Stuff I forgot: 1-Disclaimer: I do not own Chrono Crusade. If I did, Rosette would have kissed Chrono in adult form at least once. 2-If I write out songs, they probally won't be from the right time period, but bear with me, and ignore the time slot, as I'm terrible at studying, especially for specific chronolegies.

Please review!

P.S Azmaria is tougher than in the Anime or Manga, because I thought she was a bit of a cry baby before.

Chapter 3 Azzy, Sats and the Bad Guys

"Yo Azzy!"

"Hello, who is this? Miss Hendric is with a client at the moment, and unable to talk."

"AZZY! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM YOUR CLIENT AND COME TALK TO YOUR FRIEND!"

The voice of the receptionist squeaked, and another voice, very young, was heard in the background. "Rosette!" It cried. "Don't shout at her! It's mean!" Rosette whistled into the reciever.

"Then get on the phone!" She called back moderating her voice, but not much.

"Alright, alright, what's up?" Asked a pacient Azmaira Hendric. "What is sooo important you had to come get me?"

"I've got a job!" Shrieked Rosette. Azmaria didn't seem so thrilled.

"So? You've always had a job. Otherwise you'd be dead. No, scratch that, you'd be mooching off me. Wait a second..."

"Oh shut up." Snapped Rosette. "I only borrow money when I really need it. And what I had wasn't a real job. A job is only a job if you have respect." Azmaria oooed apropriatly, as any good friend would when another friend says they've found the perfect job. What Azmaira didn't do was sit around all day listening to a minute by minute descripition of what happened on her first day. She met her friend half way, though.

"Listen. I have work, but if you want, you can come down to work and help me. Find out a little about clubs, and new hits, and make a few extra dollars."

"Why can't you say bucks like a normal person?"

"Because I belive in speaking real english. You coming or not? You can meet my new client."

"Yes! Alright, see you in a few hours."

"Hours?"

"I've had a long night."

"Oooo."

"Shut up, Az."

Azmaria Hendric was both lawyer and agent in the windy city, and mainly for budding female performers. It was a speciality of hers. She was young, surprisingly so, and very small and elfish. She wore pale coloured, childish looking clothes when she went out, but had a trademark pale pink business suit that no-one ever made fun of. It had become a sign of serious female business ever since Azzy became famous, but no-one ever carried it off with as much style as the red-eyed girl. This time, thought, she was dressed in a suit of celestial blue, her calf-long, pale silver-pinkish-purplish hair in a heavy bun. It was a wonder her head didn't fall off from the weight. But Rosette greeted her best friend warmly, with a hug and a laugh.

"New client, huh?" She mused. "Who is she? What does she do?"

"I am Satella Harvenheit. Who are you?" Came a voice from behind Rosette. Turning, she saw a towering woman with startlingly crimson hair, looking at her with hands on hips. Rosette smiled back.

"Rosette Christopher. Sort of a client of Azzy." Grinned the blonde.

"Rosette!" Azmaria was no fun. Wouldn't make any jokes. "She's a friend, Satella, very good at what she does, so I let her help me."

"All right then. Make sure you svay out of my vay, girl." Rosette raised an eyebrow not at the strong German accent, but the tone of voice.

Rosette just laughed. "Sure, Sats, if you stay out of mine." The tall woman glared at Rosette, but didn't say a word. She just stalked away, head high. Azmaria shook her head.

"You two would make an interesting pair." She chuckled. She grabbed Rosette's arm, dragging her along. Surprising, what the pint-sized laywer could manage. Rosette had been through the office before, but whenever she did she was amazed. How could anyone be such a neatfreak? Everything was perfectly ordered, and there were three one site maids that kept it that way. She knew that because she had worked as one. That was how she had first met Azmaria. But, after a huge mess and a few smashed things, she had lost a job but, miraculously, gained a friend.

Despite her job, clean obsession, and sweet little girl atire, Azmaria was one of the toughest laywers in the business. She had gotten into he market incredibally early, then began systematically humiliating and eliminating the others in her job level. By the time Rosette had met her, Miss Hendric had taken on two murder cases and won, leaving two new spaces on Murderess Row. She was giving Billy Flynn a run for his money.(My second referance to Chicago. Go Murderess Row!)

Moving on and moving up, Azmaria had added telent agent to her skills, getting seven young stars into the better clubs. This was pretty good, since her job choice was new. And for all that and more, Rosette loved her. They would sit in a converted lounge-style room that had specially designed windows that could shut in sound, and belt their lungs out along with some of the greats. Sometimes a client would join them, or use the room for practice. Sometimes someone would open the windows -which opened into the office anyway- and listen to the girls sing.

Tripping over something seemingly invisible and crashing into a stack of papers was enough to bring anyone out of Memory Lane, so Rosette was in full mind when she tripped, paper raining around her. Azmaria, the desk attendant, and a passerby groaned.

"I'll call a maid." Suggested the man, one of the few ever in the office. This was a female workforce! But Rosette shook her head violently, proping herself up on one elbow.

"No, I'll do it. Sorry about that Az, I was drifting."

"You're always drifting." Replied the girl, crouching to pick up the papers. Maybe it was the need for order, or maybe just a hidden skill that was rarely needed, but Az got most of the papers into a neat pile before Rosette managed to even sit up properly. With a little help, she got her office back into an orderly, efficent, crime-fighting machine. Did that sound as cheesy as I thought it did?

"So," Began Azmaria, turning to Rosette when the work was done. "Since you're here, let's hear more about your job. Where is it? What's it called? Who's you're boss?"

"Direct, aren't you?" Drawled Rosette. Azmaria gave a rare, sharp smile.

"You have to be, in the business world. Pulling punches, playing mind games, only amatures do it. Directness, intelligence, and the occasional bit of blackmail are you you need. And it's all I ever use." Rosette could never quite react when her sweet, childish friend turned into the fierce, ruthless business monger who had only lost a single case. Then fought for it a second time and won.

The blonde put her hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, easy up. I'm not competition. I'm smarter than to take you on. It's in Downtown."

"Good. Impressive." Nodded Azmaria.

"And I'm working for... Get ready for it... Chrono! In Sinners!" Azmaria shrieked with delight just as Rosette did, and they hugged each other and jumped, laughing. It seemed a bit much to those looking on, but Rosette had never worked in a proper club before, and to end up in Sinners as a first was huge for even the best-connected talent.

"I'm so happy for you!" Laughed Azmaira as they resumed walking. "Sinners! Singing there is like, like, I don't even know! Three of the best performers there are came from Chrono's club. And two came from his first club." Rosette stumbled, just from surprise.

"First club? He had a first club?" She asked stupidly. Azmaria nodded, letting her friend steady herself on the blue clad arm.

"Yeah. That was where She sang, when she was really famous." Laughed Az. They both knew who the 'She' was. A singing angel, the most famous star in Chicago, more so than any of the gang bosses at the time. "Chrono was the owner of her club."

"I thought she was."

"No, she just sang. He was the legal owner." Rosette nodded thoughtfully, surprised she hadn't realised. When she was younger, she would sing aloud to records or radios whenever the Angel came on.

Azmaria, pulling Rosette out of the main hallway and into her office, though of something. "Rosette?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Well, if you're working for him, what's his name?"

"What do you mean?" Replied the blonde, smiling slightly as she remembered that she had almost the exact same conversation with the 'Sinner Girls.'

"Does he have a first name?" Asked Azmaria, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Of course he does." Laughed Rosette. "Chrono!"

Azmaria frowned. "But then, doesn't he have a last name?" Rosette shrugged.

"I don't actually know. I had this exact same conversation with the ladies backstage."

"And what did they say?"

"That he stopped using his last name a few years back."

"Why?"

"Don't know."

"That's strange."

"Yeah it is."

"Yes, I'll tell him." She said into the phone, looking carefully into the other room. She couldn't see him. He must have moved. "Thank you, sir. I'll inform him immediately." She got up smoothly, something she had developed after the first few months of working. Her outfit too seemed completely normal these days, and an excellent disguise, too. She walked out of the room to find him. Turning, she found him sitting in a rocking chair, eyes closed, listening to a jazz record. "Joshua." She cooed. He opened his blue eyes slowly and smiled.

"Yes, Fi?" He turned off the record to give her his full attention.

"I got a call from the boss, Master Joshua." She said in a soft voice. He was eighteen, but very weak, so since they had met, six years before, she had treated him carefully. Her boss had said he was important, but since Fiore didn't know more than what she'd been told, she addressed him as 'master'. He didn't seem to mind. "I'm afraid we aren't any nearer to catching the killers."

Joshua nodded calmly. "Alright. But was that the important news? Shouldn't they call if they do find them?"

Fiore nodded. "Yes, but there's more." Joshua leaned forward to listen. "It's about-"

"Rosette?" He asked eagerly. "Is she coming to visit?" Fiore shook her head, and watched as his features changed from excitment to disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Joshua. She's not coming. But this is about her." He looked up again.

"She, well, I'm not sure where she is."

"What!" Despite the obvious emotion, his voice was still soft. "You lost her? I thought she was safe, like me, but we had to be separated... How could she be lost?"

"Relax, Master Joshua." Gasped Fiore, running smoothly over to him in her black and white maid's uniform. "We'll find her soon. She couldn't have gone to far. You know Rosette, she probally just wanted to go for a walk, and went too long." Joshua nodded, relaxing. Fiore sounded as though she knew his sister, Rosette Christopher, but he spoke of her so often she had been able to understand her well. But it didn't sound good if they had lost her. After all, witness protection was an important business. She hadn't known that both siblings had seen the crime till her boss, Genai, told her. So now, officer Fiore Harvenheit was caring for the younger sibling, as she had for the past six years. She had no family to miss her, ever since her own brush with crime, so devoted herself to her police work fully. And her police work was Joshua Christopher.

Aion was lounging in a huge armchair, Rizelle sitting on the arm. He was half listening to what the man was telling him, but mostly thinking about what he would be doing later that night. He was visiting his own club, The Globe. Actually, it was someone else's club, a shakespeare fan by the name, but after a little bribing incident, Aion took the club when the man didn't pay up. He couldn't even remember what the man's name had been. So now a few underlings ran the club and paid him properly, and he was going to have dinner with his companions there. He could go to any club in Chicago, but he had built the reputation of The Globe, and could shoot things into the ceiling there with only one or two people screaming or dropping to the floor. The place had more criminals walking in and out than a courtroom did, and Aion loved it that way.

Along with the rest of the Sinners, -the gangsters, not the girls- Aion was only ever known by one name. Rizelle Cherokee, who sat beside him on the chair, would strangle anyone who used her second name with her bare hands. Elizabeth Shadar would not respond to her first name, nor would Tomas Genai. Viede Montesan punched people who used his last name, and Aion himself, well, he didn'y mind his first name all that much, but as the other Sinners never used their other names, it was assumed that he didn't, either. Sylvester was a pet name that Rizelle alone seemed to use. And Chrono, ah, Chrono. He gave away his last name. Few had known it to begin with, but after certain incidents, he stopped using it all together.

Aion missed Chrono, in a way. That man had had a devilish buisness mind, and till he had given up cime of his own free will, had never been caught. He wouldn't have, either. He was too good.

The man had stopped talking and was looking at Aion imploringly. "Please, sir." He begged. Luckily, Aion was feeling generous.

"Well, as you came all this way, I'll give you twenty days, with interest, to get the money. Or I burn down your shop." The man paled, which was hard as he was old and quiet frail, but babbled thanks and left as quickly as he could. There were no two ways with Aion. And trying to bargin was just plain dangerous.

Azmaria and Rosette were in the lounge, flipping through various records to choose one. "How about this?" Asked Rosette, waving around a vaudeville classic. Azmaria looked around to check and agreed. It was fun. "You need this, Az." Chuckled Rosette. "You're working yourself to the bone. Go out, enjoy yourself."

Azmaria laughed. "I love my work. I'm enjoying myself. But tell you what. When you start a glorious singing career at Sinners, I'll be there first night."

Rosette grimaced. "Make it second. I'll probally make a fool of myself first night."

"You vill definately make a fool of yourself first night." Came a voice. Turning, Rosette saw the tall German woman standing in the doorway.

"What is it, Satella?" Asked Azmaria cheerily, sending a warning look toward Rosette, who might have gotten very annoyed with the woman.

Satella blatently ignored Rosette. "I was signing some papervork and I did not understand something. I came to ask for your assistance." Azmaria nodded.

"I'll show you the rest of the contract when I'm done." She said slowly. "Because I'm doing some vocal training with Rosette. I'll come soon." Satella bit her lip in an annoyed way. "But you're free to join us." Azmaria added hopefully.

Satella shook her head. "No thank you. I vill be having some coffee in the lounge." They both stifled laughter till the door was closed. After it closed, Azmaria giggled, while Rosette laughed till she couldn't breath.

"That was good." She gasped, wiping away tears. "Miss Satella didn't look happy." Azmaria shrugged.

"Work is important, but friendship is too."

"Excellent mantra."

"I think so." Crawling over to the grammerphone, Rosette put on the record, always delighted to have a duet with her friend, who was an excellent singer in her own right, but had chosen a different career path. Usualy they would spend most of the afternoon singins along to tunes, but Satella wouldn't be kept waiting, so they only got an hour in before she walked into the lounge and demanded Rosette do some work or leave. Sulking, the blonde had two cups of coffee in the lounge before she thought of something helpful to do.

She headed to the first floor of the Hendric office building, an area with fabrics and sewing machines. Azmaria's mother had been a dress maker, and it had been the girl's first job when she was in law school, and had never gotten out of the habit. It was mainly used by others hired by Azmaria. She was becoming very rich, so they kept most of the money they earned when making clothes, and some were bought by Azzy's clients. It was a win win win situation, and gave Rosette something to do for the rest of the evening.

"Blondie didn't come in tonight." Noted Sally the next morning, at about one. She, Dixie, Florida and Chrono was all at the bar again.

"Yeah." He said. "But she had a long first night. She knows the basic rules. We'll see if she follows them." Dixie gave him a sideways look.

"Do you like her?" She asked coyly. Chrono rolled his eyes.

"Is that all you think about?" He laughed.

"Yes." Replied not just Dixie, but Sally and Florida.

"I'm surronded by psycotic matchmakers." Sighed Chrono. "I'm going to bed."

"You didn't answer the question!" Shouted Florida as he walked away from the bar.

"I know." He called back without looking around. "Not another drink. I'll know. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!" They sang back to him.