono's horns and snuck out of the Order all by himself. But, somehow, my sister found out and went after him." At this point Satella had tears in her eyes but found the strength to push forward. "About halfway into the city, Joshua was attacked by Fiends. Somehow Florette arrived just in time to push him out of the way and take the blow that was meant for him. He used his wings to fly back to the Magdalan Order with my sister in his arms. She died before he had the chance to try and use his powers on her."
Azmaria was on the verge of tears. "That's horrible."
Satella nodded. "Yes. And it also explains why Joshua acts the way that he does towards you."
Azmaria blinked in confusion. "It does?"
"It does. He's afraid of loosing you, too. He's afraid of caring for you because if he were to loose you as well, it would undoubtedly crush him, heart and soul. Even though he's part of the Militia, he still doesn't think of himself as strong enough to protect those he cares about."
"But that's not true! Joshua's strong. I know he is."
"YOU know he is. But he doesn't believe it himself. And that's why he tries to push you away. To save himself the pain."
"How?" Azmaria said, bowing her head. "How do I help him? How can I show him that he is strong?"
"Unfortunately, I can't tell you, Azmaria. You'll have to find the answer on your own. And you will have to do it quickly. Before Joshua drowns himself in my sister's memory and his on misery."
"I won't let him," the Apostle said, her head snapping up with a look of determination on her face. "I'll find a way, Miss Satella. I'm not going to loose Joshua to himself, no matter what it takes."
Satella smiled down at the young woman. "I know you will, Azmaria. I know you will."
-----------------------------
Morning came to the Magdalan Order and both the Elder and Shader were exhausted. Leaning back with a tired sigh, the Elder wiped is brow with the back of his sleeve and looked at the Gate.
"Finally," he said. "After four years of work and toil, we can finally get this thing to work."
"I think it was worth all those all-nighters that we pulled to get us here," Shader said from beside him.
The Elder nodded in agreement. "That it was. And I couldn't have done it without you, Shader. Thank you."
Shader smiled. "Think nothing of it. All of you took me in and protected me when I was going to be executed by Duffau. I had to repay my debt to you somehow."
"So what will you do now that your debt is repaid?"
"I think I'll stick around her for a little longer. I rather like it here."
The Elder nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. Everyone here has grown fond of you, Shader, and they would hate to see you leave. Epically Joshua. Plus, I'm not long for this world and I'll need someone to carry on in my place. I was hoping that it would be you."
"Oh, Elder," Shader squealed, "I'd be happy to carry on in your place."
The Elder smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. But I've still got a lot of life left in me so don't count me out of the game yet."
Shader giggled. "Of course not."
"Well, then," the weapons developer said, stretching. "I think I'm going to grab a short nap before everyone starts showing up."
"Okay. I'll clean up and run a few more tests on the Gate."
The Elder slowly walked away. "That's fine. Wake me up around noon. That should be enough time."
Shader waved to him. "Sure thing. See ya at noon."
-----------------------------
Noon came quicker than the Elder would have liked but he didn't complain about it. Because this particular afternoon was special for a very good reason. It marked the beginning of a rescue mission that was long since overdue. Azmaria and Satella were in the Elder's workshop standing in front of the now-completed Gate. The Elder and Shader were going between each receptor, giving them one last full examination.
"Children," the Elder said at last, "it's done!"
Azmaria clapped her hands together. "You mean it works? We can finally us it?"
"Of course you can," Shader said. "We give it our very own 'Seal of Approval'.
The Elder nodded in agreement. "That's right. You can leave here at anytime that you like. Just say the word and you're gone."
"So how did you get it to work this time?" Azmaria asked.
"It was quite simple, really." Shader shot him a look. "Er, once we got the right parts for it, anyway."
"Excuse me!" Satella said, clearly offended. "But my jewels are not 'parts'! Their priceless treasures. And I would appreciate it if you treated them as such."
The Elder started to sweat. "T-that's not what I... I mean... Oh, will you just be quite and let me explain how this thing works?"
Everyone's mouths snapped shut.
"That's better. Now, unlike my previous receptors, these can not be activated by normal machinery. That's why I have Miss Satella here with us. With her, we will be able to activate the receptors through her jewels. Once the jewel's have enough Astral energy gathered in them, she will release the stored Astral and activate the Gate. Any questions?"
No one had any.
"Excellent." He turned to Azmaria. "You can leave whenever you like, my dear."
Azmaria smiled at the Elder. "That's wonderful. I'm so happy. But we won't be leaving just yet."
The Elder pouted. "And why now? I've spent the last four years of my life working on this thing. And I'm eager to see how well it works. I think that I deserve that much at least, don't you?"
"I agree with you, Elder. But, we can't leave because Joshua isn't hear with us," Azmaria said.
Shader scratched behind her ears. "Well, where is he?"
"He's getting the last piece of equipment," Satella said, looking out a nearby window.
The Elder raised an eyebrow. "Equipment?"
Azmaria nodded. "He's getting Chrono's horns."
-----------------------------
Joshua quietly entered his sister's room, his eyes instantly adjusting to the dim lighting. She was sitting up in her bed as normal, staring blankly ahead at nothing. Crossing over to her, he knelt beside her bed and took a hand in his.
"Hello, Rosette," he whispered. "I have something to tell you. The Elder finally got the Gate to work. Do you know what that means? We can save Chrono now. And that's what me and Azmaria are going to do. But, before we leave, we need Chrono's horns. So, I'm going to take them with me and when I come back, I'll have Chrono with me as well. I promise."
Letting go of her hand, Joshua reached over and took hold of the music box on Rosette's bedside table. The moment he touched the box a sharp pain laced through one of his wrists and he cried out. Looking down at it, he saw Rosette's hand wrapped around it. Turning to face his sister, his mouth dropped open and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Rosette slowly turned to face him. The moment she locked eyes with him, the fire seemed to erupt within her again and Joshua watched in amazement as her clouded, grey eyes slowly turned their bright, ocean-blue once again.
"Ro... Rosette?" Joshua managed to stutter out.
Rosette's hand tightened on his wrist and her eyes narrowed.
"Take me with you."
(End of Part Seven)
------------------------------
Author's Rant: HA-HA! Cliffhanger! How do you like me now? Oh, yes, I am so evil. After three days of thinking, I finally figured out how I wanted to end this chapter. And what better way than with a cliffhanger? Rejoice, all those who have followed this story from the very beginning, for it is almost over. Will Joshua choose Azmaria? Will Rosette be reunited with Chrono? Or, will Crayak escape and destroy all of humanity? Well... I'm not gonna tell you! You'll just have to keep reading to find out. Hehehehe... I can't wait to hear from everyone.
Next chapter:
-- Confrontation
See ya next chapter.