Disclaimer: I don't own Chrno Crusade

A/N: I think I have to explain why Christopher thought Rosette is a guy. Rosette is wearing the clothes of a guy and is trying to pass off as one. Sorry I didn't mention that. Once again watch out for OCs. There aren't many now but just wait. Oh, and I have a thing about alley scenes, I don't know why. One more thing, I really suck at writing fight scenes so just please bear with me.

Third Chapter: The Actual Pirate Attack

The mystery ship was closer then ever, barely a thousand meters away. A navel officer on duty was gazing at the ship through his telescope. It was suspicious looking; with its black sails, horrendous-looking figurehead and motley crew. Still, it didn't mean that they were pirates. It'd be a real disaster if the navy fired out of suspicion and it turned out that they weren't pirates after all. Still, it didn't hurt to watch them.

The ship anchored just a few hundred meters away from the navel fortress. The navel officer watched as the crew started to hoist up a flag. It took a moment for the flag to catch a breeze and flutter in all its glory. The officer's eyes widened in horror at the red horned skull on a black background that designed the fluttering flag. Dropping the telescope he ran to the nearest warning bell and started to ring it.

"ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS! ARM ALL CANONS! PIRATES ON THE NORTH SIDE! THEY BEAR THE FLAG OF THE PANDEMONIUM ARMADA!"

He didn't see the cannonball falling towards him.

CCC

"Captain, it looks like they finally realized who we are."

The Captain was a giant of a man, and most likely a demon considering he was part of the Pandemonium Armada. He laughed a thundering humorless laugh, only filled with malevolence.

"Tell all hands to bring out the long range and heavy cannons. We'll fire at the town and bring down this fortress at the same time. Once this place falls, tell the crew that they're all free to kill as much as they want. I think I'll join them myself."

"B-but Captain," the person talking to the Captain as a skinny, nervous looking man with two small bumps on his forehead and a pair of small folded bat wings sprouting from his back. "I don't think that it is such a good idea to let all the crew go. I mean, who will guard the ship?"

The Captain sneered. "Dead humans can't sail, let alone steal ships. And if you're too cowardly to join us, then you stay here. Us real demons will do what we do best, kill!"

He released another booming laugh as the other demon gulped nervously.

"Captain! All cannons are loaded and ready!"

"Then what the hell are you waiting for? Fire all cannons!"

CCC

Christopher, Captain Livingston and the Elder stumbled out of the room and towards the two siblings.

"Are you guys alright?" Christopher asked, alarmed. Ross was holding onto Joshua for balance.

"We're okay; just a little shaken up is all." Joshua did sound shaken up. Ross looked like he was holding back a sob. "What, what the heck was that?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to check. You guys stay here." The Captain stepped past the siblings, opened the door to the outside and stepped out. He was gripping the hilt of his rapier pretty hard.

"Elder I'm going to!" Christopher turned around and disappeared deeper into the house for a few seconds. He returned wearing a long red coat and was in the process of tying a red bandana over his purple hair. Joshua spotted the hilt of a sword under his coat. The Elder grabbed his arm as he passed.

"Please Elder, don't try and stop me. If it is pirates I don't plan on letting them destroy anything I love." The boy's voice was half pleading, half demanding and very fierce.

"Wait here," the Elder disappeared into the room they had come from and returned with a black metal object in his hands. "Take this boy; it's my latest and greatest invention. A metal gun that can shoot multiple rounds before reloading. This eliminates the need to reload after every shot. Use it wisely."

Christopher nodded grimly and pocketed the gun. With firm determined steps he walked past the cowering siblings and out the door.

"Chrno my boy, I'm proud of you." The elder called after him.

"Thank you sir, and don't call me Chrno." He called back.

The three remaining people stood in silence, booms and shakes coming from all around. The tension was building inside Rosette until she couldn't take it anymore.

"This is stupid!" she yelled aloud and pushed past her brother. Before Joshua could stop her she was already out the door.

"Rosette come back!" before the boy could run after his he was halted by a firm hand on his shoulder.

"It is too dangerous, my boy. Just wait for your sister to come back, I'm sure Chrno will take good care of her. Now lets get to my lab- err basement, no amount of cannon fire can ever reach us their."

"But-! But-!" Joshua protested vainly as the Elder dragged him backwards when realization hit. "How'd you know Rosette was a girl?"

The Elder chuckled lecherously and tapped the side of his nose. "I can smell a woman even a mile away."

CCC

"Christopher you stupid little boy! Where are you!"

Rosette ran through the streets, dodging flying debris and panicked townsfolk. She jumped into a nearby alley to dodge a particularly large piece of flying wall.

"Phew, that was a close one." She got up and started to dust herself off when the sound of whimpering reached her ears. "Who's there?"

Rosette followed the sound deeper into the alley until she reached a pile of stacked crates. The girl peered behind the crates and their, to her surprise, cowered a girl. The girl's legs were drawn up to her chest and arms wrapped around them. Her forehead rested on her knees and long light lavender colored hair draped over her face and arms. The fancy dress she wore pooled around her shaking form.

Without a second thought Rosette knelt beside her and laid an arm over her trembling shoulders. The blonde girl felt her jump slightly under her touch and she raised her head. A vein twitched over Rosette's right eye as the girl stared at her with teary terrified eyes, her mouth open and ready to scream. A conk on the head put a stop to that.

"Ow!" the girl rubbed the bump that Rosette just gave her.

"You calm now? Good. I'm not here to hurt you, I swear." Rosette smiled at the girl soothingly and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ears. She got up and offered the other girl a hand. "Let's get out of here, it's getting pretty dangerous. By the way I'm Rosette."

The girl hesitated before taking her hand. Rosette flashed a quick smile before suddenly running, pulling the other girl along. The girl stared at their clasped hands in confusion before directing her gaze on Rosette's back.

"Umm…"

"What is it?"

The girl was shocked that Rosette had heard her.

"Azmaria. My name is Azmaria."

"Glad to meet ya, Azmaria."

CCC

Christopher strode down the panic-stricken street towards the harbor. He didn't actually see Captain Livingston but he knew that the harbor is where he would go. The coat he wore would protect him from small pieces of debris and the large ones were easy enough to dodge.

"Christopher? Christopher!"

Christopher stopped walking at the call and turned in surprise. "Sissy? Sissy what are you doing?"

Sissy Jones, the girl who taught Christopher how to fence, stood before him. Sissy was four years his senior and was a renowned fencer in their town, even if she was a girl. She was a head taller then Christopher and wore her long brown hair, the same color as her eyes, in a high ponytail. Clasped in her gloved right hand was an unsheathed rapier.

"What am I doing? What are you doing! If you think you're skilled enough to take on pirates then think again. Go home now!" Sissy sounded angry, but that anger was only used to hide her worry.

Christopher shook his head. "I'm sorry Sissy, I can't do that. I promised on that day that I'd never let pirates touch anything that I care about ever again. That includes you. I will protect you."

Christopher spoke with grim determination. It's amazing how it's possible to make a girl blush in almost any situation. Sissy turned her reddening face away and scratched the tip of her nose.

"F-fine I'll let you accompany me, but you must promise that if we encounter trouble you'll get out of there. Okay?"

Christopher smiled. "I promise."

CCC

"Sir, the demon pirate ship isn't taking any damage from our cannons! Our shoots keep getting intercepted!"

The commanding officer of the Summerset Quay Navel Base cursed violently, the writing quill in his hand snapping from the force of his grip. He knew that the navel base was only stocked with standard cannonballs, perfectly effective against normal human pirates and even lesser demon vessels. Though against a demon flagship is another matter. They'd be lucky if they could hit water around the ship, let alone the ship itself. Frustrated, the commander slammed his palms on his desk and stood up.

"Has launching what ships we have brought any success?"

"N-none at all, sir! The pirates sank the ships as they crossed under the bridge."

Breathing heavily the commander moved around his desk and made towards his office doors. The man wasn't exactly young, but experience did come with age. Maybe he could find a way to stop the pirates if he just saw their situation. As he reached for the door it suddenly burst open and another navel officer burst in.

"S-sir, all cannons and the west tower have been destroyed. Also the demons have started attacking the base. We're trying to hold them off but I'm afraid the base is lost. I recommend we evacuate immediately and regroup in the– Argh!"

The officer yelled in pain as a clawed hand pierced his stomach from behind. Swearing violently the commander drew his rapier; the man beside him aimed his rifle.

"Oops, was he still talking? My bad." Chuckling maliciously the demon let the man's limp corpse slide off his hand and it started licking one of its bloodied claws. Without hesitation the navel officer fired, the bullet burrowing into the demon's right shoulder. Thick, dark red blood started to ooze from the wound. The demon frowned and picked at the hole with a claw. "That wasn't very nice."

He let the lead ball drop to the floor. Cursing the man hastened to reload while his commander stepped forward, blade first.

"Leave now, sea scourge, and I will spare the life of you and your crew."

The demon eyed the blade warily. It looked pretty sharp. "Better put that down before you hurt yourself, old man. I'd hate it if you accidentally killed yourself before I could."

Grinning with murderous glee the demon attacked, claws outstretched. The commander blocked its first strike, claws scraping down the length of the blade. Without looking the demon reached out with his other claw and ripped the throat out of the other man just as he finished reloading.

"Damn you demon!" The commander pushed him back and stabbed with his blade. The demon let it pierce one hand and grabbed it with the same one, its scream of pain becoming a laugh as he reached with his other. It didn't count on the commander drawing a stiletto secretly hidden and attacking with that. The demon stumbled backwards, both hands bleeding. The commander was breathing heavily, but the two weapons were clutched confidently in his hands.

"You cannot defeat me, demon."

"This is getting bothersome!" with a snarl the demon attacked, catching the oncoming sword in his left hand and the dagger in his right. Without stopping it rammed one of its curved black horns through the commander's throat.

"Stupid old man." It grumbled before untangling itself from the commander and leaving the blood-splattered office.

CCC

"Duck!" Rosette yelled. She wrapped her arms around the younger girl's head and threw them both to the ground. Seconds later the pair were pellet with pieces of cobblestone. A cannonball hit barely two meters away from the two. Rosette changed her original plan from following Christopher to getting Azmaria back to the Elder's house. She swiftly got back up and heaved the other girl to her feet. "C'mon we have to get you somewhere safe!"

"Umm, but, Rosette your lip is bleeding!"

"If we don't hurry-" a cannonball demolished a house behind them. "A split lip will be the least of my problems!"

Rosette sighed inwardly in relief as the familiar front wall of the Elder's home came into view. Even more relieving that it didn't' have a cannonball-sized hole in it like the houses on either side.

"Don't worry Az, I'll get you to safety in no time."

CCC

Christopher's prediction had been correct; Captain Livingston was indeed at the harbor. He stared grimly at a large pile of floating wreckage that the boy soon realized used to be the Captain's ship. Fortunately his crew managed to escape the wreckage and was now standing at attention behind their captain.

Just behind them was a gaggle of townsfolk who, like Christopher, decided on protecting their home. The boy recognized Mr. Ironwill the blacksmith, a large man hefting an equally large hammer, old man Seeson, a retired navel captain, and even the mayor of Summerset himself was present. Christopher approached the Captain while Sissy joined her fellow townsfolk.

"What's happened Captain? The pirates have stopped firing for a few minutes now, does that mean that the navel base managed to stop them?"

The Captain looked faintly surprised at Christopher's presence but didn't try and persuade him to leave. He held the same determined look that the Captain recognized in all the other townsfolk who decided to stay and fight.

"I'm not sure lad; the base hasn't answered back to any of our signals. We're just sending over a man now to clear things up."

Christopher spotted the man, a lone figure rowing towards the silent base. Something was wrong and the boy could feel it. In the past whenever a pirate attack was stopped the battlements of the base would be lined with cheering navel officers. There wasn't even a single sign of a living soul from the docks.

The man finally reached the base and stood in his boat, hollering up for a line. There were two ways to enter the base. One way was to use the gates on each side connected to land. The other was to sail to the base and yell at them to throw a line. The man was obviously using the second method. It was more informal, but still faster.

After a few moments something was thrown down at him, but it wasn't a ladder. At first Christopher thought it was a sack at first. It barely missed hitting the boat and landed in the water with a large splash before bobbing to the surface again. The man pulled the wet bundle into the boat with a strained grunt. Christopher saw the shock on his face when the man finally got a good look at the bundle. With a strained look he started to row back to the docks.