D.K.Chan here and here's the next chapter, I want to thank demon-boy-Chrno for his review! I'll be sure to update as fast as possible!
R: Wow you're already starting on the next chapter? Amazing!
C: Now, now Rosette, she actually has ideas for this chapter.
DK: You got that right! Although I forgot some of them.
SK: Great…
ER: Hey do I die in this fanfic?
DK: Why do you ask Remington?
ER: You seem to want to kill me… -looks scared-
SK: I won't allow anyone in MY order to be killed!
DK: I'm afraid you have no say in it Sister Kate, HOWEVER, no you don't die Remington.
C: Then who dies? –worried-
R: DON'T YOU EVEN THINK OF KILLING OFF CHRNO!
DK: … why would I kill you two off? I love you guys! –Glomps Rosette and Chrno- Anyways, it's going to be… well, you'll just have to find out.
SK: Ok, right, on with the chapter then Sister DK.
R: Whoa, whoa, whoa! When did she become a sister?!
C: -sweat drops- whatever, on with the chapter. –Pushes everyone off stage but Sister Kate-
To Give the Gift of Life
Chapter Two: To Learn the Future
Sister Kate sat at her desk, her chin resting on her folded hands. Sister Rosette and Chrno had been gone too long, something wasn't right. She worried for the young Sister. Though she didn't show it, Rosette was like a daughter to her. The daughter Kate was supposed to have, but lost due to a miscarriage. That was partly the reason why she became a Sister at the Magdalene Order.
She thought of Remington, who was, at the moment, with the Elder. All she knew was that the Elder needed help with a new bullet. The old coot and his new inventions, though useful, became pretty dangerous when he had Rosette test them out. Kate thought longingly about Father Remington. Yes she was a Sister, and celibate at that, but it didn't damper her feelings for the man. There was really no explanation for it, but the man had an angelic grace to him.
There was a knock at her door, Sister Kate sighed. "Enter." Claire, Mary and Anna stepped into the room, blocking her sight from the door way.
"Um, Sister Kate," Mary began, "we have word that Rosette and Chrno are back. Someone said they saw Chrno flying with Rosette in his arms."
Kate jumped to her feet, alarmed, "is she alright?" she shook her head, of course she was. "Never mind, have them come here once they land. Dismissed." With that the three sisters left the room.
"She didn't seem too worried." Whispered Claire.
"Normally when Rosette comes back in Chrno's arms it means something bad happened." Anna stated looking behind her shoulder to make sure Sister Kate was not spying on them.
"Whatever the case is, I'm sure both of them are fi—" there were loud gun shots from outside. The three sisters ran towards a window and saw Militia personnel firing at what looked like Chrno and Rosette.
Anna opened the window and shouted at the oblivious fools, "stop you idiots! That's Chrno and Rosette!"
"Sister," one of the militia yelled, "there are two more with them, we think they hurt Chrno and Rosette!"
"YOU IDIOTS," Claire screamed, "IT WON'T MATTER IF YOU KILL THEM ALONG WITH ROSETTE AND CHRNO!!!!!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, jumping out of the first story window. "CEASE FIRE NOW YOU BLUNDERING MORONS!!!!!"
Startled, the other militia members ceased fire and looked at the angry sister. Claire had never been more afraid for Rosette. She was like a true sister to her and she didn't want to see that sister pumped full of sacreds. The figure in the distance was huddled into a ball of what looked like wings.
"Why didn't you let me help?" Claire made out the voice to be Chrno's.
"We're all already injured Chrno, there's no need for you to take any more damage than you already have." Answered a female voice, so the militia was right, there was another devil with them, but she had protected Chrno and Rosette.
"What is with all the firing out here? I demand to know what you fools are thinking! You could have injured someone!" Sister Kate came storming out of the big oak doors of the Order, fuming at all the commotion.
"Uh, Abbess, we uh…" she hushed the man.
"There's no excuse for firing on Sister Rosette! All of you are dismissed, I'll see to your punishment later." She stomped over to the winged shield where she knew Chrno and Rosette would be. "You can stop shielding them now, the militia members have been sent back to their quarters, they'll be dealt with properly later."
"Nazeshitaka sorerano kyouki no soakuhin ha watashitachi woka kougeki suru?! (Why did those crazy bastards attack us?!)" Cried Vincent in his child like voice.
Sister Kate looked at the now visible devil holding a child Chrno, a flustered and cursing Rosette and another child like Chrno. "What did he say?" Kate's eyes were wide.
Carmen let Rosette, Chrno and Vincent onto the ground, upon the moment his feet hit the ground, Carmen hit Vincent upside the head, "baka! Stop speaking Japanese, they can't understand a word you're saying!"
"Would you PLEASE, stop hitting me upside the head then?" asked the boy, rubbing yet another knot on his head.
Breathing heavily Carmen rolled her eyes, "sorry about the commotion Abbess Kate, I tried to show them I wasn't doing anything wrong, I set Rosette down and they started firing at us." Her breathing was ragged, her wings were ripped from all the sacreds, and parts of her shoulders were pumped full of the little bastard bullets.
"I'm sorry for their incompetence, I don't even know why they were here." Kate sighed loudly, she was going to have to go to the head of the militia branch and see to it that she got an explanation. "What took you so long to get back Sister Rosette?"
Rosette gaped at Kate, she was being calm, but there were two more devils inside order grounds. Was this the real Sister Kate? Rosette began to examine the older woman, much to Kate's annoyance, "would you stop that and be serious Sister Rosette! What took you so long to get back here?"
This time Chrno spoke up, realizing Rosette was too busy trying to figure out what was wrong with Kate. Truth be told, he was curious too. "The two devils we were sent after were too strong for the sacreds and the gospel, unless in extremely close range, they have no effect. We were forced to take shelter at a hotel to regain our bearings when the two devils attacked us. Rosette shot them both with a gospel, but they'll be back."
"Can you tell me what they looked like, what their abilities might be?" As Kate talked, Carmen fell to her knees.
"They have… some kind of poison on their claws and weapons…" her breathing was still ragged, matter of fact, both the small male devil and Carmen looked to be breathing hard.
"What happened to you three?" she questioned her eyes wide with worry.
"Sister Rosette… never got hit… she'll be fine…" Vincent staggered to the left a little, holding his shoulder.
"Abbess Kate, Vincent was stabbed in the chest by a sword, we believe it was poisoned, Vincent's hands were also sliced." Carmen was now struggling to breathe.
"Carmen, what's wrong?" Vincent looked at her worriedly, something wasn't right, those bullets shouldn't have had THIS much effect on her.
"The female must have nicked me with her tail or her claws, the sacreds aren't helping matters." Sister Kate walked over to the female devil.
Taking out a pocket knife, Kate located the bullet holes and set to work painfully getting the bullets out, "sacreds weren't designed to release all the holy water at once, that's just something that the Elder couldn't get them to do, so instead, it releases the water slowly, like a poison." She informed them as she got the last bullet out of her left shoulder. "We'll need to take blood samples, which should give us a sample of this poison. We can use that to make an antidote for the three of you." As she spoke, Rosette supported Chrno, whose vision was blurry.
"We'll tell you… all we can…" even with Rosette supporting him, Chrno collapsed, unconscious and in danger.
"Chrno!" Rosette cried, kneeling to the ground, trying to support her friend. The wound in his stomach was horrifying.
"Sister Kate! We brought the medical team!" Anna yelled to the Abbess, "over here guys, you need to get these three!" Mary was running with the medical team, carrying what she could to help them out.
When the team was close enough to realize they were going to be helping two unknown devils, they became hesitant, "what are you waiting for? Get these three to the infirmary!" bellowed Kate angrily.
Rosette watched numbly as they took the three devils that saved her from serious harm and death. Why was she being so useless right now? Tears welled up in her ocean blue eyes. She was always the cause of someone getting hurt. Sister Kate kneeled next to Rosette, understanding that the poor girl felt responsible for the situation. However, while the blond was sobbing, Kate took her pocket knife and dug into the girls arm. She got hit by a sacred somehow. Luckily, Rosette didn't feel a thing, but she would need a bandage.
"Come Sister Rosette, let's get to the infirmary, we need to bandage your arm." Rosette looked at Kate with a surprised look, then turned her eyes to the indicated arm. There she saw the bullet hole, how had she not felt it?
-----In the Infirmary-----
"All three are unconscious at the moment, what the hell happened to Chrno? He has a freaking hole in his stomach!" The Elder nodded towards the Doctor, indeed what HAD happened to these young people?
"You five can go get some rest, I'll take the blood samples." Edward, also known as Elder said, washing his hands in a near by sink. "I take it you don't trust the other two devils here, so leave the rest to me, I'm pretty sure I can find an antidote for them."
The five of them nodded, they really didn't trust the other two. Something just didn't seem right to them, why would devils help Chrno the Sinner? As they left Kate and Rosette entered. "Ah, so you two finally made it here?" Kate nodded, Rosette stood shocked in the door way, the injuries they sustained were much worse than she had originally thought.
"Don't look so pale Sister Rosette!" laughed the Elder, "these three are strong, they're merely resting. I'll have an antidote whipped up in no time. But I'll need a sample of the poison for my new bullet." Again the old coot laughed.
"You shouldn't be thinking of new bullets when they're hurt so badly, Elder!" Rosette cried, angry at the Elder for being so thoughtless.
"Ah but Rosette, I'm working on the antidote first, once I'm sure they're all fixed up is when I shall begin my work on the new bullet." Edward looked at Kate who looked worriedly at the three on the clinic cots, "what is this Sister Kate? Do I sense that you care for these three devils? Is it so that you trust these three? The other small lad and the female, whom you have never known before now, you trust?" teased the old man.
"Just hurry up with the antidote Elder, we need to know what happened." Scolded Kate, instructing Rosette to sit on a cot next to Chrno's while bandaging her arm.
"I can tell you what I saw." She offered sheepishly, her eyes down cast. Sister Kate kept silent, a signal for Rosette to continue, "when we got to the area where the two devils were first sited, the whole entire place was destroyed, that's when we saw Carmen and Vincent, we thought it was them that had destroyed everything, but they were being chased by two silver haired devils, one had short hair, blood red eyes and wings. The female looks pretty much the same. I guess they're brother and sister," she shivered at the memory of the two together, "Vincent's horn got injured somehow, and he took shelter with me and Chrno, and was shouting in Japanese.
"I fired my rounds at them, and even used a gospel or two until I ran out of what I had on me. Nothing worked on them, so Carmen used herself as a distraction so we could get into the car and get away." The blond nun's hands clenched the fabric of her habit.
"Why didn't Chrno try to do anything to help." Questioned Sister Kate.
"He wanted me to save my time…" out of nowhere Rosette gasped, "the gospels! Carmen said they could deflect the bullets and aim them back at me. They must have some kind of shield! They must not have had their shields up when they attacked us at the hotel."
"Shield?" Kate whispered to herself, interested.
"Anyways, Vincent was spouting stuff in Japanese, we didn't have a clue what he was saying. Carmen told us to get into the car and drive off while she distracted the devils, so we did. But one of them slashed off the top half of the car, and after that I drove out of there as fast as I could." Rosette winced, she thought she'd get killed for destroying the car, but noticing no imminent danger coming to her, she continued.
"I guess Vincent and Carmen worked for a while so we had enough money to stay at a hotel to work out what we were going to do, but the devils found us. Vincent said something about them tracking Carmen's blood," Rosette thought on it a moment then realized what he said when he said, 'blood.' "The male tried to attack me with his tail, but stuck Chrno in the stomach. After that the female attacked, Carmen fended her off… then the male threw his sword at me, but Vincent let it pierce his chest, that's how his hands got sliced… after that Carmen flew us out of there." After Rosette was finished, Sister Kate closed her eyes in concentration.
"I see, thank you Rosette," Kate put the finishing touches on the bandage and turned to Edward. "How are they Elder?"
"It wasn't too hard to find an antidote, it looks like this was the poison stolen from the poison control lab two weeks ago." He answered, giving a shot to the three unconscious devils.
"You mean those two were the ones that broke into that place? Why would they do that?" Rosette questioned, looking at Edward.
"Who knows, but these three will be fine. Now that I have a sample of both the poison and some blood, I can create my new bullet." Edward smiled wildly, holding up the phials of poison and blood.
Rosette chucked a plastic bin at the old man, "how can you be so focused on that damned bullet?" her anger was rising.
He merely chuckled, "because Sister Rosette," he began, "this bullet I'm working on could kill Aion, and also purify Joshua's body of the evil Aion has been feeding him."
Rosette looked at him, wide eyed and shocked, "you mean we could really save Joshua from Aion?" this was too good to be true, but Rosette was hopeful.
"With the four components of this new bullet, you will be able to destroy Aion. With the three components of the second bullet, you'll be able to save Joshua. Be warned though Rosette, the second bullet will be strictly made for you to use on Joshua." He smiled when he interested gaze was on him.
"Well, what are the components?" she questioned.
"That is not to discuss now, those three will be waking up soon." Edward bid his good nights and told the two women to tell the three he said good night to them as well and left, gazing at the phials in his hands.
Rosette's eyes followed the Elder out the door, sighing, she turned her eyes back towards Chrno. Her fists were still balled up on her knees. So many things were going through her mind now. Could the Elder really make a bullet that could help her save her brother, AND help her and Chrno kill Aion? The blond nun's eyes began to tear up, first her brother was taken from her, and now her best friend was seriously hurt along with two others who saved her life. Unconsciously she moved to a seat next to Chrno's bed. She crossed her arms and laid them upon the bed, looking at Chrno's face. He looked peaceful while asleep, not as many emotions conflicting on his gentle face.
She watched his face for a while. As her thoughts ran with her she began to cry silently. So as to not alarm Sister Kate, she buried her face in her arms, and eventually fell asleep. While Rosette cried herself to sleep, Kate busied herself by changing the bandages on Carmen and Vincent. She thought it best to leave Chrno alone… for now. Carmen's wounds were minor, but the Sacreds along with the poison made it impossible for her to heal on her own. Vincent was worse than Carmen, but he'd be fine. Most of the poison on the sword went into his hands before it could enter his chest or lungs.
She looked over at Chrno, he had the worst wound. He's taken some pretty big blows before, but… not only was a hole created in his STOMACH, but also, he was poisoned. Kate began to idly wonder, since Chrno was poisoned, would the contract somehow move that poison to Rosette? This worried her, sure a devil could withstand the poison, but barely. Would Rosette fair better? Or would she fair worse than a devil could with that poison? She began to wonder if maybe she should keep the hot headed blond nun within Order walls to make sure the poison wasn't affecting her. Then again, what would stop her from sneaking off?
-----Few hours later-----
Sister Kate had left the infirmary to search for the Militia head to chew him out for sending the militia in without her consent.
Rosette was still asleep at Chrno's side, her face buried in her arms. Carmen and Vincent were still asleep when Chrno woke. Chrno looked up at the ceiling of the infirmary in a daze. He didn't remember how he'd gotten there. His eyes half open, he slowly sat up, wincing and clutching his stomach, until he felt something bump his side. Crimson eyes lazily drifted towards his left, which landed on a sleeping Rosette.
Once he realized who it was sleeping half on the cot he was on, his face flushed a deep pink hue. The poor devil made to move a little ways away from her, but found it hurt too much to move. A small moan of pain escaped from his lips, which caused the sleeping nun to wake. Desperately looking for a place to hide, or maybe an exit, Chrno leaned away from Rosette. In doing so, Rosette became aware he was awake. Out of reaction, Chrno leaned over too far and fell off the side of the bed onto his side, which caused him to yell loudly in pain.
"Chrno!" cried Rosette, rushing over the bed to his side, "you ok?"
She looked at him worriedly, afraid he might pass out from the pain. "ugghh…"
"Here, let me help you up," Rosette grabbed Chrno's arm, and helped him to his feet.
A faint blush crossed the little devils face, "thanks Rosette…" he then hopped back up onto the bed, the brief noise hadn't awoken the other invalids in the room. "I haven't had a hole in my stomach for a while…"
Rosette half chuckled and half sobbed, "don't act like it's nothing Chrno… you got seriously hurt…" her golden bangs covered her eyes, tears welling up in her shadowed eyes.
"Rosette… I'm jake, seriously." He sheepishly waved his hands in front of his face, "it's nothing really…"
"You got hurt because I couldn't do a thing!" the words exploded from her lips, and once she said them she fell to her knees, sobbing. "I couldn't protect my own brother, I can't protect my friends, and I can't even protect myself!"
Despite the pain he felt in his stomach, Chrno jumped to the floor and took Rosette's hands in his own, "that's not true Rosette. You protected Joshua, for as long as you could. There was no way you could have protected him from Aion. You're more than able to protect yourself, you do it pretty much everyday, otherwise you'd never have survived being around Sister Kate. You don't have to worry about me, I'll survive, and you know you can trust everyone else to be able to keep themselves well too." His smile was sweet and comforting, his eyes shining a warm smile.
"I just want to protect my friends Chrno. I just want my brother back… is that too much to ask?" tears spilled onto her hands.
The small devil embraced the sobbing nun, she's had to deal with too much in her life, and it wasn't fair. "You do protect us Rosette… everyday." He could feel the young woman sniffle against his chest.
A tint of pink crossed Rosette's cheeks, she averted her eyes out of embarrassment and somehow came across Chrno's wound, "you should be lying down Chrno."
With a silent sigh, the violet haired devil let Rosette go from his embrace, "fine, but you got to promise me you won't beat yourself up about this, ok?" he questioned, looking her firmly in the eyes.
Agreeing with a silent nod, she helped the crimson eyed devil onto the cot, "how the hell do you guys survive injuries like that?" she questioned, once Chrno was lying down.
He chuckled, "we devils are just made to withstand such injuries as that." Rosette frowned, it wasn't funny how lightly he took it.
"You were still seriously hurt Chrno, you shouldn't laugh about it." Her crimson eyed partner sighed once more, he seemed to be doing that a lot now.
"I know Rosette, it's just hard not to take it lightly. I've been through worse." His eyes were closed, but he could feel Rosette concentrating hard on him.
When he opened his eyes he saw Rosette, her brows furrowed, concentrating on his face suspiciously, "you're giving in too easily Chrno… what's the deal?" she questioned him.
A sweat drop formed on the back of his head, 'maybe the fact that giving in so easily makes it easier to control myself?' "What are you talking about Rosette?" he gave a nervous chuckle.
Narrowing her eyes at him, she turned slightly to the right, "hm… never mind then." She smiled, "you should get some rest, it might help you regain your strength faster."
Her smile was so beautiful to the small devil, it devoured him, made him want to so badly touch his lips to hers. Not allowing his emotions to show themselves, he smiled sweetly at her, "you're right." He chuckled.
"Then it's settled, you go to sleep and I'll watch over you!" the fiery nun was on her feet, one balled fist on her hip, the other pointing in the air.
These actions caused Chrno to blush, which luckily, went unnoticed by the fired up nun, "ok then…" he paused for a moment, praying to God, once more, that he didn't do anything stupid while he was asleep, "good night Rosette." After she bid him good night, Chrno closed his eyes, and willed himself to sleep.
Sitting quietly as her devil partner fell asleep, deciding that just sitting there was boring, she began to examine her surroundings. White counter, silver sink, white cupboards, creepy tools and needles in cases, white drawers, speckled gray floors, white cots. More odd instruments used for medical things, bins where used needles and other things were discarded, a stack of pink plastic bins, a tanned devil with dark blue hair, chubby arms, smalls fangs slightly showing from under his top lip, he was wearing similar clothes to what Chrno wore.
Looking around more her eyes landed on the second devil. She was curled up on her side, her lavender tinted wings folded. Her hair was a slightly dark green color, her skin was tanned, but not as much as the two male devils. The blond nun was surprised that she had just noticed this about the two devils. So much had been going on she must have forgotten to actually really look at them. Perhaps their personalities were just too much like her's and Chrno's, she got thrown off and paid more attention to that. The fact was, she didn't know, and thinking about that gave her a headache.
Instead, she pondered on the two devils that nearly killed Chrno and the others. What were they after? How had they gotten to that poison? What exactly did they want with the poison? They were strong enough, they didn't need to slowly kill someone, or even weaken them with poison. They had shields that protected them from sacreds and gospels at long range.
Deeply, she sighed, she needed something to do to get her mind off of everything. She was feeling guilty enough about all that had happened, she didn't need to have the time to think about it even more. Closing her eyes, she lightly rubbed her temples. For some reason, her head throbbed.
"Master Rosette, allow me to help you." A female voice came out of nowhere beside her.
Rosette jumped and nearly fell out of her chair, she looked to Carmen's cot and then to her side, where she saw the dark green haired devil smiling a cat smile at her. In which case, Carmen's face was so close to her face, she really did fall out of her chair with a loud thump, "geeze Carmen, you scared the crap outta me!" the poor nun rubbed her soar behind.
"Forgive me Master Rosette, I did not mean to frighten you." She reached out a clawed hand to help the girl up.
With a small grunt of effort, Rosette stood and dusted herself off, "why do you keep calling me, 'Master Rosette?'" she questioned.
Bright lavender eyes blinked wildly at the blond nun, "what do you mean? I call you Master because that is what you are."
"How am I your Master? I just met you, plus, I don't want to be anyone's Master."
"Vincent and myself shall be giving our astral to you and Master Chrno, therefore, you two are our Master's." she stated, bowing.
Rubbing her temples rhythmically, she looked at Carmen with one open eye, "do us a favor, and don't call us Master. No being has the right to rule over another, in any situation."
"Isn't that how your contract works?" she questioned.
"Not at all!" she bellowed, "I work with Chrno and he works with me, neither of us control the other. That's not how we work!"
Carmen smiled warmly, "you truly are an Angel Miss Rosette."
"Please, just call me Rosette, and how am I an Angel?" Rosette was still looking at Carmen with one open eye.
The lavender eyed devil smiled, closing her eyes she moved behind the worn out nun and began to massage her temples, "you'll know what I mean soon enough, Rosette."
The devil smiled to herself, everyone realized it but Rosette herself. The reason Rosette was treated the way she was in her beginning years in the convent. Why Remington always went easy on her. Everyone knew why all this was, except Rosette. Sure, Carmen didn't know EXACTLY what went on, but she and Vincent got the gist of it from Remington. It was a wonder that Rosette didn't realize who she descended from, didn't realize what she was.
Sighing contently, Rosette relaxed her body, "I just don't get so many things Carmen. I hate being human sometimes, I'm never able to help where help is really needed."
"You're time to help will soon be near Rosette." Smiled the gentle devil, "when that time comes, you'll be able to help others till the day you die."
The words the she-devil spoke confused the nun. However, deciding that relaxing was better than a migraine, she nodded at her words, "whatever you say Carmen."
The two stood there for a few minutes, Rosette relaxing, Carmen smiling. Chrno may realize what Rosette is, but he didn't realize his fate. It was so cute she wanted to scream, but better judgment told her to keep her mouth shut. Vincent was slowly coming to at the other end of the room. Being connected as they were, it was easy for Carmen to tell this, yet she made no move to show that she noticed. Silently the small male devil made his way, soundlessly, towards Carmen and an unaware Rosette. When he was at the nun's feet, he grinned up at Carmen, who grinned also.
Rosette was now sitting in her chair, relaxing as Carmen continued to massage her temples. Vincent stepped to the tips of his toes, his face inches from Rosette's… "HIYA MASTER!" cried the little devil.
"WAAAAH!" Startled out of her calm state, Rosette fell over out of her chair and hit the floor with a thud.
Vincent fell over, laughing his ass off, while Carmen stood there, wanting to bust up laughing, but settled for a strained giggle. Rosette's hand was clasped over her heart, 'that little… he nearly gave me a heart attack…' thought the nun, breathing heavily. Amazingly, Chrno didn't wake through the noise and commotion, however… Sister Kate DID come in and see what they were up too. When she saw the display she backed out slowly and acted like nothing had happened. Not like she knew what happened anyways.
All too soon, Vincent's laughter quickly died. Rosette hit the little devil upside the head, her face red with anger, "you think it's funny to scare the shit outta me Vincent?"
Laughing nervously, Carmen hooked her arms under Rosette's arms and held her there, away from Vincent, "now, now Rosette, Vincent was just… playing around!"
"Yeah, just chill Miss Rosette!" defended the blue haired devil, putting his hands up in front of his face in defense.
"Don't 'Miss Rosette' me, you little twerp! I'll show you playing around!" Flames flared in her eyes as she struggled against the full grown devil that was restraining her.
"Please Rosette, calm down! Y—" Carmen was cut off by a small groan.
"Ugh… what's with all the noise?" The groan had come from Chrno, who was trying his best to sit up while rubbing his head, hoping to ease a headache.
Rosette didn't notice, she was still struggling against Carmen, "let me go! I gotta kill that runt for scaring me like that!"
Crimson eyes blinked rapidly, "uhh…" lost beyond belief, Chrno looked to the struggling blue eyed beauty.
"Oh c'mon, can't you take a joke? I didn't mean anything by it!" Vincent began to unconsciously move backwards, away from the pissed off nun.
"Come here and say that to my face!" Ordered Rosette, struggling even more.
Chrno sat in a dazed, blinking slowly, as if he was confused by the situation. It took a minute before Chrno realized the nun was pissed, "Rosette, what happened?"
Concern in the small devils voice caught Rosette's immediate attention. For a moment Rosette calmed down and looked at Chrno, but the flames soon flared, "this little twerp got it in his mind it'd be HILARIOUS to scare the crap outta me!" she glared at the nervously smirking devil.
"Honestly, it was just a joke!" deep purple eyes pleaded understanding.
"Rosette, you should calm down, we have more pressing matters than pummeling him for scaring you. We have to find out exactly what we're dealing with." Chrno jumped off the cot, which caused Rosette to gasp.
Sensing the young blond woman was thoroughly distracted, Carmen let down her arms. Noticing she was free, she kneeled at Chrno's side, "you shouldn't be moving Chrno! You're still really hurt!"
"Shouldn't you be saying that about me too? I got stabbed in the lung!" Complained Vincent, upon which Carmen quickly clapped her hand over his mouth and drug him to another part of the room.
Chrno offered her his infamous smile, the smile that said, he was pretending to be alright with everything and anything, but really, he was in a lot of pain, mentally and physically, "I'm fine Rosette, you worry too much."
Golden bangs covered ocean blue eyes, "don't I have reason to worry?"
Violent locks swayed gently as Chrno turned himself more towards Rosette, he could smell the salt in her tears starting to form, "don't worry, it'll be jake, Rosette. There's no need to worry about anything."
Her head immediately snapped up so she could look Chrno squarely in the eyes, "Don't worry even though I'm gonna cause you to get hurt again? Don't worry, even though those two devils are going to come after us while we're down? How can I not worry Chrno, I'm getting everyone hurt, I don't want to be the cause of pain here! I've caused myself too much pain already…"
Chrno bit the inside of his lip, what could he say to make her feel better, even if it was slightly so? Had he forbidden himself from revealing his feelings, just to let them go like this? No, he could reveal one thing, the one thing, a best friend, and something more would do for someone they cared for. Crimson eyes closed slowly in deep thought. He had to word this right, so as to not make any conflict. As he opened his eyes, he took a deep, slow and calming breath.
"Rosette…" he paused for a moment, trying to figure how to put what he wanted to say in even better words, "regardless of any situation, whether I protect you from getting hurt, or just protecting you because I feel I need to, I never regret it. Pain doesn't last forever, wounds heal, but if you got killed, because I didn't chance a few minor injuries… that physical wound would heal, but the pain of losing you wouldn't." he lightly grabbed her hands, holding them in his own, "there's no cure for death Rosette, if you died, there'd be no bringing you back."
Blue eyes averted themselves to the nearby sink, "but still… those devils are going to come back…"
"This Order has been dealing with devils long before we came here Rosette, they know how to handle themselves. I know you worry, and that's fine, but you shouldn't let your worry consume you." Deep crimson eyes smiled with understanding.
Tears fell in streams from Rosette's eyes, "Chrno, I just don't know what to do anymore!" she wrapped her arms tightly around the little devils neck, her tears falling quickly. As she sobbed into his shoulder, something in his words got her thinking.
'Regardless of any situation, whether I protect you from getting hurt, or just protecting you because I feel I need to, I never regret it.'
The simple sentence replayed itself in her mind, over and over until another thing he said struck her hard.
'Pain doesn't last forever, wounds heal, but if you got killed, because I didn't chance a few minor injuries… that physical wound would heal, but the pain of losing you wouldn't.'
The last part of that sentence repeated itself over and over.
A light bulb went off in Rosette's head. Chrno really cared about her, more than just a friend would care. Her first instinct was to panic and pull away, but she thought better of it.
Said violet haired devil had never done anything to harm her. Had never done anything to violate her, or to make her uncomfortable. Matter of fact, he was always there for her, always comforted her. Subtle things began to pelt her mind, as she thought back at all the instances where she should have noticed the signs. The way he was so protective of her, the way he blushed when she merely smiled at him. How he worried more for her than himself, and somehow ended up taking all the blows that should have landed on her.
More signs began to reveal themselves to her. The way she acted when around Chrno, how she always teased him. She got defensive when it came to him, she'd fight when Chrno was in trouble. The more she thought, the more it was clear to her. Chrno meant as must to her as she meant to Chrno. She half laughed and half sobbed, this couldn't be happening. She vaguely wanted to stay oblivious to the fact, but scolded herself for thinking that's how she wanted to be. Somehow, she knew that she had already known from the beginning.
'I love Chrno, plain and simple.' The answer seemed to come so easily to her, she truly loved Chrno. The fact scared her, yet it also comforted. However, she wasn't sure how that made her feel.
Quickly, the blond woman came out of her reverie, blinking, she looked at Chrno, "why are you shaking me?"
"R-Rosette… your… your back!" Chrno's eyes were wide with surprise.
However, ocean blue eyes couldn't read what the surprise was for, what did he mean? Of course she was back, she never left, "what are you talking about? Chrno, what's going—" a small chuckle interrupted her sentence.
"There's nothing going on, descendant of Mary Magdalena." Carmen kneeled next to Chrno and Rosette, a serene smile upon her face, "you have finally realized a truth that allowed you to tap into your dormant powers. Powers you got from your Grandmother, Mary Magdalena."
The two, Chrno's hands still holding tightly onto Rosette's arms, Rosette's arms still somewhat locked around his neck, stared at the dark green haired devil, "excuse me?"
"What do you mean? Mary never had a child!" Chrno blushed, he may have felt that way towards Mary at one point in his life, but he had never done any such thing to her!
"Not in her mortal being, no, she never had a child. But after she died, she was reincarnated into a young mother's womb. There, her powers grew. Her parents knew that she was a child of God, that they had been blessed with the reincarnation of an Apostle. However, she could not use the powers stored inside her. She, from a family of poor, yet kind farmers, married a very kind man, who gave her a beautiful daughter, and a handsome son. Both children were apostles, the boy's powers didn't lay dormant as his older sisters did. Prophecy tells that her powers would only reveal themselves when she came to the conclusion of one truth, and one truth only."
Carmen smiled at the two, their disbelieving faces amused her, Vincent sat next to Carmen, "care to share that truth with us, Miss Rosette?" he chuckled, even if he didn't get any reaction from her other than a vacant stare.
Rosette was in a state of shock, as was Chrno, but she still didn't get why Chrno had said she was back. "wha—?" before she could get more than that past her dry lips, Carmen pointed to a full body mirror that was sitting in the corner of the room.
Shakily, the blond headed nun stood on two shaky legs and walked over to the mirror. What she saw stunned her. Visible in the mirror, were two, pure white feathered wings, similar to the ones she had seen sprout from Azmaria's back. She quickly turned to Carmen.
"But how—?"
"You are Mary Magdalena's granddaughter, you have inherited her powers of the last Apostle, one that was never said to exist." Slowly, the dark green haired devil stood up and walked over to Rosette, placing her hand on her right shoulder. "I know it's a lot to take in, but you'll get over the shock soon. Chrno will help you out immensely."
With that, Vincent motioned for Carmen to follow him out of the room. Once they left, Rosette fell to her knees, and finally fell to sit on the floor, her wings disappearing. "I don't… Chrno… what happened to me?"
Bewildered and more than slightly confused, Chrno beckoned her to sit with him on the cot. Slowly, she got up, and walked over to him, numbly sitting on the cot next to him. "I can't say for sure, I'm not exactly sure what they were talking about when they said prophecy."
"Why did this have to happen? I don't understand it, Chrno!" Covering her face with her hands, Chrno held her close to his chest.
"Don't worry Rosette, you'll get through this." He held her close, something felt… different. He felt, taller.
"This is gonna change so many things Chrno! Nothing will ever be the same!" She sobbed willingly into his chest, was it her, or did he somehow grow?
Curiously, crimson eyes looked down at tanned hands, at once he gasped, "what the—! I'm in my adult form!"
Immediately, both of them shot back to look at the pocket watch, it wasn't moving any faster, it actually seemed like… "Chrno… it stopped, the pocket watch stopped!"
Attentively, Chrno ran his clawed fingers across the watches surface, "I wonder why it stopped. You're feeling ok, right Rosette?" he gave her a worried look.
"Other than being freaked out by the watch stopping and my having wings and all the other crap that's happened today… no, I'm fine." For once, Rosette was being quite serious.
Taking a deep breath, Chrno willed his body to return to it's smaller form. When he opened his eyes, however, he was still in his adult form. "I don't get it, I can't return to my child form."
A gentle giggle sounded from behind the two, whom automatically turned to see what it came from. What their eyes landed on, they would never have been prepared for. There, before their very eyes, was Mary Magdalena, gently hovering in the air in front of them. Her long golden hair was flowing gracefully down her back, her smooth pale skin seemed to glow, and the blue of her eyes seemed more intense with the paleness of her skin and the white of her dress.
"I can answer those questions for you, my beautiful granddaughter." Mary smiled warmly at the two, who only seemed to be able to gape at her.
"Mary?" Chrno was at a loss.
"Wha…"
"I know you both are confused, but I can only meet you and Chrno when he's in his true form, because that is the only form I had known him to be in when I was alive. Don't worry, while I'm here, none of your time will be wasted Rosette." She smiled at their bewildered stares.
"Why are you here?" Rosette finally found the words to ask.
"I'm here to help you through. Rosette, Carmen used the word Apostle, right?" The young blond woman nodded, "I think a better term would be… Earth created Angel." Both Chrno and Rosette blinked a few times, "my daughter, your mother, gave birth to you. You were given my powers, powers that have been building up for two generations at least. Those dormant powers were awakened by a truth, a truth that can combat all evil. With that truth, and Chrno by your side, along with some outside help from Carmen, Vincent and the Order, you will be able to rid the world of Pandemonium and Aion alike."
Tears formed in Rosette's eyes once more, "why me though? Haven't I gone through enough? I don't need anymore changes in my life!"
"There is no real change in your life Rosette, merely just the fact that you now know who you truly are." Mary silently landed on the ground, "yes, things will change, but for the better, I assure you my granddaughter."
"Mary… I'm still confused, what truth did she learn?"
Mary smiled at the panicked look on Rosette's face, "that is not for me to tell you Chrno. In due time, you will find out by Rosette."
"How are my powers going to help us beat our worst enemies? Besides being freaked out, I don't feel any different."
"I'm not the one that shall explain that to you. I'm sure Ewan and the Elder can explain that to you." She smiled at Rosette's gaping mouth.
"Um… how would they know?"
"How else should an Earth created Angel learn than to learn from another Earth created Angel?"
Chrno and Rosette's eyes bulged, "THE ELDER IS AN EARTH CREATED ANGEL!?!?!?"
"No, not the Elder, but he knows of them. Ewan is the Earth created Angel." She answered calmly.
"WHAT!!?!?" Rosette nearly fainted she was so light headed.
"How could we not be aware of that?" Chrno questioned, the impulse to wrap his arm around Rosette stronger now more than ever.
"You weren't supposed to be, not until the truth was discovered. One must realize that certain things, know no cultural, racial or mortal limitations. What's meant to be, will be, despite what rules may be laid down as law, or even logical sense."
Rosette's eyes swirled, "ok, you lost me."
"I agree, I'm kind of lost as to what you mean." Chrno looked Mary in the eyes, trying to decipher what they were revealing to him.
"You'll understand in time. For now, my time here is short, I was only allowed a small bit of time so I could introduce to you a few thoughts. Now that I have done so, I must go back and protect the souls that are on their way to heaven." She smiled, reading the thoughts in both Rosette's and Chrno's eyes, "the Lord our Father does not make his sons and daughters do his work, we chose to do so ourselves. Life after death can be… truly enlightening."
"Mary, before you go… will… I really be able to save my brother? Will things go back to normal?" Ocean blue eyes were set and determined for an answer.
Once again, a beautiful smile found it's way to Mary's lips, she took a few steps towards the two on the cot and grabbed Rosette's hands, "you are destined for so much more than you believe you are capable of. You'll most definitely save your brother Rosette." Rosette pondered her words and the soft feeling of her ghostly hands on her skin. She then grabbed Chrno's hands, "you'll be there for her every step of the way, as you have been thus far. You're so much more important than that though Chrno, you may derive from devil ancestry, but you truly have the heart of a true son of God. An Earth bound Angel."
She let go of the sinners hands, kissed Rosette on the forehead and stepped back. Both the devil and the nun were at a loss for words. A serene smile was on Mary's face, she had no regrets, it was apparent enough. With a small wave, she slowly began to fade, leaving Rosette and Chrno staring at an empty space. So engaged in the conversation, neither realized that Sister Kate, Carmen, Vincent, the Elder, Ewan, Anna, Claire, and Mary had all listening in on the conversation.
"And now it begins." Claire said under her breath, backing up from the door, and slowly walking down the hall.
Anna and Mary looked sadly at her, for happiness to be brought, pain must be endured. Life could be so cruel, yet, it'd all be worth it in the end… right?
----In Sister Kate's Office----
"Sister Kate, will you be ok?" Ewan looked worriedly at the sister, whose head was hidden in her arms.
Looking up, Kate sighed, "yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just not so sure the Order is ready for this. To tell the truth, I'm not sure Rosette and Chrno are ready for this yet." She gazed sideways out the window, "do you feel that everyone is ready for this?"
Smiling lightly, Ewan walked the few paces between the point on which he stood, to Kate's side. He gently unraveled her hands and held them, "Kate, Rosette wouldn't have figured out her truth unless she and everyone else were truly ready. Yes, I admit, it will take some adjusting, especially…"
"Please don't remind me about that detail Ewan… I can't think about it right now." A few tears slid down Kate's face.
"We can't ignore it forever." He coaxed Kate out of her chair and held her tightly to his chest.
Tears silently continued to fall, "I know, but I can't deal with it quite yet. Give me a little time to think Ewan, and I'll be ready, I swear I will."
Slightly pushing her from his embrace, he lifted her chin so her eyes met his, "no, you won't be ready. No one will. However, I know we'll get through it. Besides, no one could ever be ready to lose someone, to lose a sister."
"All the girls here are my children Ewan, I'll never be ready to give any of them away, to death or to another."
-----Anna, Mary and Claire-----
Anna and Mary silently followed behind Claire. Knowing that the first part of the prophecy had come true really hit her hard. In truth, it had hit them all hard. They knew that, even in the end, things would turn out alright, but… everything inbetween… everything inbetween would be hard to get through. To lose a sister to death, to lose a sister to marriage, both are hard. Even though one wasn't as bad as the other, both still hurt equally. It especially hurt Claire, Rosette was like a blood sister to her.
"Claire," Mary weakly called out, "are you going to be ok?"
Claire stopped midstep, but she didn't glance back at her friends, "I'll be fine, I just don't see why…" her head turned slightly towards her friends, but then returned forward as she began walking once again.
Both sisters frowned heavily at each other. Why did something have to be lost in order to gain something else? Why did anyone here have to have a direct line of ancestry to the God's? On top of that, why did the God's want to reclaim that line of ancestry back to heaven? They walked a measured distance from their best friend, their sister. Things always got worse before they got better… right? There was hope for everyone in the Order.
----Carmen, Chrno, Rosette, Vincent----
"Do you think you realized it too soon Rosette?" Carmen asked her for the tenth time. "You don't seem ready to accept it." She gazed at the sister worriedly.
"No, there was a reason I realized it, right? I believe I was supposed to realize it at that moment. Really, I'm just not sure how I feel about it." She and Carmen were sitting side-by-side on the cot, while Chrno and Vincent were walking around outside.
"What do you mean?" Lavender eyes blinked in confusion.
"I guess I always knew how I felt, but to actually come to terms with it, and also realize he feels the same… I just don't know how to feel about it. Relieved, scared, happy, what?" for the umpteenth time, Rosette sighed.
Carmen giggled, "you know what, I kind of know what you mean." A blond brow cocked in interest, "that's how I felt when I realized the same thing between me and Vincent. I didn't know how I should feel. That happened years ago."
For a moment, the blond nun thought it over, "so… did you end up finding out how you felt about it?"
"Yes, I did." Carmen smiled and slid off the cot and started to walk towards the door.
"How did you feel then?" ocean blue eyes were determined for an answer.
Lavender eyes looked back and smiled at her, "I didn't feel just one thing Rosette. I felt many." She continued at Rosette's expectant gaze, "I was scared that it might not work out like I wished it would. Happy that I realized my greatest wish at the time came true. Apprehensive because I didn't know where it'd lead. Frustrated beyond belief because I knew he still didn't truly know how I felt. Not to mention more than a little pissed off."
"Uhh…" Rosette was lost.
"Well, everytime I tried to give him a sign, he'd just look at me like I was crazy, and back away. Pissed me off to no ends," she laughed at remembering the times.
Tapping her chin lightly in thought, she asked aloud, "does he know now how you feel?" as soon as she asked it, she knew she shouldn't have. Carmen's frown was proof enough of that.
Noticing that Rosette seemed panicked, she smiled, "Vincent's a very guarded person Rosette. He knows how I feel, I know how he feels, but… he'll never allow himself to physically show me that feeling if he feels it'll hurt me in the end. A lot of bad things have happened to him, he just wants to keep me safe, to save me from pain."
"It's impossible to save any one person from every pain." Rosette stated with a huff.
"I know, and deep down, he knows it too. However, he's trying his hardest to save me from any pain." She looked sadly out the window, "for now, I'll let him do what he feels he needs to do."
Rosette hugged her knees to her chest, "you truly love him, don't you?"
"Yes."
"I truly love Chrno."
"Of course, Chrno's a great guy, who wouldn't?"
"Then why do I feel so jealous of you and Vincent?"
A small giggled escaped from Carmen's throat, "perhaps because you don't see the protectiveness of what Chrno does." The confusion on the nuns face made her giggle again and continue, "Chrno is just like Vincent. If he senses that he could cause you pain, he does what he can to hid how he feels, and finds a way to make you happy."
"Well then, those two are idiots."
"Of course they are, they need to realize no matter what they do, we'll feel pain. That pain we feel is much greater when they try to deny how they feel, though. Once they realize coming to terms with how they feel, and that they can't protect us from feeling pain, they'll fess up."
"How long has it been?"
"50 years give or take."
"…"
"What?"
"Would you say about… 54 years?"
"Yes, that sounds about right. Why do you ask?"
"That's when Chrno was locked in Mary Magdalena's tomb."
"Can you say, 'connected by mysterious coincidences'?"
"Nope, but I can say, 'fate.'"
"I suppose fate has never been kind to me or my race. Then again, I guess my race has deserved to be shunned by a good fate."
"No, I don't think your race deserves it. It's the individuals that make the race deserve it. Just like the fate handed out to criminals is handed out because they are that."
There was a light knock at the door, "come in." Rosette said hesitantly.
White hair with a purple tint peaked from behind the door, "um, Rosette?"
"Hey Azmaria, what's up?" Rosette asked, sitting back, trying to relax.
"You know your truth yes?" she questioned in her timid soft voice.
"Yes, why, is there something you need to know?"
"No, it's just… well… you're basically a reincarnation of Mary Magdalena, an Apostle. Possibly… I could show you how to use and control your powers." Her shy red-amber eyes looked kindly up into Rosette's ocean blue ones.
"Sure, that'd be awesome Az, anything to help us defeat Aion." Determination was laced in her voice.
"Have you seen Satella?"
"Nope," replied the nun, nonchalantly.
"She can help too you know, her gift for being a jewel witch, they have some similar traits. Plus she could teach you to fight with weapons." Rosette laughed.
"Listen to all this fight talk coming from you Az, what did you take this morning?" again, she laughed.
"I just don't want anything bad to happen, plus, it's better to be prepared, right?"
Carmen smiled warmly, "you got that right little lady."
"Ah, Miss Carmen, how are you feeling?" Azmaria smiled happily up at the green haired devil.
"Much better, I like this Order, it's everything and more that Father Remington said it'd be. Things really get taken care of here, don't they, Miss Azmaria?" Again, the devil smiled.
Azmaria giggled slightly, her hand lightly covering her lips, "please Miss Carmen, call me Azmaria, or Az for short."
Again Carmen smiled, "then you may call me Carmen." Both the young white haired nun and green haired devil smiled at each other.
"Ok, did you two just totally forget about me, or am I not being loud enough?" Sighing, Rosette straightened her hunched posture, "anyways, how do you too seem so chummy, chummy after only a few minutes?"
"Father Remington has told each of us much about the other." Explained the young apostle.
Rosette was silent for a moment, "huh… so… who else, besides you, knew about Carmen and Vincent?"
The younger, white haired nun was silent, "c'mon Az, you can tell me." The poor girl looked fearfully at Rosette, "I'm waiting for an answer, Az." The blond nun backed her up to a wall, "I'm waiting…"
DK: Alright everyone, we're done here for the night!
R: Night? This took you weeks to finish! –growls-
C: What DID take you so long to get this chapter done?
DK: Off my ass guys, I had an essay to write!
SK: There is no excuse for turning things in late Sister DK…
DK: … Um, Sister Kate, it's not due for another three days… sides, this chapter isn't DUE at any specific time.
Claire: If you don't want your readers to kill you…
DK: -sweat drops- uh, um… yeah, if they like my story, they won't kill me… right. –scared look-
ER: I'm not so sure, you threatened to kill me. –grins, light shines off his teeth-
DK: You know, for a Father, you are full of yourself.
Satella: Well hey, he's aloud to be vull of imself.
R: When did you get here? –growls-
S: I've been here for a vhile, Sister Rosette, watching you make a fool out of yourself.
R: What did you say to me!?
DK: Enough bickering you two, on with the next chapter already!
C: I guess I'll give you the overview… -clears throat- In the next chapter, we start out with a conversation between me and Vincent, silver haired devils attack the order and Satella shows up, only to know what's going on.
DK: How is it that you and Rosette seem to be out of the loop?
E: You're the one who wrote this Sister, you should know.
DK: Ah yes, it's because I'm evil that way. MUWAHAHAHA! -maniacal laughter- Anyways, see you next time!