By Hydraa
This is the sequel to "Masters".
---000---
"Move!" Remington bellowed. "Move it! Hurry!"
Around him, dozens of militia bolted to get on the plane, every one they had left who was mobile enough to fight. Other Orders in other cities were mobilizing their own people, headed to rendezvous with them.
Kate hurried past, barking orders into a phone on the side of a weapons box carried by the red-coated demon beside her. Chrno nearly clung to her side, his long braid swinging as he kept one eye on his Contractor and tried not to tangle her in the phone cord or it around anyone else. Remington was still reeling at her being his Contractor; everyone was reeling at it, but it was there and without him, this battle would be a lot less certain. It still wasn't so certain. They were facing two soldier demons, an undead jewel witch, an insane psychic Acolyte with Chrno's time powers, and Aion himself. On their side, they had a hell of a lot of ammunition and Chrno. Victory definitely was not certain.
He supposed they had Shader as well, providing they could trust her, even though it was on her word they were doing all of this, and if it wasn't a trap, they'd have Rosette as well. It was a crazy situation to trust in, but that was what faith was all about.
Remington smiled and went to climb on the plane. It was still a long way to San Francisco.
---000---
Dizzy and dazed, Rosette Christopher went to breakfast.
Shader brought her, chattering non-stop and giving periodic hugs that nearly bent her ribs. The cat demon was definitely an affectionate sort. But she helped her clean off and go down to the meal, which did smell good, for all Rosette's brain felt rather fuzzy, thanks to the multiple wards she wore. She felt weak as well, and definitely outnumbered as she walked into the room and the two male demons sitting at the table there glared at her.
She recognized them both, one as the big guy she'd slammed getting out of the house and the other as the blind guy who'd essentially kicked her butt in the store when Aion showed up. Aion himself was sitting at the head of the table, smirking at her.
"You know Aion," Shader said cheerfully, guiding her to a chair opposite him. "And this is Viede," she pointed at the big guy, "and that's Genai." The blind guy. Both of them looked positively hateful.
Rosette sank into her chair, ignoring them both. Sitting to the right of her seat, across from the two demons, a blond-haired man was gobbling down pancakes, the girl in the maid's uniform standing dutifully behind his chair.
"Joshua?" she whispered. Four years it had been, four years since she saw her little brother, and now he was gobbling food like it was a normal day.
He looked so healthy, his cheeks flushed and pink, his body taller even than hers. Tears filled her eyes and started down her cheeks. She'd looked for him for so long, missed him for so long. She and Chrno had both gone through hell.
"What a lovely reunion," Aion laughed from the other end of the table, raising his coffee mug to them both. Rosette glared at him. Joshua barely glanced up.
"What reunion?" he asked. "Is someone visiting?"
Rosette stared at him, horrified. "Joshua? Don't you recognise me?"
He looked at her blandly. "Haven't you always been here?" he asked.
She didn't know what to say to him. "I'm your sister!" she gasped.
"I have a sister?" He looked at Aion for confirmation, who nodded solemnly. "Really?" He beamed at her. "Hi, Sister!"
Rosette spun on Aion. "You did this to him!" she snapped.
"Of course I did," he shrugged. "He's more useful this way."
Sluggishness aside, Rosette felt like leaping over the table at him, but Shader's hand on her shoulder tightened for the barest moment and then the cat was bounding over to the chair on the other side of Joshua, chattering away at the white-haired demon.
Rosette stared at her brother, miserable. She didn't know what she'd expected, but she'd hoped he'd at least recognize her, that the madness wouldn't still be there after four years. If anything, it seemed worse. Tentatively, she pushed her mind out at him and flinched in pain as it rebounded back at her.
"Careful," Aion cautioned. "Those wards won't let you try anything like that. Shader tells me she made them up special, just for you."
"Why's she here?" Viede grumbled. "She's trouble."
"I should have killed her," Genai hissed.
Aion smiled. "Now, now, boys. She's Joshua's sister. She makes him happy." Joshua continued to ignore them all, eating his pancakes. "And she's excellent bait for Chrno."
Rosette gaped at him. "I'm what?"
Aion's smile broadened. "He's found a new Contractor, dear Sister. He must have, otherwise he wouldn't be awake right now. He is." He tapped his head. "And with you in my possession, I'm sure I could convince him to hand over the Acolyte the Order is protecting, and himself as well." He looked over his followers. "How would everyone like to have Chrno back with us? Post mind wipe of course."
"Mind wipe?" Rosette whispered.
"Of course. He'll go to sleep in one of Shader's tanks, she'll turn the computers to some setting I've never bothered to understand, and he'll wake up with no memory of anything. Especially not of you."
Rosette shot Shader a look, her eyes wide, horrified, and demanding. The scientist's ears flattened for an instant and she looked away, but the acknowledgement had been there. Rosette looked back at Aion. "It'll never happen."
Aion just laughed. "It will. He'll do anything to save you. You're his master." He spat the last word out. "He won't be able to resist. But once I have the acolyte and we've reached our goal, he won't care. Trust me, neither will you."
Rosette sank in her chair, feeling cold. In a moment of solicitude, Joshua speared a couple of pancakes and dumped them on her plate, but Rosette wasn't hungry.
---000---
The last of the planes flew into the airport at dawn, bringing with it its units of militia. The New York unit had been there for hours though, its men and women gathered in a hangar, watching uncertainly as six of their strongest leaned heavily on a red-coated boy lying on a metal table.
"Are you ready?" Remington asked from where he lay across his upper body.
"No," Chrno answered truthfully. "Do it anyway."
Remington looked up at Kate. "We'll be quick."
She nodded and lifted the pocket watch around her neck, breaking the seal on it. It opened and instantly she gasped, body stiffening in agony while Chrno changed. He went from boy to demon in an instant and more men piled on him to hold him down.
A very nervous-looking metal smith stepped forward, looking down at the demon uncertainly.
"Hurry!" Remington shouted. "This is killing her!"
Shaken, the man bent down. Taking a piece of red hot metal, he laid it over the stump of Chrno's horn and grabbed the pliers, twisting it into a domed shape. Chrno screamed, trying to buck off the table in pain, and Remington threw all of his weight on him, trying to hold him down as even more men piled on top. Sweating, the smith shaped the cap that would protect Chrno's horn from attack and jumped back. "Done! Turn him!"
Remington leaped back, as did the other men, and grabbed Chrno's shoulder, flipping him over onto the other side before he could lose control and lash out with his wings, or worse, that barbed tail. Chrno thudded onto his other side, eyes wide, and Remington leaped onto him again. If Chrno had truly fought them, they never would have been able to stop him, but he couldn't make himself hold still for this without help. They pushed him down and the metal smith bent over him again. Chrno wailed.
Then it was over. The smith jumped back again and the watch closed. Kate sagged to her knees, coughing, and Chrno shrank, becoming a shaken little boy. "Easy," Remington soothed him, patting his shoulder. "You're okay now. You said getting hit there would hurt a whole lot more, didn't you?" He looked up. "Kate?"
"I'm fine," she choked. "Get moving."
Capping Chrno's stumps had been the last major bit of preparation they'd had left. Thank God his horns had finally stopped bleeding. Everything else was ready and the priest looked out into the rest of the hangar at more militia members than he'd ever seen in one place before. Everyone had come, right down to the novices. From what they'd learned from Chrno and Shader, this was the battle that mattered. Pandemonium didn't want the planet. She was content in her own little world where demons only left on her orders or when stupid people summoned them. Aion would bring her world here.
Remington nodded, turning to give orders while Kate collected herself, noting how Chrno slipped off the table and struggled to her side. He was the one to help her up and be pushed away as she gathered herself and went to check the cross barriers. They had the beach house mapped out, intel confirming that the demons were there. Everything was ready, everyone prepared to move. To save the rest of the world, they would kill everyone in that house if they had to.
The only worry they had was that Chrno would disagree. Rosette was there and they didn't know for sure that Shader would be able to get her out in time.
He looked back at the two, Kate leading the little demon towards one of the hangar offices now. She'd told him she could deal with it. He both hoped and dreaded that she could.
---000---
Chrno followed Kate into the back office, dizzy from the capping and more than a little ill. He hadn't been sick since she created the Contract, the first flush of astral from her healing his sickness, but that had bloody hurt. He'd forgotten how much. His original stumps had been capped by religious men thinking it would contain his powers. They just made them numb and less of a problem. He couldn't use them anyway, but the fragments moving hurt.
He trailed into the office after her and watched as she closed the door, her head bowed and her back to him. "Praise God and give me the courage I need," she murmured, making him suddenly very nervous.
"Kate?"
She turned and looked at him, her face impassive, and abruptly he was very frightened indeed.
"K-Kate?"
"Chrno," she said softly. "You know why we're here, don't you?" He nodded. "And you know that you're one of God's soldiers. He's accepted you into His house. You'll always have a place in Heaven." She looked pointedly at his cross and he put a hand over it. "I've come to believe He did that for a very specific reason."
"What are you saying?"
She sighed. "The purpose of the Order is to protect God's world, no matter what the cost to us. All of us are soldiers." She paused. "Rosette is a soldier."
His eyes widened even further. "What are you saying?!"
Her eyes hardened, her will sharpening so harshly that he could feel it and gasped. "Your job is to fight Aion, do you understand? Nothing else."
"But…" He'd hoped to go after Rosette. "But Rosette…"
"You will not worry about her," she told him harshly. "You won't worry about me. When I give the order, you will go after Aion and nothing will stop you. You will kill him, do you understand?"
YOU WILL KILL AION. Pandemonium's order echoed through his mind and he reeled, barely able to whimper. "…but Rosette…"
"We'll save her if we can. Your job is Aion!"
YOU WILL KILL AION.
"No…" he sobbed. "Please. I want Rosette! Please!" Tears poured down his cheeks, but Kate was brutal, her face pale but her gaze absolute.
"You will obey me, Chrno! Aion is your target! Say it!"
She was pushing on his will, battering over walls of resistance that she'd already broken down. Agony speared through him, an urge to obey that he didn't know how to resist. He tried anyway, screaming.
"Rosette! No! I won't leave her!"
YOU WILL KILL AION.
"Obey me, Chrno! I command it!"
"Mary!" he screamed. "Help me!"
Almost he saw her, almost he made himself die in that instant and escaped them both, Kate and Pandemonium, but Mary smiled, shaking her head, and he thudded back into himself, his eyes glazing over.
"I will obey. I will kill Aion."
Kate looked at him uncertainly and finally nodded. "Thank you, Chrno. Wait outside."
Numb, he turned and went out. Kate waited until he was gone and turned, grabbing a small garbage can just in time to vomit into it.
"May God forgive me," she whispered.
---000---
Aion wandered out onto the deck of the beach house. Chrno was in San Francisco.
He'd felt his pain, clearly. Someone had truly damaged the other demon. He could still feel him now, numb and hurting at the same time. He was also a lot closer than Aion would have expected. He really felt like he was in San Francisco. Aion closed his eyes, focusing. He was definitely in the city, at the airport.
Could he track Rosette? he wondered. Aion wouldn't have thought so, but he didn't really know how their relationship worked. He wasn't even sure how they managed to have sex without killing each other. It wasn't an experiment he was terribly eager to try himself.
Maybe she summoned him somehow. Either way, he was here now, just ready to be grabbed. It wasn't ideal; Aion still wanted him to get to that Apostle, but perhaps this could work. He could go get him, get Shader to wipe his mind, send him in as a cat's pawn to retrieve the boy, and then everything would be perfect. The Order wouldn't even have a reason to realise they'd been duped.
Aion smiled and looked over his shoulder at Shader, sitting at the window playing with one of her inventions. "Chrno appears to be at the airport," he told her. "I'm going to go retrieve him. Tell the others to wait for us." Chrno was no match for him without horns. Turning, he shifted to demon and leaped into the air, vanishing in an instant.
Shader watched him go, her ears swivelling, and hopped off her chair, headed for the lab and her phone connection there. Aion hadn't specified who she was to tell.
---000---
"Ah, crap," Remington said, hanging the phone on Chrno's box up. "Here we go.
"MOVE!" he screamed at the top of the lungs. "GET OUT OF HERE! REGROUP AT YOUR LOCATIONS. AION IS HEADED HERE NOW!"
The response was predictable. Militia bolted in all direction, grabbing weapons, grabbing gear, gathering into the trucks that had been brought for them and racing off as fast as they could. The Sinners finding them first had been one of the threats against them and everyone in the militia was trained to move fast. Fifteen minutes after they started, the last of them peeled out.
Remington looked at the final two remaining. Chrno looked beaten and Kate serene. "Will you be alright?" he asked them both. Kate looked down at Chrno and he nodded slowly. Remington bit his lip and drew the cross that became the hilt of his sword. "Take this," he urged the little demon. "You'll need it."
Chrno took the cross and looked up at him. "Thank you, Father."
Remington forced a smile. "I'll be seeing you. I have to go rescue Rosette. I think I still owe her one."
Chrno's eyes grew suddenly huge, life returning to them. "Thank you, Father!" he gasped and hugged him so tightly that he couldn't breathe for a moment.
"You're welcome," he managed and looked at Kate. "Good luck."
She nodded. "And to you. God bless."
He shook her hand, wanting to hug her but knowing she'd never allow it. She was the strongest woman he knew next to Rosette and he didn't envy her this. It had been her choice though. He just wished it had been Chrno's as well. "Both of you take care," he cautioned and hurried to his own car. He very much needed to not be there when Aion showed up. He drove away as fast as he safely could, telling himself he wouldn't look back.
He only did so once.
---000---
Aion flew to the airport, arriving there a half hour after he'd left the beach house. He could still feel Chrno, still in pain, and wondered what he was waiting for. Hopefully, not for him. Aion had no plans to underestimate the boy again. It was the main reason he left the others behind. He didn't want to risk any of them if this was a trap. Chrno was awake and aware without access to Rosette's astral. Either he'd found a new Contractor or he'd found new horns. If it was the latter, Aion was going to get out of there as fast as he could.
If it was the former, he was going to kill his new Contractor. Chrno wouldn't be able to put up much resistance then.
Below him, the airport appeared, one of the few places in San Francisco that hadn't been damaged by his earlier battle with Chrno. Large white trucks were pulling out of it, carrying supplies to the beleaguered city. It was a good sign that things were getting back to normal. It had been a long time since the house had been able to get tea without having to teleport to Japan for it, let alone milk or Joshua's favourite honey. Aion missed the conveniences. Being the strongest teleporter, the errands usually fell to him.
He swept over the airport, careful to keep out of sight as he honed in on one specific hangar. Chrno was behind it, sitting on a picnic table probably used by the men who worked there on their breaks. He was alone, sitting with his back to him, his shoulders hunched. He was in his smallest form, his long hair tied with a leather strip instead of that stupid ribbon he used to have. He felt depressed to Aion.
He also felt hornless. Landing lightly, Aion folded his wings and walked up to him, stepping over to the smaller demon's side. Chrno didn't even look up at him, staring down at his hands.
"Waiting for me?" Aion asked lightly, probing at his mind carefully. There was a wall there. Chrno definitely still belonged to someone.
"I guess," he answered. "Is Rosette okay?"
Aion rolled his eyes, rather tired of hearing about the girl. He probed a little farther, looking for a weakness. Without Rosette there to guard his mind, he'd find a crack. It was how he stole demons from Pandemonium after all. She'd just had too many to always focus on them all and he knew Chrno's mind very well.
"She's fine," he told him instead. "She's keeping Joshua company. Do you want to see her?" He reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, stroking it up along the side of his head to caress his ear, a relaxing move for a demon. "I'll take you to her."
Chrno shuddered, leaning into the touch. "I can't," he mourned.
That was surprising. "Why not?" Aion asked, getting suspicious.
"Because my new master says no."
Aion felt the shift, felt the astral that suddenly flowed to the other demon, and saw his eyes change. Chrno swung around, flaring into his demon form, and he had Remington's bloody great sword. Aion bellowed, throwing himself back, and sped time to avoid the blow.
Chrno slowed it.
He lost half his hair to the first swing of the astral blade. Landing on his back, he rolled and the point of the sword dug into the ground where he'd been standing. Chrno wrenched it free and in desperation, Aion lunged at him, grabbing the hilt of the sword itself and pushing it back. Chrno fought him and they strained against one another, time flickering around them as Aion had images of that fight he'd had with Joshua, where they both nearly tore reality apart.
"What is it with you and masters?" he screamed at him. "What are you, some kind of whore?!" Time roared again, straining. Whoever Chrno was getting his power from this time, he wasn't holding back at all. He'd never used his time powers with Rosette. He'd killed Mary trying it with her.
The time fight stopped, both of them pulling back from the stalemate, and Chrno shoved him away. "I have no choice!" he shouted. "No one ever gives me a damned choice! Just her and you took her away from me!" He slashed at him with the sword and Aion hauled his own out, his old horns flanking the hilt. It was slim and delicate looking, but strong enough to block the larger one swung at him. The impact sent a shock down his arms.
Now Aion understood where that pain he'd felt came from. Chrno didn't want his new master and they'd forced the issue. Whoever they were, they had no subtlety. Granted, Aion had no time for it himself at the moment either.
"Tell me where the Contractor is," he urged him as they battered away at each other, blocking blows or ducking them. "I'll kill him for you."
Chrno's face tightened, his ears quivering. "No more women," he gasped, "are going to die for me."
They both shot into the air, glowing golden with astral and still fighting. This fight was more concentrated than their last, less collateral damage happening, but Chrno was far more focused and Aion still wasn't sure he could kill him. He could feel his pain still, the hurt his Contractor caused him. He wanted to soothe that pain, get back in his mind, make him his. He'd make both Chrno and Rosette his and let them be together if he could, just to get his brother back.
First he had to cut off his power source though. Aion flew backwards, putting distance between them, and aimed his palm at the ground, firing a blast of energy. The hangar Chrno had been sitting outside exploded. Chrno's eyes widened, though his shape didn't waver. Missed.
"What are you doing?" he yelped.
"Killing your Contractor," he smirked. "She's got to be down there somewhere." If he hit her, Chrno would be vulnerable. He blew another hangar apart and Chrno lunged at him, howling.
---000---
The trucks raced through traffic, ignoring the lights and the people who dodged out of their way. They had no time to spare for anything, for if the Sinners realised there was a battle going on, they were finished.
Driving recklessly at the rear of the convoy, Remington looked in his rear view mirror and winced as he saw an explosion. Two tiny glowing figures twisted and clashed together above it. Chrno and Aion. Another explosion came and he started praying. Kate was underground by now, hiding in a storm sewer. Hopefully, that would be enough cover for her, since it looked like Aion had figured out what happened.
At least they wouldn't have to worry about him at the beach house. Not unless Chrno lost.
---000---
The master slave link didn't really go both ways. Aion could feel his Sinners, but none of them could really feel him, not unless he was right there and focused on them. Still, they moved through the house uncertainly, both Genai and Viede feeling somehow that something was wrong. He wasn't calling for them, but there was something off.
"I want to go look for him," Genai said suddenly, shifting at the breakfast table, his hands clasped around a mug of coffee that had long gone cold.
"Nope, nope," Shader sang. "He said to wait here. He doesn't want anyone to get in the way."
"What's he doing anyway?" Viede asked, frowning.
"Getting Chrno," she sang happily. "He's here. Aion went to bring him home."
Both demons stared at her, startled. "For real this time?" Viede asked doubtfully.
"For really real. He's coming home! Home, home, home!" She threw her arms around Fiore, who was passing with a mug of coffee for Joshua, and hugged her tightly. The doll tolerated it patiently. The other two demons grinned at each other. Aion wasn't the only one who wanted their lost family member back.
In the corner, Rosette shuddered and tried not to react. Chrno… she tried not to worry about him, or look out the window for Remington and the others. All she could do was wait, but it was unbelievably hard. Turning, Shader beamed at her and bounced out of the room. Rosette was still stressed, but she had to force down a smile. Even with the wards on, she could feel the edge of the cat's mind. She was still hers.
Maybe all of them would get out of this after all.
---000---
Shader skipped into her lab and over to the stasis tanks. She was a happy soul, content to make things and to obey orders. She'd been happy under Pandemonium, she was happy under Aion. Now she was happy under Rosette, not questioning her or looking ahead. To her mind, Rosette was the master now and if everything went perfectly, she'd take Viede and Genai too, and they'd all be a family together again, along with Chrno.
She didn't really think too much about Aion. Aion, Rosette, Pandemonium; they were all interchangeable.
Whistling, she logged into her computer and set it stop the tanks holding the five Acolytes. The tanks' humming stopped, the lids opening smoothly, and she laughed in delight as the five children emerged, coughing up goo and crying. There was one in particular that Rosette said to speak to.
"Azmaria Hendrick? Are you Azmaria Hendrick?" she asked one silver-haired girl.
"Y-yes," the girl managed and Shader hugged her warmly.
"It's so good to met you! I'm Shader and I'll be your rescuer for today." She waggled her tail and smiled at the children. "I hope you're ready to run, because I'm not a fighter." She giggled. "They're coming soon." She looked at the security monitors on the computer, all showing men and woman surrounding the house, crossing by the alarms she'd turned off. "In fact, they're just about here now."
---000---
Gasping in pain and covered in sweat, Kate clutched the open watch to her and crouched in the corner of the storm drain, trying to breathe evenly but only managing to pant. She could see her life draining out on the watch, the glowing dial rolling backwards with alarming speed. Everything she had was flowing out of her, going into Chrno to fuel his battle and she hoped he finished soon, or she'd have nothing more to give him.
Something exploded far above, shaking her tomb. "Lo," she coughed, "though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil…"
---000---
Kate was dying. Chrno could feel it, just like he'd felt it with Mary, after Aion stabbed his claws through his back and into her and he'd used her life to fuel their escape. He hadn't even known what it meant until she smiled at him and died.
Now he knew very well. Kate had only moments left and once she was gone, he would be helpless. Likely he would be dead, or so subsumed under Aion's will that he'd never know his own thoughts again. He'd probably be very happy that way, but his spirit would be dead.
Rosette… he thought desperately. He'd so wanted to see her again. To tell her everything in his heart... She knew. She'd always known.
Chrno dropped his guard and attacked, making no attempt to defend himself in his rush. Snarling, Aion brought his sword around and Chrno gasped as he ran onto it, the length of it punching right through him and out the back. Remington's sword struck then, driving through Aion's body, and the two demons were face-to-face, so close they could feel each other's breath as they stared at one another.
"Aion?" Chrno whimpered. "I'm sorry."
"I know," Aion coughed. "So am I." He put his arms around him, pushing the swords even deeper as he pulled his brother against him. Chrno put his own arms around him.
Together, they fell.
---000---
In the storm drain, Kate sagged against the wall, the watch tumbling out of her grip. The hands both stood at midnight.
---000---
Puzzled, Joshua looked towards the window. "Aion?" he asked.
"Is he back?" Viede asked, turning to look the way he was.
Rosette moved. Standing from her chair, she pulled the ward Shader had put around her neck off and stepped forward, slapping it against her brother's horns. He screamed, his eyes bulging as his entire body convulsed. Drawing her arm back, she slammed her elbow against the side of his head and he dropped.
Viede gaped at her, shocked. "How'd you get that off?" he gasped.
"Magic," Rosette told him and shifted to demon.
Fiore was already moving, pulling out a jewel as she moved to defend her master. Rosette braced herself and pulled a pistol out from underneath the loose shirt she wore. Fiore was yelling out her summoning command when Rosette blasted the gem out of her hand. Her second shot hit the doll between the eyes. Fiore reeled back and dropped.
Viede was still in shock. "What?" he gasped. Finally recognising the danger, he changed shape and came at her while Genai started shouting a warning from somewhere else in the house.
The windows exploded inward. Having expected it, Rosette dove for the floor while Viede tried to turn towards the new danger. A dozen Sacreds slammed into him, blowing him off his feet and into the wall. The soldier demon gasped, trying to scream, and a tall figure appeared at the shattered window.
"Good night," Remington told him and shot Viede in the face with a Gospel. The demon turned to ash.
Then Genai was there, leaping for the priest. Remington fell trying to get out of the way and a half dozen Sacreds from outside hit the blind demon. He shrieked and was airborne, outside and trying to escape. More shots sounded, firing at him. Hundreds of them.
"God bless the sniper," Remington gasped, pushing himself up.
"Father!" Rosette sobbed, throwing herself at him.
He hugged her warmly. "Thank God you're alright. Did they hurt you?"
"Not much." She pulled back, smiling. "We never could have done this without Shader."
"No, we couldn't have done it without you," he corrected. "I think we got them all. Are there any more?"
"Everyone else here is a good guy." She frowned. "Where's Chrno?"
"Fighting Aion," he told her truthfully and squeezed her when she paled. "It's his fight. We have other work to do. Who else is here?"
"Shader. She's freeing the Acolytes." She looked at her brother. "And him." He was still down from the ward, the special one Shader had prepared for her that she could take off. While Remington watched, Rosette crawled to his side and grasped one of his horns.
"What are you doing?" he asked her.
"This worked on Chrno," she growled and wrenched down, snapping the horn off at the base. Throwing it aside, she grabbed the other one and broke it off as well. That done, she stripped the ward off and looked down at him fearfully.
---000---
Joshua woke after what seemed a terrible nightmare. Looking up, he thought he was still dreaming since he saw his sister, only she was older, didn't have pigtails, and sprouted glorious golden wings out of her back.
"Rosette?" he gasped. "Is that you?"
Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Joshua!" she sobbed and threw herself at him. That was when Joshua realised he wasn't dreaming after all.
---000---
Frantically, Azmaria ran up the stairs, followed by the other children and Shader. She ran out into the kitchen and skidded to a halt. Everything in the house was full of bullet holes, the windows all broken and the furniture destroyed. Father Remington smiled at her from the living room, but Azmaria barely saw him. Instead she stared at a blonde-haired girl with half-demon, half-angel wings emerging from her back. She was hugging a blond man and crying.
"Rosette?" she gasped.
Rosette looked up and her eyes were the same blue the girl remembered. "Azmaria!" she gasped and held an arm open. Azmaria ran into it, hugging them both. "Azmaria, this is Joshua. Joshua, Azmaria."
The blond looked up at her blearily. "Hi," he managed. "Uh, Rosette, you're hugging me too tight. You're going to break a rib."
Azmaria laughed, not minding the tight hug at all. Her friend was all right, she was free, everything was all right. She looked around. "Where's Chrno?" she asked.
Rosette's grip tightened even more.
---000---
The police cars and fire trucks raced to the airport as the last explosion faded away, all of them dreading another disaster like the one that had levelled half the city. Two hangars were on fire, rubble strewn everywhere, and at the centre of the mess, they found a crater in the centre of the tarmac, lit by something inside.
"There's someone down there!" the lead cop shouted, leaping out of his car and running towards it. He reached the edge and stopped. "Oh, crap. Get the medics!"
Two people lay there, a man and a boy wrapped in a close embrace that would have been loving if they hadn't both been lying in a pool of blood with swords piercing their bodies. The boy clung to the man, his face hidden while the man held him with one arm, the other outstretched with the palm open. A small stone lay in the centre, spreading its glow over them both.
"Mary, Mother of God," the man breathed and went to see if either of them could be saved.
THE ENDMore coming. Review! Review!