Forgotten Memories

by SoraKaibaLeonhart101

The Magdalene Order's Militia Commander sent Sora Maiko to track down the wolf demon Yugo. Returning with the creature was not something Sister Kate had in mind and falling in love with him was something Sora hadn't been expecting either.

7. Chapter Seven

Forgotten Memories Chapter Seven

Chrono Crusade

Date Started: November 22nd 2004

Sora Kazuma

"And I should care because?" I looked up at this chick. Yeah sure she was beautiful, gorgeous even. But her attitude was that of a rich, snobby, spoiled brat. I could somehow see her and Andrea getting along.

"What are you doing here? Did you get any other leads last night?" Rosette asked her, ignoring the argument that was brewing between her and me.

"Of course not." She winked, running her fingers through her crimson curtain of hair. "I went home and took a long relaxing bath."

That seemed to even grate on Rosette's nerves. "While we've been out looking all night, going from one crime scene to the next." She gritted her teeth.

"You're loss." The German redhead shrugged.

"Well buttercups, why don't you join up with us?" Rosette grinned. "We're working on the same case, come on."

"Please no…" I muttered.

She looked over at Chrono and then stuck her nose in the air. "No way I'm working with a devil." She replied, walking off. "See you all later."

"Time to get crafty." Rosette grinned. "Guys, follow me."

I ended following Rosette, who was stalking Satella down the street. I waved to Yugo as we passed the car, who waved back, still on the phone with Remington. Satella sped up her pace, as did Rosette, until Azmaria, Chrono and I were dashing after the two.

"Chrono, why is Rosette chasing Satella?" Azmaria asked.

"I've been wanting to ask her that myself." He grinned.

"This is pointless." I murmured.

Our race took us to Central Park, where we all crashed on the benches by the soccer fields, trying to catch our breath. The others were complaining of no sleep, but I was still feeling rather weak from that contract the night before. I knew what it was like to be exhausted.

"That chick's a worthy rival though." Rosette replied, staring up at the sky, panting.

Satella blinked, looking over at her.

Suddenly childish, manly laughter cut in from nowhere. We all looked around just in time to see a young man materialize on the park bench behind Satella. He had short crimson hair, long bangs falling against his cheeks and dark garnet eyes. Silk fighting pants and a tank top and heavy armor covered his arms. He grinned, fangs showing in his smile. "What was the point in that Satella? It was cute though. Were you trying to get some guy's attention in NYC, cuz dashing in that dress would have done it."

Her cheeks went red. "Sieg, get out of my sight! You disgust me!"

"Aw, I'm not that bad." He told her with a smile.

"Another one of Satella's poltergeist summons?" Rosette asked.

"No, that's Sieg, the Fallen One. He was one of the Sinners, a long time ago. It's rumored he was one of God's angels who was banished to Earth." Chrono explained, wide-eyed. "He hasn't changed a bit since I saw him last."

"Chrono!" he looked over at him. "Love you're new look. You're looking …cuddly now."

"Someone shoot me…" I replied with a soft sigh.

'Where are you?' Yugo's voice was amused. 'You disappeared on me so quickly.'

'We're in Central Park. Chrono and Sieg went to go get us food, though Sieg seems like he's had way to much sugar today as is.'

'Who's Sieg?'

I shook my head. 'I'll explain when you get here. How's Julius doing?'

'The same. Remington says we can return to the grounds now. He's upset that Kate dragged us all the way out here. I told him that something had happened and we were bringing back a teenage boy. I left the details of that for you to fill in.'

"Hey Sora, you want anything?" Chrono asked me.

"No thanks Chrono. I'm getting ready to go. I've been ordered back to the convent."

"We'll be back soon. I'm about to pass out." Rosette shot me a faint smile.

"Good luck you all. I'm going to meet Yugo over by the park entrance."

"Thanks." Azmaria smiled.

"Goodbye Sora! Nice meeting you!" Sieg called.

Yugo found me waiting for him. On the way back I explained my new acquaintances to him. He laughed at Sieg, saying that what he could remember of him, he had always been like that.

We pulled the car into the garage like usual; I grabbed as much stuff out of the back of it as I could. Yugo grabbed Julius and we proceeded to make our way to the boarding houses.

"Hi Sora, Yugo welco- woah. Who's Mr. Handsome?" Mia replied, sitting up off her bed to see what was going on.

"My contracted." I replied as Yugo laid him down in the bed.

"But-" she blinked at Yugo. "He-" she sighed. "I'm confused."

"Yugo and I signed a mutual contract. The price goes through on both ends. Julius and I signed a lower level of that same type. Where Yugo was the one writing the contract before, I was the one writing it this time. So Yugo has superiority over me in the contract and I have it over Julius."

"Okay… I think." She got up, coming over next to him. "So, who is he?"

"Julius Weyr." I smiled. "Cute isn't he?"

"Very." Mia nodded.

"Jesus, you two. He's not a baby." Yugo rolled his eyes.

"He's my baby, now." I said after a minute. Yugo grabbed my hand pulling me up against him.

"I'm your baby." He said with a jealous growl.

"Of course you are." I told him, leaning up to kiss his nose.

"Sora-" It was Remington, poking his head into the door. He smiled at the scene he was walking in on, leaning on the doorframe. "Sorry to interrupt." He said after a moment. "But Sister Kate is furious with you, and she is demanding to see you now."

"Good, because I'm furious with her." I told him, leaving Yugo's embrace. "I'll be back in a little while." I told him. "Mia, if you would, watch over Julius till I get back."

"Sure." She nodded.

"You know I'm on your side." Remington told me as we neared her office. "But she is kind of right. You gave us no warning you were bring another person here to the orphanage."

"I would have, trust me." I replied, slamming open the door. "You wanted to see me?" I replied with a glare.

She narrowed her eyes. "Sora. How could you bring back another person? This boy has a family, a home, from what Yugo told Remington. We are a church but we cannot house everyone."

"You should have listened to me on the phone last night, instead of trying to force another mission on me!" I snapped. "I was exhausted! In case you didn't know I used my own strength in a healing spell to save that boy's life last night. I was in no mood nor condition to be sent trekking halfway across the city to play wild goose chase with Rosette! And as for Julius, he feels like he owes me for saving him. That's why he here." I swallowed. "The boy also has a remarkable talent for sensing a devil's approaching aura. I think with the right amount of training he could be trained as an exorcist for the Magdalene Order."

"Well, that makes perfect sense." Remington said, running a hand through his hair.

Sister Kate slumped into her seat. "Sora, I'm sorry." She said softly after a moment. "I didn't know all the details of the story and I acted on impulse. I apologize."

I smiled. "It's alright. May I go to my room now? I'd like to get some sleep."

"Yes of course. You have off for the next three days as cause for my mistake." She told me.

"Oh, you don't have to do that." I smiled sheepishly.

"No, I feel bad." She replied. "Let me make up for it then."

"Okay then." Leaving the office I controlled my laughter. Three days off work. YES!

I had fallen asleep on the bed next to mine when I heard someone stir a few minutes later. Sitting up I saw Julius's gold eyes snap open. He squinted in the bright light, shadowing his face with his hand. "Where am I? Am I dead?" he whispered.

"Far from it dear."

He looked over at me, his eyes widening. "Miss Sora," he sat up.

"Sora's fine." I told him with a smile.

He blushed, nodding slightly. "Where am I?"

"The Magdalene Order Headquarters in New York City." I smiled.

"What?" his gold eyes widened. "What…? What about Chris? Did you take him home?"

"Your brother's fine. He's at home resting. Julius…" I sighed. "You don't realize you almost died, do you?"

"No, I do. I remember that woman slicing my neck and then everything went dark and I could here your voice. And then I even stopped hearing you. That why I thought I was gone when I awoke." He felt his neck, and pulled his hand away. He looked down at his arms, surprised. "I'm healed. How did that..?"

"I did it." I told him, sitting up all the way.

"You!" he looked startled.

"I entered a contract with you. You see, you wouldn't have lived if I hadn't called upon Yugo's powers to help me. I gave up some of my energy, my strength to save your life. In consequence we became sort of linked. I'm sorry, but there was no other way at the moment to save you, and I didn't want you to die." I explained.

"I see." He told me after a moment. "But why bring me here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were safe." I admitted after a moment. "Being contracted to you means that are feelings are intertwined. The fact that I care about you. I just wanted to know that you were okay. I also wanted to know if you'd like to stay here and train with me. You have a knack for finding and sensing devils. It would be great if you could Yugo and me out."

"Sora…" he blushed. "All right then. I owe you my life. I'll repay you in anyway I can."

The door opened then and Yugo entered. "Here kiddo." He tossed him a bundle of cloth. "Clothes. Unless you plan on sleeping for the rest of the day."

"Uh…no sir." He swallowed. "Sora, where's your changing room?"

"Right through that door over there." I told him.

He nodded, hesitantly getting out of bed. The kid was wearing a long knee-length shirt and he blushed, scampering into the room and shutting the door.

Yugo growled, a mere two second warning before he pounced me. Pinning me to the bed, he leaned down, kissing me. I blushed, pushing back against his strong chest with my arms. "Yugo, come on, stop. You know I'm to weak to fight you."

"I know. That's why I'm waiting for you to just give in." he hissed, nipping on my ear.

I didn't even hear the door open moments later; I was so into what Yugo was doing. I did however hear the startled "Woah."

Looking over I saw Julius standing there in khaki pants and a white button down shirt, his face completely red. His hair was tied back in a ponytail and he looked so adorable I wanted to hug him.

Yugo sighed, backing off. "We never get any privacy."

The kid swallowed. "Sorry, I-"

"It's alright. It's Yugo's fault. He should have known better.' I smiled at him, sitting up.

'You upset him!'

'Oh please Sora. Don't baby him. Don't do it.'

'Yugo, yesterday he was chained to a wall, being tormented by demons. The kid needs to be babied a little at least for a little while. While he's coherent he has a hard time with anyone getting close enough to touch him. I found that out yesterday when I tried to touch him. The boy's got issues and they're only going to get fixed if someone bothers to help him fix them.'

He got silent for a minute and I locked my fingers with his. 'You're jealous he's getting all my attention. Look…tomorrow we'll go out to the shooting range. Just you and me. All day. Alright? Does that suit you?'

He looked at me hesitantly for a moment. "I have to work tomorrow."

"Well call in and ask for the day off. You can work tonight to make up for it if you want." I told him.

He nodded. "I'll see if I can do that."

While he got up to call his work, I apologized to Julius. "It's okay." He responded, his face going crimson. "I just… you know…"

"It's okay." I told him with a smile. "Come on, I'll give you the tour of the grounds."

I took him everywhere I'd taken Yugo on his tour, pointing out the same sites. I was sure the boy had never been near the city, for everything he saw mesmerized him. We were heading back to the boarding house when we met up with Rosette's group, back from their mission.

"Who's this guy Sora?" Rosette blinked at him. "He's kind of cute. Did you trade Yugo in for a newer model or what?"

"Actually guys." I put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He jumped slightly, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. "This is Julius. He's like my little brother. Julius, I'd like you to meet Rosette and Chrono. They're teammates of mine."

"Hello." He bowed his head. "Nice to meet you."

"Azmaria! Come on! You're so slow!" Rosette called. She smiled at him. "I want you to meet the last member of our group. Julius, this is Azmaria."

"I'm sorry Rosette, I didn't mean it." She replied, coming around the corner. Her crimson eyes widened at the newcomer and I saw him do the same. Azmaria blushed. "Um, sorry sir. I'm Azmaria." She replied after a moment.

"I'm Julius. Don't worry about it, you're fine."

"Well, we're heading back to the room." I told them. "See you all later." I grinned as we left them behind. "I saw that." I replied.

"S-Saw what?" he swallowed.

"You blush. You like Azmaria don't you?" I teased.

"I…I do not!" he shot back, his face going crimson. "Sora?" he asked as I opened our bedroom door. This room was fast become a co-ed bedroom.

"Yeah?" I replied, collapsing on my bed.

"Why did you say I'm like your little brother?" he asked, flopping on his bed, which was next to mine.

"Because you are." I smiled. "I've never had a little brother before. I had a big sister…but she died, years back."

"I'm sorry to hear that." He replied. "I've never had a big sister before either. Only my little brother Chris."

"Well, I can be your big sister if you want." I told him with a smile.

He blinked and then nodded back at me. "Okay, then."

'I'm going into work tonight for a few hours.' Yugo suddenly told me. 'David's going to give me my paycheck tonight, so…we'll have a little bit of money to spend.'

'Yugo, don't worry about it.' I told him with a smile. 'It's your money. Do what you want with it.'

'I want to get you something nice. So you'll just have to deal.'

I sighed. 'Fine then. I'll see you later then.'

'Yeah. Be careful. Don't wait up for me. You need to sleep. I'll be home sometime around midnight.'

'Okay then.' And the connection was gone, Yugo throwing up a barrier like usual when he had to go to work.

"Sorry about that." I replied looking over at the other bed, "Yugo-"

My eyes widened for a second and then I smiled. Julius had passed out again on the bed facing me. His long chocolate brown ponytail slid over his shoulder, resting against his neck, his eyes closed, his breathing soft and deep. I got up, grabbing a blanket from the closet and laid it over him. He was still probably excited to have a bed to sleep in, after the way he had been treated for the last ten days of his life or so. I knew he was still tired from the bounds of the contract, I could feel it myself, the weighted wanting to jump back in my own bed and go to sleep.

"Goodnight, little brother." I told him softly, undoing the ribbon in his hair and pushing the long silky strands back over his shoulder. He didn't even flinch as I touched him and I smiled. "I'll see you in the morning."

I left the bedroom in search of food, and didn't have long to wait for dinner. I talked with Remington, Mia and Rosette at the table, telling them more about the contract then I had originally intended to. Remington agreed that I should keep Julius in my care for as long as possible, and I should be the one to train him, should he feel that he would like to stay on as an exorcist here.

"Of course, getting Sister Kate to believe that you're capable of your own apprentice is a different story all together." Remington sighed, resting his chin on his hands. "She'll probably refer the case to Mia."

"As cute as the kid is Sora, I understand that he's your responsibility. If she happens to give me the assignment of training him, I'm going to assign it to you." Mia told me.

"I appreciate it guys." I stood up. "Well, I'm heading to the bathhouse before heading back up to the room. Do try and be quiet if you head to our bedroom. Julius is asleep."

"Sure thing." Rosette nodded.

The hot tub never felt so good. I soaked in it for a good half an hour, my head leaning again the side of it. "I missed this…I so missed this…" I groaned, stretching in the water.

I felt Julius awake the minute it happened. He had had a nightmare about the female devil and had woke up gasping for breath. His entire body was shaking with fright.

"Sora? Sora, where are you?" I could hear his voice echoing in my head. "Sora!"

I swallowed. Poor kid…I wanted to hold him to me. But maybe…if I could hear him…he could hear me. I closed my eyes, concentrating. "It's alright Julius. It's okay. You're still here at the Order. Calm down."

I felt him stop shaking after a few seconds, looking around the room. "Where are you Sora? Are you here with me?"

"I'm actually in the bathhouse." I admitted with a blush.

He did the same. "How can you be speaking to me then?"

"It's the power of our contract. When we're apart, if we think about talking with one another, we can. It's similar to what Yugo and I can do, except we can talk to each other in our minds instead of out loud."

"I… see." He swallowed.

"I'll be getting out now. I'll be back to the room in a few minutes."

"Don't let me be stop you from your bath." He blushed.

"I'm already out. It's no big deal, and I can tell you don't want to be alone right now." I told him, dressing. "Are you hungry?"

I felt his hunger pangs and giggled. He swallowed. "Uh... yes mam."

"Well, I'll take you down to the kitchen and introduce you to Marie, our head cook." I slipped my gun back in its holster, exiting the bathhouse. "Give me three minutes. I'll be there."

Arriving at our room, I found he had turned on the lights and was waiting on his bed. He looked up as the door opened, locks of silky brown hair falling over his shoulder. He smiled, and I felt my heart melt. "Hello."

"Hi there. Come on." I held out my hand to him.

He got up, hesitantly putting his hand in mine. I slowly locked my fingers with him. "Let's get you some food little brother." I told him with a smile.

His cheeks went crimson, but he nodded.

Walking beside him, I realized he was actually taller then me by an inch or two. Yugo was right; there probably was no way I could have carried him back from the cellar yesterday. He caught me staring at him and blinked his amber eyes, his cheeks flushing. "Did…I do something?" he asked.

"No, not really. You're just very handsome, you know that?" I told him with a smile.

He turned his gaze away, his face going completely red. "Thank you." He said softly after a minute.

"Huh?" I looked over at him. "You okay?"

"Yes…" he nodded, flashing me a small smile. "It's just…she used to tell me that all the time too. Used to compliment me. I don't mean to shy away from people, I just…" he put a hand to his forehead, running his fingers through his hair uneasily. "I'm just a wreck right now."

I touched his shoulder and felt him flinch. I recoiled slowly. "Julius…I hate seeing you like this. I'm so sorry… I don't know what I can do to help you. But, I'm trying." I told him.

"Sora, it's okay." He told me. "It's not your fault. If it wasn't for you, I would probably still be down in that dungeon, chained to that wall. It's just… the things I went through…" his eyes were shining, struggling to keep from crying.

"You don't have to explain it to me." I put my finger to his lips, silencing him before he thought of it more. "I know hon. I saw what had happened, what they did to you. You never have to explain yourself to me, alright?" I smiled. "You take it in your own strides okay? Do what you want and at your own pace, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If anyone, and I mean it, anyone, ever gives you any trouble, you tell them Sora's going to be on their butts for it. Alright?"

He ducked his head, his hair falling in his face. He grabbed me, pulling my body close up against his, his arms holding me tightly, strongly to him. He leaned against the wall, his body shaking with sobs. "I'm sorry." He replied, gritting his teeth, trying to fight his tears. "I shouldn't be afraid of you. I should never fear you. You're the one who saved me. You took me away from certain death and gave me back my life. I just…can't stand to be touched, by anyone now. The thought sickens me…" he whimpered slightly, swallowing. Tears were running down his cheeks and still he tried to fight his sobs. "But touching you… holding you close makes me feel…a little better."

I closed my eyes, resting my head on his chest. "Julius…"

He held me until his sobbing stopped. I made no move to touch him, waiting until he let me go. I didn't want to startle him and I didn't want to frighten him either. The boy had been through so much…

"Sorry about that." He replied, wiping away his tears, his face red. "Yugo would have probably wanted to kill me if he saw that."

I smiled. "Yugo will be just fine with it. He gets a little jealous but still I think he doesn't mind. Not as much as he shows. He likes to put on a show, that's all."

We walked to the kitchen. Marie gladly gave the boy food when she saw Julius's timid face hiding behind the doorframe. The kid ate hungrily, finishing two plates full of food and grinning happily at me as we walked back to the room.

The moment we opened the door a crimson streak hopped down from the top, back-flipping and landing a few feet away. "Ta-da!" he cried, holding out his arms.

"That guy's a devil?" Julius swallowed, looking at the redhead posing before us.

"Yeah, unfortunately." I sighed. "What are you doing here Sieg?"

"Hmmm… tough crowd." He paused, putting a hand to his chin in thought. He snapped, his garnet eyes lighting up. "I know!" he pulled a black top hat from seemingly nowhere and a magic wand. "Now watch, as I summon forth a Sinner." He tapped the hat twice, there was a blue light and he reached into the hat. Pulling up his hand a minute later, I was shocked to see that he had Satella by her hair, her head protruding from the hat.

"Sieg! What-"

"Ooops, sorry." He grinned, shoving her back into the hat. Flipping it upside down, he tapped it again with the wand, the same light appearing. "Here you go. Flowers for the lady." He said, handing me a lovely bouquet of daisies. "See you all!" he called, dissolving into thin air.

"That was immensely strange." Julius blinked, looking down at me.

"I would agree. Sieg is weird." I replied, looking down at the bouquet. The flowers fell to dust in my hands transforming into nothingness before my eyes.

"I heard that." His voice echoed throughout the room, cheerful and scarily calm. I heard him laugh, it fading into nothing.

"He's scary." I sighed.

There were no more incidents out of Sieg for the rest of the night. It was actually a normal night, Rosette, Chrono, Azmaria, Mia, Julius and I sitting around talking until the lights went out and we all went to bed. I was just about asleep when I heard someone stir in the room. Looking up, I saw Julius standing next to my bed. "I'm sorry Sora." He said softly. "Do you mind if I sit here with you?"

"Sure." I got up, scooting over to give him room. He had removed his shirt since the lights had gone out and he had the blanket from his bed wrapped around him, to hide his body. He smiled, though his face was red.

"Sorry." He told me. "I…just... The dark scares me."

I haven't even thought about that. They had locked the boy up without light for days. Darkness probably signified his enemies to him. "I'm so sorry Julius, I didn't realize."

"It's okay." He sighed, his amber eyes closing for a moment. "I'm so tired…"

"You can sleep next to me if it makes you feel better." I told him. "If-"

I was cut off by him leaning down, burying his head in my shoulder. I blushed, my words silenced by the sudden racing of my heart. He sighed.

"I'm sorry. I just…feel better if you're near. I'm sorry." He murmured.

I shifted, leaning back against the backboard. I held out my hand to him. "Come here." I said softly.

He climbed up onto the bed, lying himself in my lap. His head rested against my chest, his face going red. I pulled the covers up around us, leaning my head back. I could tell his body was tensing slightly from being so close to me, but he was fighting his impulses to jerk away. He let out the breath he was holding, the escaping air blowing a piece of his long dark hair onto my exposed skin.

Leaning my head back against the wooden headboard, I stared out the window. It was another pretty night, the stars evident in the sky, the moon pale and beautiful. I lifted my hand from the mattress, slowly, careful not to surprise him, I began running my fingers through his long curtain of dark brown hair, combing through the silky strands. 'God…I've never asked for much.' I replied, looking out the window into the sky. White wisps of clouds stood out against the darkened sky, their color illuminating to silver when they crossed the moon. 'I just ask that you help bring peace to those who need it, and I ask for your help in healing this boy. He's so young, and he's done nothing wrong to deserve the torture he was put through. If you could give me one thing, give him the strength to endure his darkest hour. He still has yet to reach the dawn, to return to how he used to be. Please. I ask you for this.'

I don't know when I fell asleep, but I did remember hearing the door open later. A shadow shifted across the window and Yugo stood by the bedside. He took off his shoes, his jacket, and slipped underneath the covers with me. He snuggled himself in, his head lying on my other shoulder. I felt his hand meet mine, where it had stopped against Julius's shoulder when I had passed out, his fingers running over the skin. His breath was soft on my skin as he whispered his goodnight and everything went back to peaceful darkness.

I was awoken the next by the door opening again. My eyes opening, I realized it was still dark, but someone was still moving around the room. My eyes focused on the small form and I smiled. "Lena."

She jumped, spinning around to look at me. "Sora, you just gave me a heart attack." She whispered, her emerald eyes blinking at me. "Wow. You look…uh, well protected."

Julius stirred against me. He stretched his legs, his amber eyes batting open. Upon realizing where he was, he bolted up. "Sora, I-" he swallowed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. At least you got a full night's rest." I told him.

"Kid, keep it down. It's way to early." Yugo growled, half asleep.

"He was out late last night." I told Julius and Lena both. "Lena, I'd like you to meet someone. This is Julius Weyr. Julius, this is my best friend Lena. She's an exorcist, like me."

He blushed at the fact that he was meeting her while he scarcely had any clothes on and pulled the blanket up over his shoulders. "N-Nice to meet you Miss Lena."

"Aw. Aren't you the cutest thing?" Lena smiled.

Yugo sat up, his thick cyan hair pooling over his shoulders and his neck. "Well so much for sleep when women are around." He said grumpily.

"You need to get up anyway. You and I are heading out this morning, remember?" I told him, ruffling his hair.

His mood lightened considerably at the thought of that. "Morning." He leaned over, kissing me.

Julius got up, not wanting to ruin Yugo's and my moment. "I'm going to go get a shower this morning. Should I meet you all here, or down at the dining hall?"

"The dining hall." I told him. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine." He replied with a nod.

"Wait." Yugo got up. "I'll go with you kid." Joining him by the door he looked back at me. "We'll see you all soon."

As soon as Yugo had left, the boy in tow, Lena pounced me with a hug. "So, where'd you find the cutie?" she asked.

I quickly explained his story while I got dressed. Lena was quite upset and quite angry about his tale. She sat on her bed, fighting tears. "The poor thing. He wasn't deserving of that, I could tell he wasn't."

"Definitely not. I did the only thing I knew to keep him safe- I brought him here." I nodded.

The bedroom door opened and Azmaria entered. She smiled at us, her eyes surprised. "Oh. Good morning."

"Wow, you're up early." I told her.

"Choir practice." She flashed us her hymnal. "I came back to drop this off before I headed down to the dining hall." She glanced around. "Yugo and Julius are gone already?"

"Yeah." I replied.

"Well, I've already seen Mia and Father Remington about. I'm going to go see if they reserved our usual table for breakfast. See you downstairs!" she waved, dashing back out the door.

"We should get going ourselves." I told Lena. Kicking the foot of Rosette's bed, I smiled. "Sleepy-head, get up."

She sat up, blinked her eyes tiredly. "Wha…?"

Lena and I made it to the dining hall just as Chrono, Remington and Mia were setting our usual table with food for us. "Morning you guys." I told the others.

"Good morning. Welcome back Hirelena." Remington smiled. He looked at me. "I trust your apprentice is up and awake to eat?"

"Yes sir. He's with Yugo." I said, taking a seat.

"That's them there." Azmaria nodded with her head, her cheeks blushing slightly.

We all turned to see Yugo leading him toward us. Julius was getting heads to turn from a few other tables as well as they passed and all the girls sitting with Andrea were watching the two men like vultures.

Remington stood as they approached. "Ah, you must be Julius." He held out his hand. "Nice to meet you lad."

Julius blushed slightly, hesitantly accepting into the handshake. "You too."

"Julius, this is Father Remington. He's my boss, so to speak." I explained. "You met Mia, Chrono and Azmaria last night, and Lena this morning."

"That's right." He replied, his cheeks going even redder as his amber eyes lingered on Azmaria. She blushed, averting her gaze back to her food.

We were halfway through breakfast when I saw Andrea and her little followers get up, starting to head this way. 'Great.' I rolled my eyes. 'They never quit, do they?'

'Unfortunately for us, no.'

I know we would have been swamped with obnoxious question had Rosette not run past then with a cup of orange juice at that exact moment. She tripped over the girl's feet falling to the ground as the cup spilled all over Andrea and Katherine.

"What-" Andrea started, her eyes flashing. Then she seemed to remember she was in the presence of others. She helped Rosette up, covering up her anger. "Are you okay?" she asked sweetly.

"Just fine. Sorry about that." Rosette laughed with a sheepish grin.

Rosette went on her way, while Andrea had no choice but to head back to her room. Snickering Rosette sat down. Once the coast was clear of the younger girl's fan club, she burst out laughing. "Yes!" she cried, high-fiving Chrono who was doing the same.

"I told you it would work!" he grinned.

"You guys!" my eyes lit up. "That was brilliant!"

"Just thought we'd get her back for all the trouble she's caused you." Rosette winked.

After breakfast, Yugo, Julius and I retired to the green out on the grounds. "I could go back to sleep." I yawned, stretching in the grass.

"We're supposed to be leaving, and I hope soon, before morning mass starts." Yugo told me, sitting in the grass by my side, the breeze blowing his long bangs into his face.

Julius sat up, his amber eyes looking at me. "Where are you two going?"

I heard the disappointed sound in his voice and tried not to let it discourage me. "Yugo and I are going out for a few hours." I looked over at Yugo, who was staring off.

'We'll come back and get him for lunch.' I heard him say suddenly in my head. 'He's attached himself to you. It's probably not best to leave him by himself for long until he's gotten better. Even… if it means less alone time with you.'

'Yugo…' I leaned over, hugging him. 'You're really just a big sweetheart, you know that?'

He huffed, but he looked down on me with a smile. 'If you say so.'

"Julius, we'll be back to take you to lunch, okay? Have you ever been to the city?" I asked him.

"No." he shook his head, hair flying up over his shoulders.

"Well, we'll take you to lunch in the city then." I smiled at him.

He beamed back at me, melting my heart. "If you wish."

We asked Lena to watch over him since she would be here all day with not much to do. "Don't worry, he'll be alright." She assured me with a smile.

"I'll find something to entertain me until you two get back." He nodded.

Yugo and I took the train into town. I could tell he was happy to have me all to myself for a while. We walked through a different part of downtown then that last time I was here, hand in hand, like a normal couple. Yugo pointed out all of the prettiest shops, the most unique stores and the places that he found he liked the most.

"This is my favorite," he told me, opening the door for me. I walked in to a cuddly, warm paradise.

"I should have known." I responded with a grin. "The pet shop."

Yugo had been in here so many times he knew the owners by name. He talked with them at the counter for a moment, quietly and seriously, while I roamed the store. I had the feeling he was up to something, but I wasn't quite sure what. I became occupied with the baby bunny rabbits, whose fur felt like velvet while I waited on him, my mind leaving its worries behind the moment I saw the tiny creatures.

"Sora," Yugo spoke up after a moment. "Come here a moment."

I returned to the front counter to find him holding a small puppy in his arms. It was a small white fluff ball with brilliant crystal blue eyes. Its ears were so tiny, floppy and its tail was waging in agreement. It looked like a smaller version of one of the wolves I had seen Yugo in the woods with a few days ago. It barked at me, whining for attention.

He put the puppy in my arms. The dog stopped whining, his tail wagging. He leaned up, lapping at my chin with his rough tongue.

"What do you think?" Yugo asked, his arms crossed.

"He's adorable." I giggled, trying to get him to stop licking me.

"Well, what do you want his name to be?" he asked, staring at me.

I stared back at him. "A dog Yugo? Are you serious?"

"The little guy needs a home. And I have no intention of leaving him now that I now you like him as much as I do." He told me.

I stared down at the little guy. He was adorably cute. His tongue hung out of his mouth as he looked at me, and he whimpered. My heart crumbled. It seemed I had a bad habit for bringing home cute things. "Sister Kate is going to kill me." I muttered.

"Sister Kate doesn't need to know." He replied. "So, are you going to name him or what?" he asked.

"I don't know…you should name him. He's your dog." I replied, cuddling the snow-white puppy.

"Correct-he's your dog." Yugo told me, pulling out his wallet and paying the man at the counter.

I sighed, staring at the puppy. "Well, looks like your stuck with me. ………Fallon."

"What?" Yugo looked back at me.

"Fallon. It was my elder sister's middle name. I don't know where it came from, just… his blue eyes remind me of hers." I smiled. "I can't remember pieces of my childhood now. There are gaps in between where the price has fallen through and taken it away. Just his eyes. Crystal blue. I know they were like sister's."

"Sora…" Yugo looked away. "Come on."

We left the pet shop soon after, Yugo content after buying half the store in pet products. "Do I want to know where you got this much money?" I asked him as we headed back to the train station. It was going on eleven o'clock and it was probably a good idea to head back now that we had the puppy.

"David gave me a week and a half's pay early for bonus." He told me. "I get paid really well Sora. I felt like spending most of it on you."

Fallon fell asleep on the train ride back. I leaned into Yugo's side, my head resting on his chest, my hand intertwined with his. We hid the puppy as we got back on to the grounds. We opened the door to our room, sighing in relief.

"You're back!" Lena smiled, coming over to us.

"Lena, I got something to occupy yourself with for a few hours." I told her, showing her the puppy. Yugo hid the bags from our trip in my trunk while I introduced Lena to Fallon. Like I had expected, she fell in love with him immediately.

"How are we going to keep a puppy hidden?" she asked, giggling from his licks on her face.

"We only tell the people who sleep in this room and keep a very good eye on him." Yugo explained.

"Where's Julius?" I asked, looking around. He wasn't in the bedroom.

"He said he was going to go down to the stable for a while. Dunno why." She shrugged, busy with playing with the puppy.

"I'll meet you at the car." Yugo responded, reading my thoughts and replying before I could.

I recognized the boy's back the moment I saw him. Sitting on the pasture fence in a dark gray shirt and black pants, I smiled, hopping up next to him and marveling at his dress. "Hello."

He grinned back. "Hey."

"You like horses?" I asked him after a moment.

"Yeah. The ones they have here are incredible. See that gray one?" he said, pointing.

I blinked. "You mean that white one?" I asked.

"Gray is a term used for grayish-white horses. The only true white horses have blue eyes." He told me. "He's beautiful. My horse back home, Whiskers, he's pretty, but he's nothing compared to these guys."

I nodded. I had never been done to the stables before, and some of the animals here were really impressive. "You ready to go get lunch?" I asked him as my stomach rumbled.

We ate at Yugo's place of work. David wouldn't accept Yugo's money, telling us the food was on the house. It was no wonder why the restaurant was such a success- the food was fantastic.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the basement of the convent, in the shooting range. After teaching Yugo the proper way to hold and fire a pistol he became remarkably good extremely fast. I let Julius accompany us. He was curious as well at how to fire a gun and I taught him. Steadying his hands and standing behind him to make sure he was all right, I let him fire off a couple of rounds. The first went off the target but the two others hit their mark, surprisingly close to their mark.

"Not bad kid." Yugo told him with a smile.

We left the range around sunset, waiting out on the green for dinner to be ready.

"I had fun this afternoon. I'd never fired a gun before. Papa had a shotgun, but Chris and I weren't allowed to touch it." Julius told me, lying in the grass, looking up at the golden sky.

"Julius, you're free to join me if you wish, the next time I have a case. If you want to, you can become an exorcist too and make a job out of slaying devils." I told him.

I heard his audible sigh. "I don't know…if I could do that. But I do know… that I never want anyone else to go through what I went through. Let me think on it."

"Julius!"

He sat up and I looked up at the same time. It was Azmaria, Rosette in tow. They both looked a mess and I could tell that they had spent the day in the kitchen just by looking.

"Azmaria…" Julius's cheeks went red.

"What do you think you're doing!" Rosette demanded, glaring at the girl. "Those are supposed to be dessert for tonight's dinner!"

Azmaria's eyes wandered unsurely but she stopped in front of Julius, her face determined. A blush covered her face. "Julius… Rosette and I have been working hard in the kitchen all day making food for tonight. I helped Chrono bake cookies and I wanted another opinion on how they tasted." She held out her hand to reveal a few of the warm chocolate-chip treats. "Would you, please?"

He nodded, his face completely red. "Uh, yeah sure."

She went to hand him one and as their fingers touched, he jerked away, the cookie hitting the dirt. "Sorry." He said quickly, sheepishly. "I'm a complete klutz." He snatched the other one from her hand before she could give it to him and bit into it. His eyes widened and he smiled. "This is really good."

She beamed her eyes shining. "Really?"

He finished off the cookie in another bite. "Yeah. Just like the ones my mom used to make."

She smiled and I could tell she was close to tears with happiness. "Thanks, so much!"

"No problem. You should let me try your cooking more often." He smiled.

I heard Yugo chuckle softly and I looked over to see him watching the sky. 'They make a cute couple, don't you think?'

I looked over at them, before leaning against his back. 'Yeah.' I admitted with a smile. 'Yeah they do.'

My small bed was getting awful crowded at night. Julius had decided to try and sleep in his own bed tonight, but it still meant Yugo and Fallon were sleeping with me. Like I had thought, all of my roommates loved the puppy, and had no problem keeping him a secret. We even got Remington in on the secret, crumbling after the little fluff ball sat at his feet, wagging his tail and looking up at him with bright cerulean eyes.

It was late during the night when I was awoken by Julius standing by my bed. "Sora…' he said softly, shaking me gently.

I sat up, looking at him. "What is it Julius? Can't sleep?"

"No…" he swallowed. "Something doesn't feel right. I feel like we're being watched."

"It's probably Joshua, checking up on Lena." I told him sleepily.

"I picked up on Joshua's presence earlier. This isn't him." He told me.

I blinked looking up. "Where's the red light coming from?"

"What?" he glanced around, noticing for the first time that there was a crimson glow cast throughout the room. He blinked, looking out the window. I felt his fear rise all of a sudden. "Um... maybe… that's the answer?"

I got up, going over to the window. "Was the moon that color before?" I asked.

A full moon, bright and big as ever hung in the sky; it's color a bright crimson red. Its alarming scarlet glow was a little eerie to stare at.

"No, it wasn't." Julius told me.

"What's going on?" Yugo sat up, pulling the covers off him. "The sky…?" he swallowed.

"Joshua!"

It was Lena's voice that cut through the night at that moment. I spun around just to see her bolt up, clutching her blankets.

"Miss Lena!" Julius was at her side in an instant, me not far behind.

"Lena, what's wrong?" I asked, my voice calm.

She looked up at me with wide green eyes. "Oh Sora!" she buried her face in my shoulder. "Joshua's gone!"

"What…what do you mean he's gone?" I asked.

"I was dreaming he was here and then all of a sudden he was in pain. Now that I'm awake, I can't get a hold of him at all. I try and try but he's not there." She sobbed.

"Are you sure he just didn't put up a block or something?" Yugo told her.

"No, I'm sure. I feel empty. He's gone, I know it." She said in between her cries.

"Lena, calm down. It'll be all right. We'll find out what's going on." I told her soothingly.

"I knew something was up." Julius told me softly.

"Chrono's not here." Yugo said after a minute. "You're right. Something's up." He went over, throwing on his coat. "I'll be back in a moment. Nobody leave the room."

"Should we wake the others?" I asked.

"No, not yet." He said. "Not till I find out what the hell's going on."

Lena wiped her eyes. "What's wrong Sora? Is there something else?"

"We're not sure." I told her.

"Julius, can you tell me what time it is?" Lena asked.

"Sure." He got up going over to the alarm clock on my bedside table.

"No..." he said after a minute. "This can't be right."

"What's it say?" I asked him.

He looked out the window, then back at me. "6:30 in the morning."

"It has to have stopped or something. There's no way it's that late." I told him.

'Oh yes there is. You all might want to come outside. You wouldn't believe this even if I told you.' Yugo's voice was startlingly shocked.

"Yugo says we have to head outside and meet him there. You were right Julius." I shot him a small smile. "Something' s up."

We emerged from the lobby to find Yugo standing a few feet beyond, staring at the sky. "What Yugo? I see nothing out of the ordinary." I told him.

"Oh, there is." He responded, his hands stuffed in his coat pockets. "If you will all do me a favor and look to the east, where the sun in rising."

"The sun? But it's so-" I started, looking over. All words failed me for what I was seeing.

The sun was rising over the fields to the east, just like it did every morning. Only it was completely black. The center onyx, the light from the edges searing reddish-orange. It was no wonder it was still so dark outside.

"My God…" Lena gasped, her hand going to her mouth.

"Do you know what'd caused this?" Julius looked up at Yugo.

"I wish I knew." He replied.

There was a scream that cut through the darkness. My eyes narrowed. "That was Natalie."

"In the chapel." Yugo replied. "Let's go."

We made it to the chapel just as it seemed other were stirring in the main building as well. Natalie was on the floor between the rows, crying. "Natalie, what is it?" Lena asked, kneeling beside her.

My eyes were fixed on the altar in confused horror. "What in God's name…"

The wooden crucifix in front of the stained glass window was charred black as if it had gone up in flames, and the statue of the virgin that sat off the left-hand side of the altar was crying red tears. Crying blood.

"What is the meaning of this!" Sister Kate burst into the chapel. Her eyes saw what I had seen and her fingers went to her lips.

"What's going on Sister?" a few of the exorcists that accompanied her immediately silenced when they noticed it too. Rosette and Mia joined us minutes later and all of us seemed to not be able to look away from the mess that was before us.

"Sister Kate!" Remington flung the doors open to the chapel in his wake as he stalked in. "You've been summoned to an emergency meeting of the Magdalene Order council. I'll watch over things here."

"Yes, of course Father. Thank you." Kate replied.

"Do you know anything Father?" I recognized Andrea's frightened voice as she spoke up.

"It seems everywhere a red moon, and a black sun have been observed. The same thing is happening in churches all over the city." He explained, nodding to the altar.

"They're just signs." It was Chrono's voice that spoke up as he entered the chapel.

"Do you know something Sinner?" Yugo demanded, gritting his teeth.

"They're signs." He said again, his face serious. "Signs that Aion has returned."

Rosette's eyes narrowed. "Aion…"

Sister Kate stopped at the entrance when she heard, looking back on us for a moment before quickly heading out.

"Chrono, what do you know about this Aion?" Yugo asked. "Who is he?"

"You should know the answer yourself Yugo!" he snapped back, his fangs showing. His eyes went soft staring at his fellow demon. "Why is it you can not remember? And why do you constantly call me 'Sinner' when you are one in the same!"

I heard an audible gasp escape from one of the people in the room and turned to see Andrea standing there, her eyes wide with shock. "Yugo's a… there's no way!" she took a step back before turning on her heels and dashing from the chapel.

"On the bright side, that seems to take care of your little problem." Mia murmured to me.

Yugo was clenching his fists, looking away from Chrono. The violet-haired man stepped up to him. "What is it? What has happened to you?"

He ran his hands through his hair, his golden eyes looking at me, before glancing away. He paced for a minute before growling, staring at Chrono. "I couldn't enter into a contract knowing Sora would die from me using my powers."

Chrono's crimson eyes sparked recognition for a second and then died into sadness. "You used yourself as the medium didn't you? You put something of yours on the line to equalize the price of the contract."

Yugo swallowed. His eyes jumped to mine, apologizing for telling them this. He knew I didn't like to think about it. "I gave up my past, my memories so she wouldn't have to die. Instead of her life being stolen from her every time I transform, it's her memories. The more she forgets, the more I start to remember who I was and what I was capable of." He came over to me, wrapping his arms around me, comforting me, silently telling me how sorry he was for getting this out in the open. "The contract will only be over when I regain my full memory. At the time when Sora forgets everything."

"Sora…" Lena looked over at me, her eyes tearing up. Julius looked at me and then looked away, hiding behind locks of dark brown hair while Remington closed his eyes, staring off toward the altar.

"So you see Chrono, you tell me of a time when I was a Sinner, a bloodthirsty devil, but I can't remember any of it. Bits and pieces of random things have come back to me, but they're so jumbled that it hurts to think of them. So you're going to fill me in and hopefully it will spark something in my mind, otherwise, I'm completely clueless." Yugo said, his arms wrapped around my waist. 'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry little one. I know you didn't want me to say anything to them…'

'It's all right. In a way, they deserve to know.'

Chrono nodded, his eyes watching us with sympathy. "Alright then."

"Father Remington!" one of the militia operatives ran in then, his eyes wide. "Sir, we've been called into action immediately!"

"What? What's going on?" Remington's brows furrowed.

"Sir! Red hail the size of golf balls has been raining in downtown for a good half-an hour now. There's a multitude of damage, but what's worse is there's sites of numerous undead wandering around central park. The official on the phone from the meeting kept saying the seal was gone." He explained.

Remington ducked his head. "The Seal of the Seven Wings? Gone!"

"Father, what is it?" Rosette asked him.

"As you may or may not know, there is a lot of spiritual energy that surges in and out of the city of New York. It is why it is such a targeted place of operations for many clans of devils and their masters. A great well of this spiritual energy rests underneath the ground in central park. It is for that reason that the Seal of the Seven Wings was placed on the area. It keeps minions of the undead and dark powers from tapping into the power underneath the park and using that energy for their own reasons." Mia explained, her chestnut eyes looking up at Remington. "Is it really possible that the seal could be broken?"

"If you had a devil strong enough to break it." Chrono spoke up.

Remington nodded. "Alright. Our job is to restore the Seal of the Seven Wings. Mia," he glanced at her. "Upper-level authority granted for as long as this is a priority."

She nodded back. "Understood sir."

"Well this will be fun." I replied, crossing my arms.

"What did he mean by that?" Julius asked me softly.

"It means Mia's got just as much power as Remington for as long as this case is a case." I told him.

"Rob," Remington called to the operative who had delivered the news. "Spread the word. Get all of the exorcists and the militia members assembled in the green. Our entire team is going to be needed for this one."

"Yes sir." He told him.

"Sora," Mia looked at me. "You and Rosette will be working together for this case. It'll probably be better to keep Chrono and Yugo near one another, should something happen."

"Right." I smiled at Rosette.

"Looks like we're together on this one." She grinned, exchanging high fives with me.

"We need to move out soon." Remington told us. "You should be getting ready and quickly."

"I didn't know you'd be coming with me on this one." I told Yugo as we hopped in our car. It had been packed by Rosette's for obvious reasons; the seal barriers packed in the back. I check my gun clip, rummaging through my small bag I wore around my waist to find a full clip.

"If you're going to be in as much danger as Chrono's afraid of, then I'm sure as hell not going to let you do this alone." He responded.

"Sora!" I looked up, turning around the side of the car to see Julius running toward us. He stopped in front of me, catching his breath. "Sora, I want to go with you."

"What?" My eyes widened.

"Kid, this is serious. This isn't a small devil extermination mission." Yugo told him.

"But, Chrono said this guy Aion was a devil. If so, I should be able to sense him if he's there in the park." Julius replied, determined.

"Uh, did you forget I was a wolf demon?" Yugo crossed his arms. "Not only can I sense him, I can smell him, even if he's a few miles away."

"Oh. Right." The boy swallowed, his cheeks flushing. He looked at me, his gold eyes pleading. "Please Sora?"

I could feel my inside turning to mush from his gaze. I sighed in defeat, looking over at Yugo. "He could help us with the barrier."

Yugo growled and then shrugged indifferently, climbing in the car. "Suit yourself. Hop in the backseat kid."

Julius smiled at him. "Thank you sir."

He looked back at him, his gold eyes flashing. "The name's Yugo. Call me by it."

He swallowed. "Yes si…Yugo."

I climbed in the car, shutting the door and starting the engine. "Let's get out of here and back quickly." I told them.

With Remington's connections the roads were clear all the way to the park. As we pulled up and I parked, I heard Yugo sigh in my head. 'I have to learn how to do that.' He said after a minute.

I looked over at him, blinking. 'Learn what?'

'How to make you melt into the floor and obey my every command just by looking at you like that.' He growled. 'Pisses me off the boy can do it, and he does it well too.'

I giggled. 'It's because he's so cute.'

'And your saying I'm not?'

'No…he just…Julius's personality is like that. Very polite, charming, timid and wanting to help others. It's why it works so well for him. You're more demanding, hot-tempered and sometimes difficult to work with. It wouldn't suit you to be giving me puppy eyes. And besides what are you worried about? You make me melt every time you hold me, and in more ways then one.'

He fought back a smile. 'Okay, I see your point… but still I'd like to get you to listen to me without argument for once.'

'You can try dear,' I leaned over kissing his cheek as I climbed out of the car. 'But it probably isn't going to happen.'

Just as I stepped out of the car, Rosette's pulled up next to us. Chrono shot me a grin as he got out of the car. "Sorry about that. Rosette almost took you out with the grill as she pulled in."

We unloaded the two cars. As I pulled open the trunk, I saw a flash of silver and blinked. They brought Azmaria with them?

"Julius!" The young girl's crimson eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"

"Azmaria?" he blinked his gold eyes. "I came with Yugo and Sora. What are you doing here?"

"I'm working on this case as well." She told him with a blushing smile.

"You? You're an exorcist too?" he asked, surprised.

"Yep." She nodded. "I wanted to be just like Rosette."

"Sorry to break up the chat, but we have work to do." Yugo replied, helping Chrono with the crucifix barriers.

"And it appears so do we." Rosette pulled out her gone at the sound of footsteps. Looking around, I noticed we were about to be over run with zombies.

"Julius, Azmaria, Yugo and I will set up the barriers. You and Sora buy us time." Chrono told her.

"No problem." I said, pulling my gun off my right hip, aiming at the undead creatures. I pulled the trigger, downing one of the monsters with a bullet to the head. I wasted an entire clip on a group of them, but it was no use. They just didn't stop coming, or getting up and continuing toward us. Rosette had taken out as many as I had and still it seemed like we were getting nowhere.

There was a scream that caused us both to look up. "Azmaria." Rosette, looking at me. I left her, running back along the path that they had left in. I heard gunshots ahead and gunshots behind, the sound echoing from every part of the park as Order members tried to hold back these creatures.

I arrived on the scene just in time to see Yugo take down five zombies in the blink of an eye with the shots from a .45 pistol I was certain he had snatched from my car. Chrono was fighting them off as well with his bare hands while Julius was doing his best to set up the last cross of the barrier. Azmaria swallowed as one of the creatures swiped at her with its decaying hands, stepping back. "I got this." I told him taking the tedious job off his hands. "You take this." I replied handing him my gun. "Just like I taught you yesterday, alright?"

"Yeah." He swallowed. "Right."

The Seal of the Seven Wings barrier was the hardest seal I've ever dealt with and it took a while to set up. I watched over my shoulder as the group continued to handle the zombies. I was impressed by Julius. His hands were shaking the first time he fired off a shot, but the next wasn't so bad. He was hitting the zombies and doing a pretty good job of keeping them down too.

There was a bright red light all of a sudden, and a shower of crimson light rained down on the enemies, taking them out. I looked up, seeing Satella standing up on the craggy cliff above us. "You need some help?" she asked, jumping down next to me.

Sieg phased in behind her, grinning sheepishly. "Good morning!" he waved.

A blue light filled the crucifix I was holding, igniting the others around it.

"Good!" Yugo called, watching me as he worked. "That leaves Julius and Azmaria to finish the other one."

"Are you guys okay?" Rosette asked, running up the path. She stopped, gawking at Satella. "What are YOU doing here?"

"The New York Police have enlisted my services for help against the undead." She chuckled. "Since the Magdalene Order, can't seem to get the job done."

"Working for the New York Police isn't exactly an honor either Lady." Rosette spat back.

"Is it just me, or is it creepy that the zombies have suddenly stopped attacking?" Yugo asked, taking the down time to reload the gun.

"Something's up." Chrono replied, looking around. "Azmaria! Julius! Finish that barrier quickly!"

I knew the moment it happened. A second later I felt Yugo's power grow immensely. His eyes widened, his pupils narrowing to slits. He whirled around, looking at Chrono who had almost the same look on his face. Sieg growled, his face going serious for once. Chrono turned, staring at Rosette. "He's here."

"What?" I murmured as Rosette raised her gun.

"Sora!" I looked over my shoulder, watching Lena come toward us. "Something's not right. I can feel it!" she told me, stopping in front of me.

"I would agree." Rosette said from the opposite direction, her gun pointed at the underbrush. The bushes moved apart and a man appeared calmly before us.

He was gorgeous; there was no other word to describe him. Tall, with dark tan skin and beautiful lavender eyes, he stared back at us in amusement behind his thin-framed glasses. His hair was long, silky pale silver that shifted in his face as he moved. His ponytail was draped over his shoulder and fell back along his back with a soft thud as he turned his head. Nicely built and wearing dress clothes and a long white trench coat, it was evident he had nice style too. A large bald eagle swooped down, perching on his arm. He looked back at us with a warm smile.

My entire guard was thrown off. 'Yugo… how can this be the man responsible for planning the destruction of the world? He's so handsome, he looks so kind.'

'Keep your wits about you Sora.' It was Yugo's true voice speaking inside my head. 'Keep in mind not everything is as it seems. Behind his face he's still just a devil, the leader of the Sinners.'

I felt a powerful force wave over me, so strong it made me dizzy. As soon as it left, another pulsing wave struck again. I put a hand to my forehead.

"This feeling…" Satella narrowed her eyes. "You're a devil!"

"Satella, no!" Sieg barked as she powered up the crystal inside her hexor, sending the spirit of the emerald out to crush its opponent.

Aion didn't even move that I could tell. The spirit burst into thousands of pieces before it reached him, the jeweled light hardening into deadly crystal shards. They flew back toward Satella with blinding speed. I was sure that if Chrono hadn't jumped in the way, taking the hits for her, she would have been dead. As it was the devil was bleeding from wounds on his arms and legs where the glass had penetrated the skin.

The eagle left its master's shoulder, soaring off into the dark sky.

"Chrono, are you okay!" Sieg replied, grabbing his shoulder.

"I'm fine." He growled, looking up at the man in front of us.

Aion smiled. "Well, look at that. Everyone's arrived for the party, haven't they? Sieg, Chrono, Yugo… three of my own. How very nice to see you again. My, My, that was an admirable thing you just did Chrono."

"Aion…" he growled, falling to his knees in agony.

"Chrono!" Satella called in alarm.

Aion moved before it even registered in my head. He grabbed Chrono by the throat holding him up in the air in his powerful grip. "Where is the Chrono that was trying to help me change Pandemonium? Come back. Let's work together again. This world of humans isn't so bad is it? And we can live here because these people, this nation, this whole world has welcomed us through greed and avarice. It's ours for the asking."

"Sorry," Chrono replied, struggling to break Aion's iron grip on him. "I'm not like you."

"I see." With a simple throw of his hands he sent Chrono off to the side with enough power to take out a giant stone column with his body.

"Chrono!" Rosette shrieked, dashing to where the dust was settling.

"You!" Yugo snarled, charging him. "You bastard! We don't want you here! Get away!"

"Yugo, Yugo, Yugo." Aion said softly, his tongue clicking against his top teeth. "You've always been so hot-headed. It was that fire about you that I loved. Even now against such odds, you're still barking and biting."

"I don't know what happened Aion, but I'm sure I got tired of being your lapdog!" he cried, trying to land a punch.

Aion gracefully moved to the side, grabbing him by his ponytail and pulling him to him. He wrapped his claws around his throat, his smile wickedly charming all the while. "Ah yes, that's right." He chuckled. "If you could remember what you were really like."

I watched in horror as Yugo tried to break free of his grip. "I gladly gave up my memories you monster. Have you sacrificed anything for anyone in your entire dark existence?"

"More then you would ever hope to know." He replied, hurling Yugo out into the river to the left.

"Yugo!" I cried as he resurfaced, barely hanging on to consciousness. 'Yugo? Are you all right!'

I got no answer, just the feelings of building rage in my head. "Sieg?" Aion raised a fine platinum eyebrow. "You too, defy me as well?"

"I can't have you hurting innocent people Aion." He said, unsheathing the sword he kept tied around his waist. "Not when one of them is my contracted!"

He charged, his sword stance unlike anything I've ever seen. Aion sidestepped or parried everything he used. Not even touching him he moved his hand and sent the crimson-haired devil flying back, slamming into the side of the cliff.

"I can't believe you…!" Satella snapped, looking back and forth between Aion and Sieg, her eyes filled with hatred and unexpected tears. In this fight, she had already been taken out.

My head started to pain me more and more every second. I tried reaching out for Yugo again and the power I found there was enough to make me dizzy. My eyes started spinning, and nothing was as it was. The ground was jolting and even Lena and our enemy had become blurred to my vision. I struggled to keep myself standing, but the pressure building in my head made it feel like it was about to explode. My body was beginning to feel weighted and my brain was on fire. I put a hand to my head as I stumbled and I felt my body start to give out on me. 'No! Now is not the time to be fainting!'

I felt a pair of strong arms catch me in my fall, and I knew it had to be Yugo. I rested up against him, my entire body going limp. 'It'll be okay... it has to…Yugo and Chrono and even Sieg are here…we'll win.'

A pair of soft fingertips touched my forehead and instantly I felt better. Who in our party had healing capabilities? Azmaria maybe, but nobody strong enough to hold me.

"Aion…" it was Yugo's true voice ringing through my head. "Let her go."

'Aion!' I forced my eyes open, realizing it was the devil himself holding me. He looked down on me and I swear my heart stopped beating at his gaze. His eyes were so pretty… and at the same time looked so dead.

"Stop this Yugo, you're hurting her. You don't want to put your contractor's life in danger just to be beaten again by me, do you?" he responded.

I glanced over, seeing Yugo in his true form. It had been the first time in a good while I had actually gotten to see him fully and even as things were at the moment, I had to admire his beauty.

His long cyan hair pooling over his shoulders and down his back, his black dog-ears and tail, the black-feathered wings protruding from his back. His features hard and handsome, his golden eyes like a wild animal. The black runes carved into his pale skin up and down his muscular arms and the glowing blue-green one in the center of his forehead. This was the handsome creature I had met in a cave, bleeding to death almost four months before. This was the life I had spared.

"I'll ask you one more time." He growled, fangs evident in his mouth as he spoke. "Let her go."

Aion obeyed, startlingly, sitting me down on my feet and phasing away. "I see it is you the girl would rather have then me. I will not waste my time on such trivial matters, when there's so much more I have to do."

I ran to Yugo, resting my hand on his bare chest. "Are you alright?" I asked. Somehow, Aion's healing spell was temporarily keeping me from losing my contract price. Strange. Was he trying to tempt me by showing me and Yugo what we could and couldn't have by working beside him?

"I'm fine." He assured me, his claws, running down the side of my face tenderly. "And you?"

I quickly explained the deal inside my head and he nodded. 'It's a transfixed spell. The barrier will probably disappear the moment he leaves this area. I think he's trying to keep things interesting.'

"Well, he's having no trouble with that." I replied softly out loud.

"Aion…" Rosette rose from the scene where Chrono was lying, pointing her gun at him, her eyes shining with hatred.

He smiled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Ah, dear Rosette Christopher. You've grown into such a lovely young lady."

"Where's Joshua!" she demanded. I heard the audible gasp from Lena who was only a few feet away.

"Sora?" It was Julius's whispered voice.

My heart skipped a beat. "Julius, where are you!" I asked softly.

"With Azmaria. She and I are hiding back behind the stone rocks where Chrono went down. Are you guys okay?"

"For the moment." I swallowed.

'Tell the kid to keep quiet and don't make a sound. Aion would kill him should he distract any attention to himself.' Yugo replied.

Aion grinned, a wicked smile. "If I don't answer, will you shoot me?" he asked innocently. "I'm the only one who could know where your sweet Joshua might be."

"Rosette…" Chrono staggered to his feet, wincing in pain. He was beaten and bloodied, but not broken.

Aion smirked as Rosette's fingers faltered on the trigger. "Predictable… Mary Magdalene."

Rosette's eyes blinked wide in surprise and confusion.

"But, that's enough." Aion replied calmly. "I'm here for someone else. Come on out…" he smiled, fangs showing in his mouth. "Little Apostle girl. The disasters that occurred today, are my way of welcoming you into the fold."

"Never!" I heard the words ring through in my head. "I'm not going to hand her over to him Sora." Julius's tone was surprisingly harsh and cold. I heard Azmaria gasp at Aion's words while he spoke to me. "I won't do it."

"Why!" Rosette demanded, her gun not leaving his direction. "So you can torture her, just like you did my brother!"

"Rosette," Aion started again his voice as calm as ever. "You're so, so mistaken." He turned walking back a few feet and sitting down on a boulder embedded in the hillside. Sitting down meant he was putting himself at a disadvantage, probably trying to get us ease up around him. Even still, Rosette never took her finger off the trigger. "The truth, is that my actions saved Joshua."

I looked over at Lena, whose head was ducked, long curly raven bangs falling in front of her eyes.

Rosette's eyes widened and she lowered her gun. Yugo growled. I could tell that with Rosette dropping her guard, he was becoming more alert. So was Sieg who had picked himself out of the rock and was kneeling on the ground, listening intently.

"Saved him?" Rosette asked after a moment.

Chrono growled. "Don't listen Rosette!"

Aion barely glanced over Chrono, showing them a smile. "Listen, you who wants to kill all devils, listen my dear little apostle girl. Listen, those of you who have been trapped between memories, between the answers of right and wrong. Listen, you who has been tortured in darkness."

I felt Julius's fear grow at the fact that Aion had picked him out of the group and I did my best to comfort him.

"The truth is that this is his fault!" the silver-haired devil replied, pointing a hand straight up at the sky. "All of those tragedies that happened to you. All of the horrors that made you stumble were nothing more then traps set by the being you call your God."

'Don't listen to a damn word he's saying.' Yugo reminded me sharply, his voice angry. 'He's gone insane.'

Aion shifted his gaze, amethyst eyes looking past us, to Rosette. "Tell me Rosette Christopher. Have you heard his voice, even once?"

"Rosette you mustn't listen!" Chrono yelled at her, trying to get through. It seemed Aion's words had some type of hold on her; she had dropped her guard completely, standing there, mesmerized by his words. I could feel a slight pull from them as well, and if it weren't for Yugo's strong influence in my head, I might have been like she was.

Aion growled, holding out his hand toward Chrono. The violet-haired devil went tumbling out of the rock debris around him, pulled into the devil's strong grip, his hand on his neck.

"Chrono!" the trance on Rosette was broken for a minute as she watched what was going on. I went to move and was being held back by Yugo's strong embrace.

'Don't do it.' He ordered. 'If you rush in now, he'll only kill Chrono.'

I swallowed, my arm locking tighter around Yugo's waist. I don't think I'd ever been this scared. I glanced over at Lena who was still struggling, her fists clenched. I knew she was frightened and guilt was weighing heavily on her for the moment.

"That's it." Satella growled, charging up another jewel in her hexor.

"Satella, no!" Rosette said, grabbing her arm. "Don't kill him!" she looked away, closing her eyes. "If he dies, I'll never find my younger brother!"

Lena looked up, her emerald eyes filled with tears as she stared at Rosette.

"There's no way a devil's going to help you!" Satella snapped back, surprised, but sympathetic.

"Please…please Satella." Rosette pleaded, her head ducked.

Sieg got up then, struggling to stand, one arm weighing on his leg. He growled as Aion broke out into laughter. I was getting the growing urge to choke the life right out of him. He was toying with us.

"Isn't this fun?" Aion replied with a grin.

"You…" Yugo bit his tongue. I could feel his wanting to kill this man too, but his sense of protecting the others and me was higher then charging him again.

"Even at a time like this…" Aion replied, trying to stop from chuckling. "The one you worship won't speak one little word to save you. Believe me, this is your world as it is. He doesn't see anything. He doesn't save anyone. You understand this," he smirked. "Don't you Apostle Girl?"

I swallowed. 'Azmaria…'

"She's so afraid Sora." Julius murmured softly. "I don't know what to do…"

"It'll be alright." I tried to reassure him, but I was trembling myself, even inside Yugo's strong hold.

"This, why you were cursed with his so called 'blessing'." Aion went on. "The curse that you carry every day. Such hypocrisy and deception. He's not more then a minor villain, oozing honeyed words and destruction, grown arrogant from his own inflated ego." He let out a soft sigh. "Your god." His hand tightened around Chrono's throat, claws digging into the sides. "And what about that, our young apostle girl? Your search for a place where you could be at peace. How long and difficult has your path been? And then there's you, Jewel Witch. Ten years spent searching for the family that you lost without any clues. It must have been painful. There's a pair, hopeless in their cause, one destined to forget all and one who will only remember he was once a monster. And dear sweet, raven-haired woman, who is hiding so much that, could be of so much help to another. Young wanderer of the darkness, you were trapped, tortured, and pained for no reason at all. Poor souls you are all so suffering. But I can save you all, from the curse of the almighty God!"

"Sora…" Julius was trembling now, and there's nothing that I could do about it. I felt so powerless… so weak.

Satella and Rosette growled, Lena turned her head away while Sieg and Yugo instantly went on guard.

Aion looked at us with a calm, serene expression, as always. "Don't you see? It was from this that I saved Joshua."

Lena's body began shaking. I could tell she was crying, hiding her tears from us and from him.

"Stop saying that, you bastard!" Rosette cried, tears in her own eyes as well. She broke down into sobs and I saw Lena looked over at her slightly.

'This has to be torture for her.' Yugo said softly. 'The two women who love Joshua most and they don't both know it.'

"You're pointing your gun at the wrong person." Aion continued, ignoring the tears on the girl's faces. "The one you need to defeat is in heaven." He smirked. "Of course, creatures such as yourselves can not defeat him. Right Chrono? Sieg?" he looked up at him, and then at Yugo. "Yugo?" I felt my heart stop as his eyes passed over me. "Isn't it the reason we became branded as Sinners?"

His claws dug into Chrono's neck and with a small shriek, the violet-haired devil fell over, blood pulling from his neck where the inside of his throat had literally been ripped out.

Sieg swore, running his fingers through his bangs. Yugo pulled me closer, turning my head away. I didn't even realize I was crying until I felt the tears off of Yugo's bare skin.

"Chrono!" Rosette ran to his side as Aion got up and calmly moved away, his voice full of tears. Chrono didn't even move or make any motion that signified he was even still alive. At the sound of Rosette's sobs, I closed my eyes. What was there to do about this guy?

"He's going for where Azmaria and Julius are hiding." Yugo said softly and I jerked my head up, staring after his form. Julius was my responsibility. I couldn't let harm befall that boy, not again.

As he passed Satella, she could do nothing but clench her fists and Sieg phased in behind her, wrapping his arms around her neck from behind, trying to soothe her as best he could.

"We should work together." Aion said, softly, his voice dangerous. "That is why we should work together. Apostle, for this purpose, I need your power. Azmaria Hendric."

He was getting ever closer to where Julius and the cowering girl had hidden themselves. 'Yugo, what do I do?' I asked, my voice on the edge of panic.

'There's not much we can do.' He swallowed. 'Transformed I might be able to take him, but all he has to do is release the spell on your mind and I'm back to human form and powerless again. Chrono's out. Sieg's in no condition to fight. Julius wouldn't hold a candle to a normal demon, let alone Aion.'

'I have to do something!' I struggled with his arms. 'Let me go!'

'So you can die? I think not!' he told me sternly.

'But...' I whimpered. 'Julius… Azmaria…'

Suddenly there was a blue streak and Rosette dashed past him, stopping in front of him, her gun raised.

Aion continued toward her, chuckling. "Desist. You're not going to shoot, and you know it."

Rosette's breathing was heavy; I could tell she was not all there. She let out a cry as she fired the shot, at point blank range.

"Are you serious?" I whispered. "She took him out?"

"No. There's no way. He blocked it." Yugo told me.

Rosette was crying but she was determined. 'Yugo, let me go help her.'

'No.'

"I won't let you have Azmaria." She said, tears falling down her face.

Aion smiled softly, his eyes softening. "But… you gave me your brother." He pointed out.

Lena spun around, looking at his back her eyes wide. 'Yugo, please' I demanded. 'Before Lena does something stupid.'

'She won't. I won't let her.'

Rosette faltered, her eyes dancing with pain.

"Oh, poor, poor Rosette Christopher." Aion said softly, his voice finally sounding a little sympathetic. "But I can save even you." He wrapped his hands around her throat and I was suddenly afraid he would do the same thing to Rosette that he had done to Chrono. Rosette dropped her gun, giving up completely. I was choking back tears.

"Rosette…" I heard a familiar voice and looked over, seeing Chrono's body stir. His crimson eyes opened slightly and he looked over at her.

'He sensed that she had given up.' Yugo said softly.

Sieg's crimson eyes blinked and then filled with tears. "Chrono, you're still alive!" he said, reverting momentarily back to his goofballish nature.

Aion's hand suddenly loosened from her throat, his fingers caressing the skin he had just held so roughly. "Give yourself over to me, Mary of Magdalene." He said softly.

'Oh…no…' Yugo swallowed.

"Rosette, no!" Satella gasped, her dark red eyes widening.

Aion leaned down, his lips softly touching Rosette's. Her eyes widened, her cheeks blushing despite her tears. There was a power surge, energy created from the touching of their bodies that shook the trees around us.

Sieg gritted his teeth. "Not good."

"Get away from her!" the ground shook, the wind created a cyclone and standing in the middle of it was a very pissed Chrono. He snarled, his fangs showing, his eyes glowing bright red. He yelled, and the swirling energy that had been created by the broken seal was pulled into the tornado, the black aura absorbed by Chrono's devil powers.

"The miasma…" Satella cried, watching. Sieg's arms tightened around her.

"He's pulling in the dark energy to feed off of, instead of using Rosette's soul as the energy needed for the transformation." Sieg explained.

The pocket watch around Rosette's neck snapped open, the seal broken. Aion let Rosette go, a satisfied look on his face. "That's right. It's time for you to spread your Sinner's wings Chrono." He glanced at Sieg with a dangerous smirk. "You're next my dear."

Sieg growled, his eyes narrowing, the pupils becoming like that of a serpent's. "You disgust me." He closed his eyes, the necklace around Satella's neck becoming to a crimson glow. With little more then a burst of light he changed, black and garnet wings spreading out from his back. The looked made of jewels themselves, slender shimmering wings, the feathers see through like glass. A jewel, red, appeared in the center of his forehead and his clothes melted off his body transforming. They were replaced by a long white and red flowing cloak and robe; his arms covered in armor the same material as his wings. His sword transformed, becoming a handsome silver blade, hanging from his hip by a twisted silk cord. He had to be the most regal, angelic thing I had ever seen, and just as handsome as the only other sinner I had ever laid my eyes on in true form.

"Sieg…" Satella's cheeks went crimson. Apparently she hadn't seen his true form in a long time.

"Aion…!" Chrono barked, trying to break the seal completely and transform. The ground began breaking apart from around him as he yelled, tensing himself, trying to finish what he had started.

"Chrono, no!" Azmaria called, coming out from her hiding spot.

"Azmaria!" Julius replied, following her.

"Very nice." Aion grinned. "I'm impressed." He let Rosette go, who slumped to the ground, passing out from the strain the transformation was having on her.

"Stop doing this!" Azmaria cried, tears in her eyes, "Please stop!"

Julius came up behind her, trying his best to protect her, despite the situation.

Rosette's eyes blinked open and the seal fell back together. Chrono's power immediately fell, his body reverting back to his sealed form.

"I'll go with you!" Azmaria replied, stepping away from Julius, determined and fighting her tears. "Please! Please, don't hurt my friends! I'm begging you!"

Aion smiled. "Ah, just what I would have expected from someone who's received God's blessing as the apostle of charity."

"No…" Rosette winced, trying to get up but her body not cooperating. "Don't…"

I swallowed. "This is so not good."

"Yeah, but something isn't right." Yugo replied. He was wearing the strangest look on his face... like something was missing and he couldn't place what it was.

Aion headed toward Azmaria and the girl stood there, watching him, her eyes never shifting. "Doing this won't make anything better Azmaria." Rosette said, her eyes blinking closed again.

"Come with me Apostle girl." Aion grinned his hand resting on her shoulder. All of a sudden there was a giant blue light that filled the area, expanding out into a cross.

"I don't believe it!" Yugo cried, laughing. "They activated the seal!"

Aion was blasted away, disintegrated in the blast of holy light. Six more filled the sky and transformed into six wings, each spiraling out and meeting each other in the center. The sky cleared, blue sky rising out of the evaporating black crowds and the sun returning to normal.

"Azmaria!" Satella ran, over catching the girl as she fell.

Julius was by her side in an instant. "Is she okay?" he asked worriedly.

With Aion gone the deal in my head disappeared, Yugo reverting back to normal and Sieg followed after him. I smiled up at him. "They did it!"

"No." Chrono replied, holding his battered arm.

Azmaria opened her eyes, looking at Satella with her crimson eyes and then Julius on the other side of her. She held up the last crucifix barrier from where she had hidden it under her cloak. She had used her self as the last spot in the seal.

Chrono stumbled over to Rosette, helping her up. "He's gone…" Rosette said looking off. "But will he be back?"

Chrono didn't meet her gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Yeah. It's just started. That thing that we defeated wasn't the real Aion."

I swallowed. 'Is he serious?'

'Afraid so.'

I sighed, putting a hand to my head. With the spell wearing off the pain was coming back, more now then ever.

"Sora?" Yugo blinked as I rested my head on his chest.

"I… just want to sleep for now." I told him softly, my eyes refusing to stay open any longer.

When I awoke I was in my bed, the sun was setting and everything had seemingly gone back to normal. I sat up, looking around. The room seemed empty. Had Aion attacked again, while I was sleeping?

"Hey there." I turned my head seeing Julius resting in the doorway, his golden eyes. He entered the room, coming toward me and I gasped.

"You cut your hair!" I demanded looking at him. The long, waist length chocolate brown curtain was gone, replaced with a shaggy cut around his face, brushing against his cheeks and his shoulders teasingly.

He smiled. "Yugo took me to have it done this afternoon while you were sleeping. It's kind of nice to have it short and at least I can still pull it back into a ponytail." He told me.

"But, why?" I asked. I was going to miss running my hands through those long silky strands.

"Because," he sat down on his bed, looking over at me, his eyes serious. "I've decided."

I blinked. Was I missing something? "Decided what?"

"That I want to join the Order as an exorcist. If Aion is your main enemy and he'll just keep coming back until he's dead, I want to help stop him. We can't let him try and destroy the world or turn this place into chaos like he wants." He smiled. "I have the power to sense devils, it's a power not many humans have, right? I should use that power to protect people, and do what I can while I can." He looked away, his amber eyes drifting out the window. "Chrono told me about Rosette. How the more he uses her powers the shorter her life becomes. And you. You lose your memories each time Yugo transforms. If I'm able to help you all out in any way possible, I'd like to do it."

"Julius…" I stared at him. His compassion had touched me, more then once.

"Mia already told me you can train me. From here on out, I'm your apprentice. So, what's my first order?" he grinned.

"To come here." I told him. "Because I want a hug."

Holding him to me, I smiled, burying my head in his neck. He didn't flinch at all at my touch and I smiled. I heard faint footsteps and looked up, seeing Yugo standing in the doorway, a smile on his face. These people were my new family, people that I now had to protect with my life.

Author's Notes: 34 Pages in Microsoft Word! Hell yeah! I hoped you all like the appearance of Sieg and Aion. Sieg is pretty scary and Aion's a nightmare so all in all this chapter was pretty creepy. But Julius's cuteness helped even it out. For Sieg fans (if there are any) the guy's got some issues, but he makes for a nice mix of comedy and twisted-romance so it's all good. This will be my last chapter for a while, so I had to make it long. Mia's writing chapter eight so I can take a break and it couldn't have come at a better time (I busted my right arm so typing has been a matter of tolerating the pain long enough to get something done.) but chapter nine will be out as soon as she finishes chapter eight, and I'll be working on a side-story for Julius X Azmaria so it won't be completely out of my mind. Until I write again!

-Sora Tokumi Kazuma