Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade…

Chrono Crusade

Smile Empty Soul

Chapter 1

"R-rose…Rosette," Chrono whispered feverishly, his baritone voice cracking. He winced involuntarily as he drew in a ragged breath, his entire body shuddering with the effort.

"I'm right here," Rosette replied softly, brushing Chrono's dark hair out of his eyes. She desperately tried not to cry, but was failing miserably. Despite her efforts to act like her normal self, tears streamed down her face in torrents.

They were in the infirmary. Earlier that night, Aion had attacked with a vengeance, obviously having gained a new attack.

Caught off guard at the Order, both Rosette and Chrono were forced to use the few Gospels they had and hand-to-hand combat, unprepared for the bloody battle that lied ahead of them. It was needless to say; the battle proved to be disastrous. Rosette had sustained a few mild injuries, but Chrono…

…He was dying, and they both knew it.

In an attempt to stabilize his condition, Rosette had broken the seal on the clock. But even then, even in Chrono's fully transformed demon form, his life force was fading. His body was losing the ability to hold astral line energy.

Chrono, please…please hold on a little longer…

I'm sorry, Rosette…I know I'm dying…

"H-how's A-azmaria?" Chrono inquired, his voice wavering. Panic gnawed at the back of his mind for it was getting harder to breathe; harder to stay awake.

Not to mention that he was so cold… He felt as though his skin was on fire, yet cold flashes slithered through his body, forcing him to shiver against his will.

Rosette pulled Chrono's blanket up to his chin and responded, "Her powers are still exhausted, but she's doing okay."

"T-that's g-good to hear," the demon said with a sigh, one weight lifted off his shoulders and another one taking its place.

But it was then Chrono felt a strange feeling overcome him, like a sickening dagger twisting itself in his gut.

That feeling…the pangs were getting worse…

…It hurt…

He panicked.

Without hesitation, unfathomable paroxysms wracked his body. Chrono hissed in pain as his chest was lit with the fiery agony, thousands of daggers madly slashing at his lungs it seemed to him. His vision grew worse; his eyes dilating. Darkness surrounded him as though he were in a waking nightmare.

"Rosette!" he managed to choke out before another wave of spasms hit him.

…C-can't…breathe!

To him, it felt as though his heart was being torn apart, and he was helpless to stop it. A thin film of sweat streamed from his skin as he curled in on himself and silently screamed, desperate to relieve the pain.

Cold flashes had begun to wrack his body to a point where the devil wondered if perhaps his time had come. And the intense transitions between hot and cold seared through his blood, perhaps even through his soul.

I-is…is this what it feels like…to die?

"Chrono!" Rosette cried out, and impulsively searched for a way to help him…

...But then stopped, for she realized there was nothing else she could do.

She could only watch as her friend lay dying.

Rosette threw her arms around Chrono and lightly embraced him when his pain subsided and he relaxed, helplessly sinking into the bed. "I'm so sorry," she whispered fervently, her heart beating rapidly. "If I hadn't been in the way, you wouldn't have had to protect me."

Said devil stiffened in Rosette's arms and gently tried to push her away. "What happened…was never your fault," he breathed. Chrono tried to focus on Rosette's form, but his vision had yet to return to normal, or all the way at least.

And chances were, he realized, it probably wouldn't return.

I don't know…how much more of this I can stand… before I break…

Rosette unwound the bandage on Chrono's arm, seeing that the blood had begun to soak through. She winced involuntarily as she inspected his wounds. A seemingly endless stream of blood literally poured from the claw marks, and the flesh around it was almost too hot to touch. Chrono let out a harsh gasp as she gently spread a salve over the gashes.

I'm sorry, Chrono…

"It shouldn't have come to this," she cried wholeheartedly, her heart aching for her friend as she watched him flinch in pain.

Chrono silently agreed with her statement. For the first time in his life, the demon felt wanted. Needed…. And dare he say it? Loved. And he wanted things to stay that way.

But I will never find happiness, he concluded forlornly.

That day, that morning, his destiny had been set in stone, no doubt about it.

During the battle, Aion had managed to separate Chrono and Rosette, using the situation to his advantage.

"Your only reason for living," Aion said to Chrono, regarding Rosette with a dangerous glint flashing in his purple eyes. "A contractor…"

Chrono attempted to move, but found himself too weakened. "Stay away from her!" he shouted, panicked that he wasn't able to help.

Aion smirked as Rosette fired a Gospel, and sent it screeching towards his chest. Instead of retaliating or dodging, he merely absorbed the power into the palm of his hand.

"…You are both pathetic opponents," he commented casually, as though talking about the weather. "You will not stop me."

Aion summoned a sphere of his energy, the astral line transforming into his darkness as the space between his hands morphed into something much greater.

Chrono finally stood up, the adrenaline numbing him enough to do so. He and Rosette could only stare at Aion, transfixed as the black orb grew. Aion caught his eye.

"Your ultimate test…Chrono…"

Aion cast his power at Rosette.

Chrono forgot to breathe as Rosette found herself trapped, the power too large to dodge. "Chrono…" she whispered, almost as a goodbye.

It was then everything else was forgotten. Chrono pushed back his fatigue and his body's pain, running….sprinting with a pace unknown to him before.

I… have to…

No second thoughts ran through his head as Chrono jumped before Aion's power, shielding his contractor. The power engulfed him as he vaguely heard Rosette scream his name.

…Protect Rosette…

His fate was sealed.

Rosette couldn't exactly remember most of the battle.

Shooting…screaming…fear…It had all run together in her mind.

But…she could still clearly see Chrono jumping before her to take Aion's blow.

She could still hear Chrono's agonized scream, becoming greater in volume as his body was overcome with pain.

Rosette could still feel dread and anger as she and Azmaria had combined their attacks, Aion chuckling before he materialized into the trees and all together avoided them.

But clearest of all, Rosette could remember the sight of Chrono's badly mangled body as Aion's power subsided.

She couldn't move: couldn't look away. Rosette was like a deer in the headlights, frozen with fear as the feeling of impending doom came closer…

She had dropped to her knees beside Chrono, immediately checking to see if he was still alive. Precious seconds passed as she waited for a sign.

God, please let him be alive!

One second went by… then two…there! A heartbeat! Rosette exhaled the air she didn't even know she was holding as Chrono drew in a shaky breath.

"…Rosette…" he whimpered into the night.

"Chrono!" she whispered with worry, extremely concerned about his wounds.

Huge, gaping wounds were inflicted all over his chest, blood staining the remains of his cloak. Chrono's right leg was lying at an unusual position, a clear indicator that it was broken. Pearl white bone had shown through his left shoulder, appearing to be sheared into smaller pieces. Small trails of blood gushed down Chrono's temples and into his violet hair.

Her heart beating wildly, Rosette yelled for Azmaria to get help. She realized that her friend was losing way too much blood.

And she could only hope that the Order's doctors would be able to help him…

It was then that Rosette noticed the blood beginning to seep through Chrono' s bandages once again. "I need to go get some more," she whispered to herself. Standing up, she said to Chrono, "I'll be right back."

But as she began to walk away, Rosette felt Chrono grip her arm.

"S-stay, Rosette," he pleaded desperately.

"But Chrono, your bandages-"

"I want…the rest of m-my Time…to be spent with you…"

He coughed violently, trying to clear his lungs, and a small trail of blood streamed down his chin.

"I don't understand it," the Order's medical doctor said in frustration to Father Remington. "Chrono is continuously having these fatal seizures and heart attacks which could have killed him long ago…But yet, it's like his body refuses to give in… He's slowly dying because of this, and I can do nothing to stop it."

Remington sighed with a heavy heart and leaned against the wall as the older man turned to the nun beside him.

"I'm sorry, Rosette," the elderly doctor had told her sympathetically. "I've done all I've can for your friend. I'm afraid, however that Chrono…may not live through the night."

Slowly, Rosette sat back down next to his bed and cried.