To Give the Gift of Life

by Diabolical Kitsutora

Crack Chapter now up! :Chrno hates taking Rosette's time. Rosette doesn't regret a thing. What will happen when opportunity calls to allow Rosette her time back? Will she and Chrno be torn apart? Or will a new destiny bring them closer?

5. Relentless Devils

DK: Wow, that was an interesting sub-chapter, now wasn't it?

Carmen: Interesting? Interesting?! I HAD TO ENDURE THE TORTURE OF THE ELDER AND SISTER KATE! HOW COULD THAT BE INTERESTING!?

DK: Well, it's not like we actually got to read what happened to you.

V: As well the public should NOT know, they may run away disgusted.

DK: Oh c'mon! It's just the Elder and Sister Kate! Everyone knows how Elder is, and Sister Kate, dear God, she's not THAT scary.

R: I beg to differ!

C: ~looks from Rosette to Sister Kate~ If you cross her she can be...

R: ~hits Chrno upside the head~ Shut it, you're supposed to be on my side.

SK: Enough being disrespectful, Sister Rosette.

Everyone: SISTER KATE IS STANDING UP FOR CHRNO!?!?

SK: Do not make a big deal about it, I shall protect everyone here at the order.

DK: Does that mean you will protect me from the fanboys?

SK: ~confused~

DK: Never mind then, on with the chapter!

V: About damn time!

Carmen: ~hits Vincent upside the head~ Be nice! Continue D..

DK: Thank, as I said, on with the chapter!

To Give the Gift of Life

Chapter Four: Relentless Devils

It was madness. That's what it was. Complete and utter madness.

"This has been the eighteenth devil attack this morning. By tomorrow we'll have every single militia member, exorcist, and even back up from other Order's out on a mission. Remington, this is not good."

"Calm down, the reports have to stop coming in at some time or another." Poor, delusional, optimistic Ewan, he was in for a rude awakening.

Taking a deep breath, and pulling my ear from the door, Carmen quickly knocked on the dark wooded door. "Sister Kate, I have more reports."

A moment later, she heard a loud bang, and what sounded like pencils in a pencil jar shaking slightly. "Enter." said a wary Sister Kate.

"Cheer up, there's not many! Only nine this time!" said the green haired devil with some cheer as she opened the door. This caused the young Abbess to bang her head once more.

Poor woman, she was being crushed under all this pressure. "What are we going to do? We don't have enough members to fend off all these attacks!"

Biting her lip, she gazed at Ewan. His gaze met hers, and he nodded his head. "Perhaps it is time we discuss this 'prophecy' in more detail."

Sister Kate looked at him warily, "what else is there I need to know, Ewan?"

-----Rosette, Chrno, Azmaria and Vincent-----

"You seem to have recovered nicely." Stated Az cheerily, as she changed the bandage on Chrno's abdomen. Weeks had passed since Zuberi had speared his stomach, but it was still healing.

"It seems that way." the violet haired devil said with a smile.

"Grr, I can't believe all those devils have the nerve to attack this city!" Rosette growled angrily.

Chrno gave a worried glance towards the entrance to the Order, "perhaps they thought since we had to go to another state, this place would be left defenseless."

"What would that matter?! We're here now!" Chrno knew it wasn't just the arrogance of the devils, Rosette wanted to be fighting them, she wanted information.

"You think Aion sent them?" Azmaria offered.

"That's exactly what I think. While we were off doing our job in Rhode Island, Aion sent devils here to destroy the city." Rosette yelled, her foot up on a chair and her fist in the air.

"That wouldn't make sense though, if you think about it." Vincent entered, "if you've read the reports, the devils are scattered. They aren't targeting anything specific. If it was Aion who had sent them, they would be targeting one thing, wouldn't they?"

"It's likely, but with Aion, you never know. He's a strategist, he'll find a way to stump you until the last possible moment." Chrno bit his thumb in thought, was this Aion's doing? Or simply arrogant devils who thought they could bring about the destruction of New York?

"I don't care who it is, if they have information about Joshua, we will get it. If they don't, we'll still beat the snot out of all of them!" cried Rosette, standing boldly, her fists in the ready.

"Speaking of beating the snot out of something, why aren't you two out there now? Far as I know, the Order will need every single hand they can get out on the field." This was true, everyone except Rosette had to agree with Vincent on that, but Sister Kate had her reasons.

At the mention of every hand being needed, Rosette crossed her arms and plopped down on the ground, "Sister Kate told me, 'you just got back from your mission. You will rest.'" she repeated lamely, "Rest, I don't need!" she grumbled, "we need to get out there and help!"

"I'm sure she'll have us out there soon. She probably wants to wait until Chrno's stomach wound heals up entirely." Interrupted Azmaria. This was probably true. The mission to Rhode Island had aggravated the crimson eyed devils wound.

Sighing, Chrno averted his eyes towards his hands. Even when he was trying to help, he was a hindrance. "I'm sorry Rosette, if it weren't for me, we'd be out there now."

Her fist came down hard on his skull causing him to fall sideways, confused as he always was when she hit him upside the head, "don't even say that Chrno! If it weren't for you, I'd be in the ground with a hole in my stomach!" she growled out at Chrno.

He lifted his hellish crimson gaze toward her fiery ocean eyes. Instantly, his eyes softened and he nodded, "right." there was no way he was about to fight with her, after all, he knew she was right in some sense.

Had he not blocked it, she would have died from a stomach wound like that. Chrno thanked God once again that he was able to keep her safe. Physically, he could protect her, but sometimes that wasn't the devil's main concern. Mentally, he wasn't sure he was enough to help. Her brother is what was closest to her heart, Chrno was merely second, nothing at all like what always came first. If that even. Chrno wasn't sure, with Rosette, it was so hard to tell sometimes.

His heart contracted slightly, he couldn't think that way. Rosette must feel stronger for Chrno than what was thought, the small devil had to know that. For one, when he kissed her, she hadn't responded, but she didn't try to escape either. This internal debate with his mind was going nowhere. Did Rosette feel the same for him as he did her? Chrno didn't know as of this point, but that couldn't be his main concern right now. Joshua! They have to find him. Offer up a suggestion, keep her spirits up, Chrno! Chrno mentally yelled at himself.

"In any case, these devil attacks don't feel like they have 'Aion' written on them. I think someone else may have sent them." Perhaps the two Egyptian devils they had encountered.

"Like who?" Rosette asked Chrno with a glare.

Might as well offer up his suspicions, "Zuberi and Isis, I think they pointed all those devils to the city. My guess is, they are trying to weaken the defenses here, that way they can get in and have at some revenge." after a moment, "or they could be after the weapons we used against them. They may not know exactly where they are, but with the Order practically empty, it wouldn't be hard to take out any security and search the entire grounds."

"Most of our weapons have little to no effect on them unless they are extremely weak. Why would they go after that?" Questioned Azmaria.

"Who knows. In any case, it would leave the Order far more than defenseless. We'd be downright sitting ducks without weapons, whether they do much damage to them or not." Entered Vincent.

"Hey!" Everyone turned towards the voice in the distance. Carmen was running towards the group of devils and humans. "Guys, I may need your help. These reports keep coming in, and I can't keep up with them all!"

"What the hell are you talking about? You have both your horns! Use the force, Carmen!"

Said devil hit Vincent upside the head, "I was trying to give Kate a reason to relax by only taking in so many reports every hour, but I can't put it off any longer! There's at least ten columns of fifty reports or more. I need your guys' help to take them to her, and perhaps a few others to keep Sister Kate from spontaneously combusting."

"How did five hundred reports end up piling up!?" Cried Vincent, his face incredulous.

"I told you, I was trying to give Sister Kate a reason to relax, you know, only so many reports every hour. But the situation has sky rocketed, and when I say sky, I mean its past the universe point." Everyone seemed to look at one another with a worried glance.

"Let's get in there now and see what we can do to help." Everyone's eyes flashed to Rosette, she shrugged, got up and walked towards Sister Kate's office.

"Rosette, can you help carry the reports? Azmaria can go warn Sister Kate of our arrival." With a slightly annoyed nod, Rosette followed Carmen and the rest of the group while Azmaria ran towards Sister Kate's office.

-----Ewan and Kate-----

"This will go about as well as a car in a building on fire. She's going to be angry, and she's going to reject the idea." Bringing her index and middle fingers to her temples, Kate promptly began to rub in loose soothing circles.

"Of course she will be angry, this is something a young woman like her should never have to go through. Not only will she be forced into motherhood, years before she is ready, but she also has to choose between losing a friends life, or a chance of losing her own." Ewan said calmly.

"We all know what she'll say, there is no way she'll let a friend die. She'll walk right into whatever trap to save a friend." Kate shook her head, "that girl is a lot more selfless than I give her credit for."

"She is a lot of things more than we give her credit for, but that's how it is. If she had the means to, she would rid this entire world of evil and make sure no woman, child or man went hungry. She has a big heart, and I am afraid that big heart may be what causes her the most pain."

There was a small gasp behind the office door, "come in, Azmaria." the little albino girl stepped through the door, her eyes wide and filled with fear. "what's wrong, Azmaria?"

"Is it true, about Rosette, will she really be forced into all those things?" both adults gave her a blank look, hadn't she given everyone those visions?

Kate almost smacked herself on the forehead, of course she did, but right after, she passed out and forgot everything. Everyone had forgotten what they had seen, except for Ewan and Kate. Everyone forgot, but the feelings everyone got from those visions remained. It had caused so much confusion for everyone, to feel one way and not know the reason why, Ewan felt bad for them all.

"I'm afraid so, Azmaria, I do not wish for any of this to pass, but not only is it prophesized, but... I can already see it would happen regardless. I may not like it, but at the same time, it would be the greatest thing to happen in this Order." The abbess sighed, when she first met Chrno, she had immediately labeled him as trouble.

Turns out, she should have been more worried about Rosette.

"God has chosen them both, I don't think we'll come out of this with a sad ending. Though it may not seem likely, I think the Lord will bless them both. Rosette will make it out of this alive, and most likely with more health and vigor than ever before." Ewan gave a small chuckle when Kate slammed her head on the desk once more.

"Great, Rosette ten times worse, will this Order survive?"

"Uh, Sister Kate, if this Order can survive five hundred more reports, I don't think Rosette will be a problem." picking up her head, the abbess stared at the albino girl as she fidgeted and played with her fingers.

Once more, Kate's forehead slammed into the dark wood of my desk, "just bring them all in, don't bother keeping them from me. Bring them all, and whoever brings them in is to stay, I will need all the help I can get."

"Well that's new, the Invincible Sister Kate actually admitting she needs help? It must be a blessed day!" Rosette's sarcasm was what the young head nun had needed, straightening up and glaring at the girl who carried in at least fifty reports or more.

"For that comment, I shall have you work double, Sister Rosette. In any case, five hundred or more reports cannot be completed by one person in the time allotted to us. Vincent, I would like you to find a few members for me." The blue haired devil stepped forth through the door, carrying at least twice as many as Rosette.

"Who do you need me to find?"

"Anna, Mary, Claire, Jennifer, Alistair, Johnson, James, and Damien." Setting the files on the ground by the door, he gave the abbess a salute and rushed out the door as Chrno and Carmen came in, reports stacked above their heads.

"About three more piles to go and all of them will be in here, Sister Kate." Carmen said, with cheer in her voice.

"I understand at times like these, optimism is a great ally, but I do not need it as of this moment." Kate growled with irritation.

"Sister Kate, do you have any theories on why these devils are attacking the city like this?" the question came from Chrno, the young abbess vaguely wondered what the devils thoughts on it were.

"I believe this may be the work of those two devils that attacked the Order. I'm not sure why, but they are trying to run us defenseless."

"That's what I was thinking, but also, I'm starting to think there's more behind it."

"You may be right, if I heard correctly, Isis and Zuberi are Egyptian devils. Devils who have been confined and sealed within tombs hundreds of years ago. They are devils who can easily regenerate but when buried beneath ancient Egyptian grounds, can no longer do so. If they're here now, they had to have had help." Entered Carmen.

"So you think maybe Aion dug them up?" Rosette questioned.

"That would make sense, but why would Aion need their help? What would be his purpose in bringing them into this battle?" asked the head nun.

"For any number of reasons. Perhaps he knows there is a greater chance of his defeat if he does not enlist at least a little help." Suggested Ewan.

Chrno shook his head, his thumb and forefinger under his chin, "no, I don't think that's it. He knows me well enough to be able to cut through my defenses, unless I'm in my true form. Even then, I believe there's a reason he helped those two, if he is behind their appearance. Besides, he knows the fastest way to get to me, capture anyone here, and I'm forced to concede." by then, he was biting his thumb.

"So, if that were true, what would be the reason for bringing in two Egyptian devils?" That was a question, what was their purpose in all of this mess?

Ewan leaned against the window sill, "I don't know, but I do know we all have a few things to discuss once you have sent the exorcists out on their missions, Sister Kate."

Warily, she looked up at him, "indeed we do. We all do." Then she sighed.

"What do you mean we have a few things to discuss? Am I getting in trouble for something?" Rosette looked at Kate with a grimace.

Ewan and Kate exchanged glances, "you could say that, Sister Rosette, though it's not so much you did something, it's more... something you will eventually do."

Everyone gave the abbess a blank look, blinking many times as if trying to clear their brain. At that moment, Vincent came back with the exorcists Kate had requested.

"What did you need of us, Sister Kate?" questioned James, an older man, and a General within the militia.

"Thank you for coming as quickly as you did. I need you to organize points around the order, at these points one in the group will stand and keep watch for devils. I don't know why all of them have decided to attack now, but we will be useless if the order is destroyed. We may be pressing our luck by running our defenses so thin, but at this point, it's all we can do." Having given the orders, the group nodded and ran out the door, James shouting orders as they disappeared.

Straightening up, Ewan frowned, "alright then, since that's taken care of, we should begin discussing what you all need to know."

"What are you talking about, Minister?"

"Ewan, care to begin?" sighing, he stared out the window.

"Since when do you call him by his first name?" Rosette question, everyone ignored the question, and waited for Ewan to begin.

"The Lord has decided to tell us of another prophecy, one that had been given to a prophet in secret, one that no one knows about." He began.

"What are you talking about?" Rosette questioned, impatient.

Ewan sighed again, sadly gazing at Rosette, "the key to getting through this all is you, Rosette."

"Me?" she asked incredually, her eyes widening.

"More specifically, the child you will bare."

"Me? Child?" A hysterical laugh escaped her, "what are you talking about? I'm a sister, I'm celibate, Minister!" Azmaria and Chrno both nodded, seemingly confused.

"This is true, you are a sister, but when the time comes, you will have a child."

"You mean like adopting a child, right?" she suggested, her mind resisting the thought of motherhood.

"No, you will become pregnant, and you will bare a child, born from light, and dark."

"What are you saying?" Chrno asked, something in his voice sounded frightened, and his hands trembled.

"Dark? You don't mean..." the name stopped in her throat, but after swallowing, she uttered it raggedly, "Aion?"

Kate shook her head, "no, Sister Rosette, allow me to recite a part of the prophecy," clearing her throat, Kate began to recite what she had read, "…the darkness of despair has been born from those who are worshippers of devil, and the light of hope has been born from those that are worshippers of God. Through one that is supposed to be so evil, and one that is so pure, a child bathed in light shall be born. In the palm of thy hand, light shall form, and be the ultimate weapon of God against the Devil.

"Sister Rosette, you remember my opinion of Chrno when you first arrived here, do you not?" she questioned, seeing the knowledge and understanding flash within her eyes.

"You hated him, you said no matter what form he took he was evil, 'he's a devil, he's supposed to be evil.' So you're saying Chrno and I..." the words slowly lost volume.

Chrno chuckled in a sort of hurt, nervous way, "that can't be right, you must have acquired a phony prophecy. There's no way God would allow such a thing to happen." He said, Kate didn't know if anyone else could sense it, but the pain in his voice was obvious, "even if that were the case, Rosette and I are best friends, nothing more."

Kate and Ewan watched as Rosette looked down at Chrno, frowning, her eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment before she shook her head. Her eyes averted towards Kate, her gaze questioning and fearful, begging her to say none of this way true.

This confused the abbess as much as this information had upset them. The ties between Rosette and Chrno are very strong, she wouldn't know what to call Rosette's feelings toward Chrno, but she definitely knew that Chrno loved Rosette, Kate could see it in his eyes after the first time he almost transformed on the front lawn of the Order.

"Is that all it is?" Ewan questioned.

Chrno's hands tightened into fists at his side, "of course that's all it is. God couldn't really find the solution in the child born from a devil and a servant of God, it doesn't make sense."

"It does make sense," Carmen protested, "God does not discriminate against those who wish to be saved, be they human or devil! As long as they shout the Lord's name and repent for their sins, God will save them, and when their life has ended, He will allow them into the heavens. You wouldn't be here now, if you thought otherwise, Chrno, you too Rosette. Both of you know if you are faithful, the Lord will guide you." She glared at them both, "that's what you believe, right? Right!"

Everyone was silent for a time. Chrno's face went from pained to expressionless. He was absolutely blank. Rosette went from being afraid to being calm, which was rare in itself in normal situations for Rosette. Ewan intently watched Rosette as she seemed to go over things in her head. She had already been dealing with how she felt towards Chrno, Mary had told them that much, but Chrno must think that the only truly important person in Rosette's life was her brother.

In that moment, Ewan understood Chrno's sudden blankness, "Chrno, it would be wise for you to stop cutting off your emotions. You may be a devil and better able to cope with stress, but keeping everything bottled inside will do you no good."

Everyone looked at Chrno with sympathetic eyes, none more so than Rosette, who gazed at him with love, worry and a kind of respect and admiration mixed in her eyes.

Chrno's blank look dropped a little, and he smiled sadly, "I know," he said aloud, "but I'm absolutely fine, I'm not hiding my emotions." He lied boldly, "I think I'll go help Father James, it seems that I won't be of much use here." With another smile he left, he willingly left Rosette's side.

Rosette frowned, watching as Chrno walked erect out the door.

The whole room seemed shocked that Chrno had done what he had just done. Even Carmen and Vincent, who haven't known the two nearly as long as the rest, seemed shell shocked.

The first to speak was Rosette, which almost shocked everyone just as much, "well, there's nothing we can do at the moment about him, let's get these reports finished." Everyone turned towards her and blinked.

Kate had known that this news would be hard for the two, given the fact that so much information had already been given to them. Yet, she hadn't thought either would take it like this.

"Lord, please help them through," whispered the abbess under her breath as Ewan handed out reports and began explaining what to do.

-----Chrno-----

As soon as Chrno reached the entrance to the convent, he hide behind the door and fell to his knees. One hand clutched his heart, while the other held his wavering balance. Besides getting Joshua back, having a chance to actually be with Rosette was all that I wanted, but he didn't deserve to want anything. With Carmen and Vincent's help, Rosette would have her life back, and the devil would probably be left to sleep in Mary's grave once more.

No, Chrno knew Rosette may not love him as he loved, but there would be no way she would just let him leave either.

That line of thinking eased some of the pain the devil felt in his heart, but still did nothing to erase it. Whoever had given that prophecy to Sister Kate had to be cruel.

It had to be Aion.

Who else would know what the devil wanted more than anything in the world? Who else could be so maniacal as to play God and write down something such as that. It had to be Aion, it just had to be. There was no way God would want one of His holy daughter's with a devil, whether that devil tried to serve Him or not.

Struggling to his feet, Chrno settled himself, placing the mask he so often wore around everyone in the Order. Right now he had to be determined to help, prophecy or no prophecy. A whole in his stomach or no. Closing his eyes, he sought out James and found him at the gates. Pushing open the big oriental doors, Chrno sprinted to his side.

"Chrno, what are you doing here?" questioned the General, surprised.

After catching his breath, the small devil straightened up and gave him a determined look, "I think I'll be more help out here. I'll be able to tell which directions devils will be coming from."

James didn't question it, "thanks Chrno, we'll need as much help as we can get."

"He-e-e-e-ey! You better not forget to include the greatest markswoman this place has ever seen!" Chrno gasped and turned around the same times as James did.

"Sister Rosette, you too?" James asked.

"Sister Kate kind of kicked me out after I did the third report wrong," she chuckled, swiping her nose with her thumb, "I guess I'm not much of a wit person." She grinned down at her devil companion, something that annoyed him once in a while. The devil hated being so much shorter than her.

"Alright then, you'll stay here with me and Chrno at the front gate." Having said that, he handed the devil his communicator, "Chrno, you will give everyone their coordinates," he then explained where everyone had been situated.

"That should be good for now," Chrno mumbled lightly, "everyone hold your positions, I can feel multiple devils on the move towards us now, but I can't pinpoint where exactly they'll come from."

"Where do you want me exactly, General, Chief?" Rosette grinned, cocking the barrel of her gun.

"Chief?" Chrno asked at the same time James told her to follow the devil's instructions.

"Yeah, you're in charge Chrno, since you can strategize so well." again she grinned at him, a grin the devil couldn't help but return. However, their grins quickly faded and grew serious.

Closing his eyes, Chrno spread my senses as far as they could go. Five devils coming from the west, two coming from the north, seven coming from the east, at least twenty coming from the south. Perfect, the gate of the convent was facing south, that meant Rosette, James and the small devil would get the worst of it.

Grabbing the communicator mouth piece and making sure it would be able to give the directions clearly, Chrno barked out positions. "Anna move about twenty paces northwest, Damien and Alistair, move five paces in that same direction. Claire you'll want to move ten paces southeast, Jennifer, four paces east, Alistair, seven paces south, Johnson, seven paces north. Each of you shouldn't be faced with more than seven devils."

All replied 'roger' as he turned to Rosette and James. "We'll get the worst of it here, twenty devils in the least."

As was Rosette, she grinned, "twenty devils, huh? No problem." Having said that, the three spread out in front of the gate, James and Rosette readying their guns, Chrno readying his sword.

"How much time do we have before they arrive?" James asked.

Chrno glared at the sky, "now, everyone look towards the sky!"

"I see them!" Anna exclaimed.

"Hold your fire, the bullet won't make it from such a far distance." Everyone yelled another 'roger' and waited for the command. The devils closed the distance quickly, and it wasn't long before the devil shouted the command, "fire!" Gunshots rang out in every direction, to the right and left Rosette and James fired as well, hitting their targets with marked precision. Three devils swooped down towards the crimson eyed devil, and after adjusting to moving with his sword once more, said devil easily dispatched them.

The first wave of devils was nothing, but everyone knew there'd be more. "Reload your weapons, everyone, that was only one wave, more will be coming." Once again everyone replied 'roger' and awaited their next instructions.

Having prepared them for wave after wave, Chrno sent James and Rosette around with refills of cartridges. Both returned within five minutes, and after they caught their breath, they took out the devils that didn't give them the chance to breath. After about the twelfth wave, Chrno sensed a much larger group coming.

"Everyone be on your guard! The number of devils have tripled on each side!"

There was a collective yelling of, "what?"

"Set up the barriers, and wait for my signal to fire!" Everyone did as instructed without hesitation, which gave the devil a sense of warmth and began to think they might pull this off without casualties. The optimism he began to feel, drained when at the back of the largest wave, he sensed Zuberi and Isis. "Rosette, go get Sister Kate and everyone else! The two Egyptian devils are back!"

"You mean the two that destroyed the convent a month and a half ago?" yelled Claire.

"Go!" Rosette nodded and ran, pushing her legs faster than she had ever pushed them before. When she returned, Vincent was loaded down with weapons, Carmen carried boxes and boxes of extra clips, weapons and ammunition, Ewan carried more weapons and clips, Sister Kate carried as much as Vincent did in ammunition, Azmaria was as loaded as she could be with weapons. "Sister Kate, Father Remington, please go around and assist the others, get them loaded with as much ammunition as you can allow. Vincent, Carmen, Azmaria, you three stay here, we'll have to deal with Isis and Zuberi."

Everyone quickly nodded and did as instructed. Walking over to Rosette who was loading herself with ammunition and weapons, Chrno cleared his throat, his crimson eyes intense.

"Got something special for me to do, Chief?" she grinned.

"Yes, aim perfectly." she cocked her head to the side, "now may not seem the time, but imagine these devils are your friends being possessed by a devils horn, like your brother. Use this to your advantage, hit precisely at the base of the horns."

She bit her lip but nodded, "got it."

"Azmaria, make sure you aim as accurately as you can at the base of the horns. Carmen, Vincent, how much experience do you have using guns?"

"More than you probably suspect," grinned Carmen. "Don't worry, we know what to do." As she said this, she re-holstered her guns and brought out her swords, "I'm more of a close combat kind of gal, but I'll shoot for the finish."

Vincent shook his head, "stop acting like this is some kind of bad western movie, Carmen."

Carmen glared, "you are so lucky I don't have the time to hit you right now."

"Abusive woman." he muttered.

"They're close," noted the violet haired devil, "everyone be ready. They'll be in shooting range in two minutes." A scream rang out over the communicator and then a gunshot.

"Mary!" Anna and Claire yelled.

"Hold your positions, Sister Kate or Father Remington will see to it that she's ok." Another minute and a half passed, and the time came, "fire!" Cries against the devils sounded in the air after the sacred that were fired.

Rosette steadied her arm crossing her right arm over her left for balance. Both eyes were wide open and sharp, plucking off small target after small target. Azmaria was holding her own, missing every once in a while, but hitting her targets with much accuracy. Carmen and Vincent faired about as well as Rosette in their gun usage, but true to what Carmen said, once one clip ran out, she'd go back to her swords until Vincent could reload it for her.

Charging forward at the devils as well, Chrno slashed off their horns, one by one, but the closer Isis and Zuberi got, the tougher the horns were to destroy.

"Chrno, Mary's fine over here," Sister Kate's voice finally announced, "she just got startled when I ran out of the bushes and knocked her communicator out."

"Got it, Sister Kate." Returning his focus to his targets, Chrno yelled back, "how many targets are left on each side?"

"Three left," Johnson yelled, three shots were fired, then a laugh, "make that zero."

"Done here," came Claire's voice.

"Done as well," that was Anna.

"The last one just went down," Jennifer replied.

"All of them were picked off over here," Mary said triumphantly.

"It was too easy on our end," laughed Alistair and Damien.

"Everyone return to the main gate, all the devils are converging here." There was another collective 'roger' once more and then all that could be heard were the stamping of feet against the cold ground.

"Crap, I'm out of bullets!" Rosette's cry of annoyance turned the devil's attention toward her.

That had been a mistake. Just as he had turned his attention away from his targets, three took a swipe at the poor devil. Luckily, Rosette was paying enough attention for the both of them, and tackled Chrno to the ground.

She grinned down at the crimson eyed devil, "what's wrong Chief, normally it's you whose saving my butt." Rolling to their sides, the two sat up just as the devils were coming in for another attack.

Handing her more clips both stood, Chrno charged, slashing at the horn of one of the devils, Rosette quickly changing her clip and shot off the horns of the other two.

"Momentary distraction, it won't happen again," he replied. More devils of higher ranks were just beginning to thicken when the rest of the group returned to the gate. Each one ran, picking off a devil or two on their way.

"Be on your guard, these are no weaklings!" Rosette shouted, picking off two, three more devils.

"When Isis and Zuberi come into sight, I want Rosette, Carmen, Vincent, Father Remington, Sister Kate and Azmaria to concentrate on only them. The rest of you keep the other devils off of us, we'll be sitting ducks if we can't move freely." Chrno ordered, everyone nodded, Sister Kate and Father Remington not questioning the fact that a devil was giving orders.

"I see them, Chrno!" Carmen shouted, her twin blades poised.

Rosette gasped, "the female, she looks... different." Chrno followed her gaze and realized she was right.

"This doesn't smell right," Carmen stated, glaring into the sky, "something about this whole situation just isn't right."

"Of course it doesn't smell right," Rosette stated, "this whole place reeks of blood."

"No, Rosette, Carmen's right, something isn't right, that female... something is different about her."

"No shit Vincent, she actually looks like a woman now." Bit out Rosette.

"It's not easy to explain," Chrno began, "but the air around her has changed. She's definitely ready to attack and defend her brother, but there's also an uncertainty about her." Having said what he needed to, Chrno dodged a few on-coming devils and lopped off the horns of the ones behind them.

Vincent shot of six rounds, replaced his clip quickly, and shot off another three rounds, all nine hitting and destroying their target. "Carmen, go in for a close combat with the female, find out why she is different from before."

A grin lit Carmen's face and she dropped the ammunition she had covering her body, "you read my mind, Vincent, my man!" This caused the little devil to flush, "one devil on devil close combat fight, coming right up." With that, she charged forward, the rest of the ground left standing their ground, blasting the devils in her way to allow her a path.

"Come at me Lady, me and you are going to continue our little dance from before." Carmen cackled crazily as she shot forward.

Had they the time, Chrno was sure at least half the group would have stared openly at Carmen. She was an oddity. Clearing his head of the thought, the violet haired devil charged at a strangely weak devil within the group and destroyed its horn. As he did so, Zuberi came up behind the decaying devils body. Using the momentum from the last attack, the small devil dived forward and rolled under Zuberi, his claws just barely missing his violet covered head.

A grin spread across his face as he went straight for Rosette. Horror crept through Chrno's system, but it had been unneeded. Sensing danger at her side, she ducked out of the way and aimed for his horns. The sacred was spot on, but it did little but annoy him. Swiping at her, he left his side open. Chrno quickly took the advantage and swiped at him, grazing his side and splitting his attention between the two of them.

Vincent, Remington, Sister Kate, Azmaria and James were quick to join in once Zuberi's attention had been split. Seven against one probably wouldn't have seemed fair, but with as powerful as he was, it was all the order members could do not to get swamped.

"My love, be careful!" Isis yelled to him, warning him.

"Lady, that is really sick to have your brother as your lover." Carmen gagged as she created her spear once more and swiped at Isis.

Isis growled, "how dare you! Zuberi is not my brother! I would never love a brother in such as way as I love him!" Irate, she charged at Carmen, jumping over Carmen's spear and kicking her in the back, sending her staggering forward.

That was the last the small group were able to pay attention to before they had to return their full attention to Zuberi.

-----Carmen-----

As the green haired devil staggered forward, she leaned into it and landed on her hands, pushing her lithe body over and back. Once back on her feet, she swiftly turned and rolled away from Isis' attack.

"What are you? Schitzo or something? A month and a half ago, you called him your brother, now he's your lover and not at all your brother?" Isis had charged at her again, but as she brought down her sword towards Carmen's shoulder, it slowed, giving Carmen more than enough time to move.

"I said what?" her eyes held disbelief, her attacks held no power behind them, though she still attacked. Shaking her head, she was back in the fight, but not for the kill, "what could you know? I've never seen you before."

Carmen narrowed her eyes, "what did he do to you? You are the same devil that attacked the month before, yet you are the exact opposite of her. How could you not remember my little dance before with you and your brother?"

"I told you!" she yelled, bringing her sword down again with no power, "he is not my brother, he is my lover!"

"Then tell me what's going on!" Carmen screamed, dodging the attack and jabbing her spear at Isis, who easily dodged.

Golden amber eyes closed, and a ball of energy formed in the devils hands, "if what you say is true," she said calmly, "then I can't say for sure what's going on." The ball grew larger, Carmen attacked, trying to dislodge the ball, but missing.

"What can you tell me?" Carmen yelled, irritated as she dodged the ball of energy as it was hurled at her.

A moment later, Isis opened her eyes, and as she did, Carmen gasped, "what color are my eyes now, she-devil? What were they a moment ago?"

Carmen watched in bewilderment as the amber color drained from the females eyes, only to be replaced by a glowing feral orange. Though dark as it was, Carmen could also see that the roots of the females hair becoming darker.

"What on earth is happening to you?" Carmen gasped, charging half-heartedly at her opponent.

"I've regained my freedom of choice," Isis cried, using Carmen's spear to throw herself up and over Carmen.

"What do you mean?" Carmen whispered under her breath, twirling her spear in her hands and quickly turning her body to charge once again at Isis.

"Attack once more with your twin blades, she-devil, this will be easier to explain while our blades are locked." Reaching behind her back, Isis pulled out a short, oriental sword.

Taking the chance and separating her spear into their separate swords, she continued her charge forward, her twin blades clashing with the short sword. "Easier to explain, huh?" Carmen questioned, a grin lighting her face, "not likely since you have force behind you."

Isis cocked an eye brow, her eyes widening as a sacred shot the horn off a devil that had been creeping up to attack Carmen. "I suppose I do have force behind me, but they are not loyal to me, they are loyal to Aion."

Eyes narrowed, Carmen growled, "Aion... how is he connected to this?"

Pushing forward, Isis parried Carmen and took the chance to slash at her, their swords connecting and locking once more, "everything, he is the one who freed my lover and myself."

"So why are you telling me this? Why are you half assing our fight?" This time, Carmen pushed forward, knocking Isis off-balance for a moment, but as she quickly recovered, their blades locked once more, the screeching of metal against metal dim in their ears.

"I wanted nothing to do with Aion, I hadn't liked him from the beginning, but Zuberi is obsessed with life and freedom, when I told him I'd rather be dead than submit to Aion, he did what rattlers are best at." When Carmen cocked her eyebrow in confusion, Isis pulled backwards and struck against Carmen's blades once more, "he intoxicated me so that I would submit to him. Something he had promised to never use on me."

Pain entered the now ruby haired, feral orange eyed devil. Carmen felt for the woman, having been betrayed by her lover. Both pulled back and their blades clashed and sung once more.

"He must have been poisoning me for a while now, I don't even remember how long it has been since we've been revived." Isis laughed a bitter laugh, trying a new approach, attacking from the right, "before we had been sealed, I knew this would happen one day. I am a fool. It seems I have been helping the wrong person this whole time." For a second their blades locked, Carmen let up on her defense and allowed Isis' blade to swipe at her midsection, backing up just so it grazed her armor.

"How can I trust the information you've given me?" Carmen question harshly, doing a back flip and then crouching low and charging forward.

Easily rolling out of the way, she caught the collar of her armor on the twin blades. The fabric easily tore away, and Carmen could see on the females neck were multiple bite marks, bruised and scabbing over. It looked as if though the marks had been ripped and beaten on.

"This is your proof, she-devil." A new light entered Isis' eyes, a fire that was infuriated, "as well as my turning on my love. I do not submit to power hungry tyrants." Ignoring Carmen, she charged past her and straight for Zuberi's back, "Zuberi!"

-----Rosette-----

No matter what Rosette and the others threw at Zuberi, he seemed to be able to come back from it unscathed. Whether a Sacred or a Gospel was shot point blank in his face, it seemed to have the same effect: nothing. It was as if the devil had changed, as if he had more power.

"Why. Won't. You. Go. Down. And... stay. Down?" Vincent growled out, shooting off a round with each word.

"Fools, do you think I've been sitting around gathering devils all this time?" A malicious laugh escaped his throat as he charged at Vincent, his claws a mere inch from his face. His eyes were crazed and he spoke in a low, crackly voice, "there's nothing you fools can do to stop me, not when my love has returned to me."

Before anyone could do anything, he grabbed Vincent's face and threw him back into the gate, destroying it easily. Rosette, Chrno and Kate created a barrier between the mad devil and Vincent, giving Azmaria time to help Vincent to his feet.

"You're seriously sick if you love your sister in that way," commented Rosette, shooting off another three rounds, aiming for his horns. Each hit, but only served to anger him.

"Insolent fool," he growled, sending a wave of air pressure into Rosette's gut.

"Rosette!" Chrno called, running to her side and helping her to her feet.

Charging at Chrno and Rosette, the crazed look appeared on his face again, "manipulation is a thorn in my side, but if I had to make her believe she was anything other than just my lover I'd do it again." Wrapping his arms around Rosette's waist, he rolled them both out from under Zuberi's claws.

Jumping to their feet, Chrno charged forward, Rosette and the others tried to distract Zuberi with their sacred. Azmaria aimed at the devils around the immediate area, taking them out easily, for someone with her experience.

"Chrno, watch out!" Rosette yelled suddenly, running and diving into her partner, clearing him of Zuberi, as the female devil dove at Zuberi.

Azmaria poised her gun at Zuberi's horn, but Carmen placed her hand on the shaft, "this is her fight."

"Carmen?" Everyone questioned, giving her a confused look.

"He took away her freedom. She's pissed and is paying him back for those choices she didn't have." explained the green haired devil with a shrug.

James, Kate, Ewan and Azmaria quickly nodded and returned to picking off the other devils, easing the weight of attack from Anna and the others. Chrno, Rosette and Vincent gathered near Carmen, waiting for information.

"Explain what you mean, Carmen." Vincent demanded, angry that their target had just been taken away from them.

"Take a close look at her neck. Zuberi is a rattler devil from what I've heard, and the marks on her neck are proof of his manipulation." Eyes widening for a mere quarter second, Carmen shot into the air and slashed off the horn of a devil going for Rosette's back. "Now is not the time for talking, more are coming!"

Not sure whether to be irritated or glad for the turn of events, Vincent shot off a few rounds, growling as the lower ranked devils fell like cement blocks. It wasn't long before only a few higher ranked devils remained. Chrno crossed swords with a particularly strong devil, his sword biting the metal of the bone like spear attached to the devils arm. Rosette split his attention by shooting off her rounds, hitting the horn but having no effect.

"Che, this one isn't going down," she shot off another two rounds and ejected the clip, and as she reached for a new one, the devil ignored Chrno and shot after her.

"Your head is mine now, bitch." Rosette grinned, turning just as the devils fangs would have been at her throat. Instead of her throat, the barrel of her gun was in its place.

"I don't think my head is going anywhere," and with a cocky grin, she pulled the trigger, destroying the devils head, while Chrno slashed off the horns, the devils body immediately decaying.

"You ok, Rosette?" questioned the violet haired devil, helping his partner to her feet.

"Jake, Chrno," she told him, giving him a thumbs up and a grin, "how many more are coming this way?"

A triumphant grin lit Chrno's face, "these are the last of them, I suppose once we're done here all we can do is watch and see if Isis can overcome Zuberi."

At the mention of the two devils, both gazed at the two dueling in the air. Once everyone had finished their fights, all looked into the sky, watching as the lovers fought. They were a whole new definition to the phrase, 'lover's quarrel.' Carmen, Vincent and Chrno gazed at the two in wonder, being able to hear them yell at each other in another language confusing them.

"You think she's pissed?" Vincent asked, bored and needing something to fill the silence and lack of action.

"She was manipulated, I'm pretty sure she's pissed, Vincent." Carmen growled out, hitting Vincent over the head.

Anna was the first of the other group to ask why they were just standing and looking on, "ok, I'm glad one of the devils turned on him and all, but why is that?"

"It hadn't been her choice to come to America to fight under Aion." explained Carmen once more, "she's getting her revenge."

"Face it Zuberi," they heard Isis yell, loud enough for the humans below to hear, "even if you take me down, you have all those on the ground to go up against. You're alone and outnumbered, go back to Egypt and back into that tomb where you belong!"

Dodging the energy ball she had thrown, he charged at her. Isis charged herself, ducking under him and chasing after her energy ball. Catching up to it, she caught it easily and lobbed it at Zuberi once more.

"Stupid woman, what makes you think you can defy me?" He shot forward, baring his fangs.

A dark look crossed the females face, she stood her ground. "You think just because I'm a woman, because I was your lover, that gives you rein over my decisions?" He continued forward, his fangs closing in on her neck, but before they could penetrate her skin, she grabbed his neck with one hand, her other snapping off his fangs.

Escaping her grip, he reeled backwards, screaming in pain, "you bitch! I could have forgiven your attacks against me, but now I will show you no mercy."

Isis made no attempt to move, only stayed where she was, grinning, making no comment.

Zuberi's eyes widened as Isis descended toward the ground, revealing Carmen with Rosette in her arms, her gun poised at the base of his horns. "Bring peace to the lost lambs, give rest to the fangs of the wolf, and call the hammer of death unto the devil. Gospel!" The silver gospel hit Zuberi point blank at the base of one of his horns.

Screaming out in pain and rage, he grabbed his head, thrashing, but before Rosette could reload her gun, he recovered. "I'll be back, Isis, and when next you see me, I will be the last you ever see." With that he vanished, leaving Isis and the dust of his subordinates behind.

"Well that was eventful," Carmen mused, gliding back down to the ground.

"Out of all the things you could say, and it had to be that?" Questioned Rosette, wondering about Carmen's sanity.

Shrugging, she allowed Rosette to slip from her arms to the ground, "what, it seems to be a reasonable statement to me. For God's sake, our former enemy just kicked the snot out of our still-enemy."

"Still-enemy?" Chrno questioned.

"Carmen-talk," Vincent said, and when everyone just stared at him, he sighed, "yeah, I don't understand it either." Which awarded him with hit upside the head, "abusive woman!"

Anna had a serious expression about her face, "ok, even if he had done something awful to you, why turn on him so suddenly and help his enemies? Not only that, but what's with the hair and eye color change?" she questioned, suspicious.

"That's why I turned so suddenly." Seeing the still suspicious look, she turned her neck and pointed to the discolored marking on her neck. "When he intoxicates others, their hair and eye color change so that they match his own, kind of a way to show they belong to him. The last time I began to recover from that intoxication, I locked away one thought in my mind before he re-intoxicated me, that I was being manipulated and that I needed help.

"Over the last month I've been pondering why that thought had been running through my mind, and then Carmen said something that put it together for me. Zuberi had been careful with how he acted towards me, making sure when I awoke I was always the first to label what we were to each other. I've seen it happen many times before, the devils or humans he controlled, when they were intoxicated, their memories would change. Zuberi is not my brother, he had been my lover when we ruled over Egypt, up until we had been released from our tomb."

"So why did you come to while you fought? Wouldn't you have done so before coming here?" Mary asked innocently.

"They say knowledge is power for a reason. The more I know, the faster I revert to myself, to my own person, the one who can make decisions for herself." She laughed once, shaking her head, "my fight with Carmen was a diversion. I was allowing myself to take in everything. All the information. Zuberi's betrayal, exactly what was happening, and where my loyalties, for the time being, should lie."

"What do you mean?" James questioned, becoming defensive.

"Worry not, I'm not going to turn against any of you, in a way, you saved me from slavery, so I owe you. I only mean whether I should just return now to my home, or whether I should stay and help, then go home." Returning home was more likely, to Isis, figuring that the head of the Order would not want to put a former enemy up in the convent.

"Any help is welcomed," Kate said, bowing her head and smiling, "against Aion, we're going to need every bit we can get."

"Yeah!" Rosette laughed, jumping into the conversation, "and if you end up liking it here, you could stay to help kick more devil butt!"

Chrno smiled at Rosette, shaking his head. Everyone else rolled their eyes, but Isis smiled, "it sounds lovely to have a place where I'm welcome and needed, but I have no business here except to defeat Zuberi. I do not believe in your God and I have no attachments here, I will return home once Zuberi's existence is erased."

Tapping her cheek with her index finger, Rosette grinned, "ok then, you say that now, but you can't help but get attached to this place." Falling over, no one could believe that Rosette was being persistent about this.

"You seem so sure, but I must ask, why would you want a devil to live here?" questioned the ruby haired devil.

"Three are already living here, why not one more?" Kate's mouth hung open, and as she was about to say something, her mouth closed and she shrugged.

"That's actually true." She stated aloud.

"That may be true, but I'm sure even the devils here believe in your God."

"Not really, we only really began studying up on their religion here after we were told we were needed. It's interesting, to say the least. If you look into it, you might end up liking it." Carmen giggled, returning to her child like form.

Kate shook her head, "right now this is not a question of whether you will stay in the future and take up the religion we teach here. For now, we shall accommodate you within the order, as we deal with our enemies, if you wish to stay, I will allow it. If after you complete your endeavors, you choose to leave, we shall wish you well."

Isis bowed to Kate, "I thank you for your kindness."

"One problem, Sister Kate, where will she sleep? I don't think Elder's hut would be the best place." Rosette stated.

"It seems we will have to rearrange our guests' sleeping arrangements." Laughed Ewan, "Rosette, would you mind if... Azmaria bunked with you?"

Rosette grinned, "that's fine with me!" At this, Azmaria ran to Rosette and hugged the older sister tightly, squealing in delight.

"Vincent and Carmen, you two can occupy her room, Mary, do you mind bunking with Claire?" Both Claire and Mary smiled and said that it was fine. "Then you shall use Mary's room, Isis."

"Thank you," Isis said, bowing her head.

"So, since three devils are staying within the convent walls, and none of them have been here longer than Chrno has, does that mean he can stay in the rooms as well?" Rosette questioned, seeing that it was only fair.

Kate looked at Chrno, who raised his hands, "No, no, no, that's fine, I'm good with staying in the Elder's hut."

Said old man crept up behind Chrno out of nowhere, appearing just above his left shoulder, "what if I need the extra room for my experiments, lad? Would you put an old man through that kind of trouble?"

"Uhhhh..." Chrno laughed nervously.

"If you wish Chrno, you may stay where you feel comfortable." Chrno's eyes bulged at Kate's words, and Rosette celebrated.

"Alright, tonight we are staying up and telling scary stories! Ready the flashlight Chrno!" Rosette cheered, grabbing Azmaria and Chrno by the wrists and running into the order.

"Does she not care that I'm standing right here?" questioned Kate, sighing and shaking her head.

"Both of them have had a rough day, I think we can allow her to stay up past curfew. Knowing her, she'll pass out before it anyways." Laughed Ewan.

Carmen frowned, "how come we get our own rooms? I want to room with Sister Rosette! She's a lot more fun to hang out with than Vincent, and she doesn't smell!"

"Are you saying I stink?" growled Vincent.

"Yes."

"Why you..." Vincent began chasing after Carmen, who cried dramatically.

"Waaaaaah, Vincent's being mean!"

By this time, James and the other order members had been weirded out to the point where they exited silently. Ewan, Kate and Isis were left standing.

"In any case, welcome to the Order, Isis was it?" said devil nodded, "I shall show you to your room." Ewan followed the two inside, leaving Carmen and Vincent behind.

"Hey! Wait for us, we don't know where Mary's room is!" Having yelled that, they ran to catch up, making sure the gate to the order was shut.

-----The Next Morning-----

Rosette awoke early, stretching her arms high above her head, she yawned. She was about to move to get out of bed when something hit her hip. Looking down, she saw Azmaria sleeping deeply beside her. Smiling warmly at the small girl, she threw the covers off of herself, tucked them under the still sleeping girl, and stood up. Trying her best not to jostle the bed, she walked to the foot of the bed and jumped off.

She remembered now, Chrno and Azmaria had been assigned to sleep in her room while the three devils were here. Her smile wavered, Chrno had been in the room when she fell asleep, so where was he now? Curious, she went into her bathroom, no sign of the violet haired devil. Frowning, she gathered her clothes and quickly changed in the bathroom, then quietly exited the room.

"Chrno! Chrno, where are you?" Her eyes roamed the court yard, looking for her devil companion. She stopped when she saw a glint up in a tree. "Chrno, is that you?" Running over to the tree, she looked up only to see Chrno rubbing at his eyes.

"Good morning," he said, sleep still lacing his voice, he rolled over on his branch and fell to the ground, landing easily on his feet.

"Why were you sleeping out here, Chrno? It would have been much warmer if you had stayed in the room." She frowned, had he not wanted to sleep in the same room with her? Had the days events made it too awkward for him? Rosette immediately felt horrible, of course he was feeling awkward, they had just heard that they were fated to have a child together, and from his actions, it didn't seem like he was too happy about it.

"I wanted to gaze at the stars," he replied, smiling a sleepy smile.

Rosette plastered a fake smile on her face, "I bet they were beautiful last night," of course it was awkward, he didn't love her, they were just friends.

"Hmm, they had been better the night before," he said as he rung out his hair, the nuns' eyes bulged, "it was a bit too rainy last night."

"Chrno! This is how you're going to get yourself sick again! You should have just stayed in my room, come on, you need to go take a shower and warm yourself up." Grabbing his wrist, she made her way back into the convent, dragging a protesting devil behind her.

"Rosette, I'm jake, seriously! Rosette!" Powerless against the nun, he ended up following her orders, albeit, for him it was extremely awkward.

Having the woman you loved sitting outside the shower curtain to make sure said devil actually took the shower she demanded would make it so. Once he was done, she left the room to give him privacy. By this time, Azmaria had awakened, and was sitting up in Rosette's bed.

"Uhh, Rosette, who's in the shower?" she asked innocently.

"Chrno." she answered simply, and when her face reddened Rosette explained, "he slept outside and it rained, so I made him take a shower to warm himself up."

"Rosette, where did you put my clothes." Came Chrno's voice from the bathroom.

"That's what I forgot to do!" Rosette exclaimed, hitting her palm with the side of her fist, "I remember now, that's why I grabbed your clothes, I'm going to wash them."

"So what am I supposed to do? Sit in here until they are clean and dried?" Chrno's voice was laced with dread.

Rosette cackled, "give me two minutes." Both Azmaria and Chrno knew something was up, and when she returned in two minutes with a small brown package, Azmaria had to wonder what it was.

Slightly opening the door, Rosette stuck her hand with the brown package into the room. When she felt it's weight leave her hand, she closed the door and covered her mouth as she cackled.

"Rosette, what was in that package?" Azmaria asked, worried for her friends' safety.

Grinning from ear to ear, Rosette backed away from the door, covering her mouth as she waited for Chrno to open the door. A few minutes passed, there was no noise on either side of the door. When the door finally cracked open, both woman trained their eyes on the opening.

"What is this Rosette? I look so... so weird!" As Chrno came into full view, Rosette fell over laughing. Azmaria giggled.

"You look so handsome in blue," she told him.

"No, it looks weird and it's about three sizes too big. Not to mention, I'm wearing the female order uniform! Rosette, why?!" Cried the poor devil, his face alight with color.

"Pay back for being so ridiculous," cackled the nun, "in any case, all that was left were sizes for someone about the age of fifteen." Grinning knowingly, tears streamed down Chrno's face.

"Quit making fun of the fact that I look like I'm twelve!" Rosette grinned at this.

"Sorry Chrno, but you'll have to wear that until your clothes are dried."

"Then I'm not leaving this room until my clothes are dried."

Another grin, "perfect. See you in a while then, come on, Azmaria, we have some chores to get done and some clothes to wash." Both women left the room, leaving a disbelieving devil behind.

"You can't be serious, Rosette." No answer came from the other side of the door, "Rosette?" still no answer, "Rosette!"

-----Rosette and Azmaria-----

"Was it really ok to just leave Chrno like that? He sounds upset." Rosette sighed once again.

"Az, did you get a good look at his eyes? He didn't sleep very well last night. He's not going to leave my room in that uniform, which, by the way, was not the only uniform I could have brought him, but that being besides the point, if he refuses to leave the room, he'll get bored, and when that happens, he'll get some rest."

The two women walked through the court yard, readying themselves to wash Chrno's clothes, when Azmaria stopped at the tree Chrno had been in that morning.

"Rosette, look at the ground!" Azmaria pointed to a faint imprint of a fist.

Kneeling down next to the print, Rosette ran her hand over it. She frowned deeply, "it's Chrno's," she stated, "what inner turmoil are you hiding?"

Looking up at the lavender haired apostle, Rosette shook her head, and both continued on towards the laundry. Both were silent as they washed the clothes, and never said a word as they hung everything up to dry. Once they were done, Anna ran over to them and asked them to help with a few chores. Knowing that it would be a while before anything was dried, they agreed, knowing Chrno needed to sleep anyways.

Hours passed while Rosette and Azmaria cleaned and swept, tended the gardens and washed dishes. By the time they were done, it was at least four in the afternoon. Azmaria went off to the church for her choir practice, leaving Rosette to check on Chrno's clothes. To her delight, they were dry. Taking them off the line, she made her way back to her room.

As she made her way back to her room, Rosette began to feel increasingly nervous. What if he was mad at her, or what if he was sleeping? Gulping, she pushed the thoughts away, she'd knock lightly, and if he was mad, so what? He'd get over it. Stopping outside of her door, she did as she had decided and knocked lightly, and when no answer came, she quietly opened the door.

To her annoyance, Chrno was sleeping in the corner of the room.

"Geeze, you could have slept on my bed, I wouldn't have been mad." She grumbled to herself.

Sighing, she placed his clothes on her bed and went to sit near him. She had to smile, he looked so cute and peaceful while he was sleeping, especially with the whole 'purring' thing going on. She began to wonder when he had fallen asleep. Had it been recently? Or had he fallen asleep soon after she had left the room with Azmaria?

She sighed and stood up, "well, at least you're getting some sleep now."

Tip toeing her way to the door, she stopped when she heard him stir, "Rosette... don't go..." she quickly turned, thinking he had woken up.

His eyes were still closed, and he hadn't moved an inch. He was still asleep.

His expression became angered, "get away from her... she's mine..." he mumbled.

A blush crept across the young nun's face. Had he just called her, his? Irritation welled up within her, and she wasn't sure whether or not she should hit him for that. Sighing, her irritation left her when she heard him call out her name with a pained cry. Smiling softly, she walked over and knelt next to him.

She reached her hand out and moved his bangs from his face, "whatever you're dreaming Chrno, I'm here, and I'm jake. Forget whatever it is your dreaming now and think of happy times." Standing up, she walked back to the door, not expecting her words to actually have any effect.

"Thank you... Rosette..." Turning once more, she witnessed a peaceful smile once again on his face.

"You're welcome, Chrno. Sleep well." The strange encounter having ended, Rosette slid down the face of the door. Now she knew how Chrno was feeling, but it was awkward not knowing exactly what the devil felt for her. Were his dreams a sign that he loved her as well, or merely possessive of her?

-----Three Hours Later-----

Chrno awoke, feeling happy and refreshed. He had dreamed of the times he had shared with Rosette and Joshua when they had been younger. Smiling, he looked about the room, and spotted his clothes on Rosette's bed. The devil began wondering how long he had been asleep, the last he remembered, the sun was still in the sky.

Stretching, he stood up, the sky was dark, so he must have been out for a while, he concluded in his mind. Walking over to Rosette's bed, he grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom to change. Once done, he folded the uniform he had temporarily used and placed it on Rosette's bed where his had been.

It was dark out, but not too dark, Chrno figured it was probably around the time Rosette usually ate her dinner. Stretching his arms above his head, he exited the room and made his way to the dining hall.

His assumption in time was spot on, as was usual, Rosette had a tray filled to the bursting point with food. His usual bowl of soup was also on it. Smiling warmly, Chrno walked silently towards his contractor, sitting down next to her without a word. As he did so, Rosette turned her head to smile at him, handed him his bowl of soup, and proceeded to thank God silently for her meal and then dug in.

Once they were both done, they sat, silently thanking God once again for the meal. Rosette was the first to break their silence.

"Did you sleep well, Chrno?" she questioned, smiling down at him.

A slight blush crossed his face, how could he not have expected her to catch him sleeping? "Yeah, I slept well," after a moment he added, "I dreamt of the times we spent together with Joshua." A smile crossed his face as he closed his eyes and raised his head towards the heavens, "everything was so simple back than, wasn't it?"

Rosette leaned back and looked upwards as well, gazing at the paintings on the ceiling, "yeah, they had been. I don't mind that things have changed though, sure, I wish that Aion had never come into the picture, but if not for Remington, we'd never have ended up here, and I wouldn't have been able to help out so many people." She shook her head, "we wouldn't be here if not for everything that happened."

"Would you give it all up, if it meant you could save Joshua from ever being touched by Aion's influence?" In his heart, Chrno knew the answer.

Smiling ruefully, Rosette hugged her knees to her chest, "would it be horrible of me to say no? Even though it's been hard, and even though we've been searching for him for four years, I can't regret having come here, with or without my brother. All the people, all the experiences, everything, I cherish it all, and no matter how much I wish there was something I could trade to make Aion's existence not matter in anyone's life, I wouldn't give up what I have now."

"I wish I could say the same, I regret the day I took Aion's hand and followed him." Crossing his arms on the table top, he laid his chin on his arms, "it's been the same since that day, I've been the cause of so many deaths." His fists tightening, Chrno clamped his eyes shut, trying to keep the tears from his eyes.

Her hand on the back of his head, Rosette pushed him into the table, her whole being pissed, "so what was that yesterday? Huh?"

"R-Rosette!"

"Tell me, if you're the cause of 'so many deaths' then how come you were able to keep everyone alive and pretty much unscathed yesterday?" growled out the sister.

"I... I didn't want anyone to get hurt." Rosette let up on her grip, and allowed Chrno to sit up, "I didn't want to be useless anymore.

"Che, that's stupid, for someone so smart you can be extremely dumb, Chrno." Crimson eyes gave ocean blue a questioning look, "you do more good than I do here, sometimes. As Elder said, you cook, you clean, and you keep my butt out of trouble. If there was ever a person to call a saint, it's you."

Shaking his head, Chrno laughed, "saint, no, I don't think I could ever merit a title that high. Besides, keeping you out of danger isn't that hard, you can take care of yourself."

"Yet I get myself into trouble all the time, and when I lose my head, you reattach it."

"Ok, that just sounds weird and wrong." Chrno stated, glancing at his contractor.

"It doesn't matter, you're a saint because I said so, you do more good than most of the members here." With that, she took the empty bowl of soup and the tray, and returned it to the kitchen. When she came back, she continued, "in any case, Sister Kate said to be ready for tomorrow."

"Ready for what?"

"Tomorrow Carmen and Vincent are going to enter the watch." Standing up from his spot, Chrno looked on towards Rosette, his expression serious.

"Are you sure about this, Rosette? Once the changes start happening, if they happen, there's no going back."

Grinning, said nun gave him the thumbs up, "I'm sure Chrno, this won't just help me, but it'll help you too. You'll get your horns back, right?" Looking down, Chrno's expression darkened. "Chrno?"

"I'm not sure what getting them back will mean for me." He said, glaring at the table top, "with that power returning to me, will I change?"

"Oi, what's with the dark thoughts? Get a grip, Chrno, you aren't going to change just because you can survive on your own again. I won't let you." Chrno's eyes shot immediately to Rosette's, his gaze questioning, "besides," she said, a sheepish grin lighting her face, "I'll always need you, Chrno."

At a loss for words, Chrno's mouth opened and shut with no purpose. In context to what she said, what exactly did that mean? She would always need him as a friend? Or something... more? Looking down for a moment, the small devil decided, whatever she really meant, he could at least say the same.

When he looked back up at his contractor, a true smile lit his face, "I'll always be there for you, Rosette."

Grinning back at her partner, Rosette nodded, acknowledging the same.

That night, Azmaria, Rosette and Chrno all had a pillow fight in Rosette's room, kind of as a way to relieve tension and to be a little carefree, if only for a while. Not only that, but since Chrno had been asleep for most of the day, he was wide awake. Not wanting him to be exhausted when Carmen and Vincent entered the watch, Rosette took it upon herself to tire him out.

Their activities also served as a way to keep conversation away from the questions everyone was dying to ask. What about the prophecy, what did it really mean for them? Was it really referring to the sister and the young violet haired devil, were they really 'prophesized' to have a child, because it was predicted, or is it prophesized because it's inevitable for them to come together?

Whatever the reason might have been for it, Chrno was relieved that his companions didn't bring it up. As much as he loved Rosette, he didn't need to be reminded that the future child that prophecy predicted would never become reality. He needn't be reminded that Rosette only felt friendship toward him, and that Joshua would always been number one in her heart.

-----The next morning-----

The essential people (and devils) gathered in Sister Kate's office. Kate sat behind her desk, her hands neatly folded on the top, while Ewan stood perfectly still beside her. In front of the desk, Rosette leaned on her right leg, her arms crossed, a grin on her face. Chrno stood next to her, a worried look on his face. Opposite of them, Carmen and Vincent stood relaxed, smiling kindly at the nun and her partner. Standing in front of the desk opposite of Kate's position was Elder, who was in the room to supervise in case something were to go wrong. Azmaria stood quietly by the door, having been told to be ready to throw open the door in case of an emergency.

"Today's the day," Commented Vincent, his smile easy and kind.

Chrno averted his gaze, rubbing his arm, "I'd rather not think about it."

Understanding how he felt, Carmen smiled warmly, "then I suppose it's best we get this over with as soon as possible, eh?"

Rosette placed her hand on Chrno's head, and when the small devil looked up, she pushed him over, "you worry too much Chrno, lighten up." she told him, "everything will be jake!"

Sitting up, Chrno rubbed his head which had hit the floor, looked at Rosette and gave her a half smile, "I hope so." When the nun gave him a death glare, he backed up, his hands up to defend himself, "alright, alright, everything will be jake!"

The Elder cleared his throat, "ok, I'll explain this once before anyone does anything. Before Sister Rosette opens the watch, Carmen and Vincent will both place their hands on it. The reason for this is when another source of astral comes in contact with the surface, the draining will come from that source. However, since there will be two sources, the flow will stop in the middle and won't be taken from either Sister Rosette of Carmen and Vincent."

Everyone in the room nodded, Elder continued, "I've looked at the mechanics of the watch, Carmen, Vincent, just under the clock face there is what looks to be a button. Having tested it by pressing a piece of a devils horn against it, I witnessed that it was taken into the watch. However, I had a trace on the piece of horn and from what I can tell, it's as if it was taken into an alternate dimension, it was very curious." after speculating for a moment, he continued, "within this dimension there is another button that's identical to the one under the clock face. If you are to press that, the watch will expel your souls."

Rosette blinked, "whoa, whoa, whoa Elder, did you just say their 'souls?' I thought the watch would take in their bodies!"

"The watch cannot support a solid form, it can only hold spirits, or as we call them, souls. While in the watch, both Carmen and Vincent's bodies will be kept safe while their souls feed you their astral. When times comes for them to leave, you will return to where their bodies lay in a dormant state. You'll have to place their hands on the surface of the watch, on the same side, so if Carmen touches the right side, her hand must again touch the right side, for example. Other than that, once their hands are on the watch, their souls can push the button in the watches dimension and, 'bam!' They are back in their bodies, ready to absorb more astral."

The whole process seemed simple enough, but it still made the violet haired devil nervous. Rosette was not of the same mind frame, "alright, I'm ready when you two are!"

"Ready!" The two devils chimed.

"You going to be ok, Chrno?" Sister Kate asked, seeing as how said devil looked like he was going to be sick.

"I'll be jake…" he managed as he stood next to Rosette.

"Ok then, please proceed, Carmen, Vincent." Nodding, both stepped forward.

Both devils were in their adult forms in order to release their energy as smoothly as possible. With a smile, both placed a hand on the watches surface, Carmen on the left, Vincent on the right. Grinning, Rosette opened the watch. For a moment, there was a wind coming from that watch that seemed to be trying to pull everything toward it. Rosette watched in amazement as her hair danced about her face. Chrno blinked a few times, watching in curiosity as the wind died down.

Stepping out from behind the desk, Ewan went to stand behind the devils.

Carmen and Vincent smiled at one another then at Chrno and Rosette. "Well, this is farewell to our physical bodies," Carmen laughed, "until we're settled, Rosette, Chrno." she said with a smile.

Rosette nodded, and while keeping her fingers on the watches surface, Carmen reached out with her index finger and pressed the small silver button within the watch. The wind that had died picked up ten-fold, so strong that the group was forced to close their eyes and look away. When it had stopped again and they were able to look, they witnessed as Carmen's body collapsed into Ewan's arms.

Dragging her over to the chair in the corner of the room, specifically placed there for the days event, Ewan placed her there and then went to stand behind Vincent. The blue haired devil glanced in the direction of Carmen's body, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth.

It was as if he were deciding something when he looked back at the two before him and smiled. "Looks like it's my turn," he said with a laugh, "be sure to close the watch as soon as my body begins to fall, ok, Sister?" Nodding in understand, Vincent followed Carmen's example.

The effect was immediate. The wind came quickly, but instead of looking away, Chrno squinted, keeping watch to see exactly when Vincent's body started to fall. As the wind grew weaker, Chrno noted that Vincent was swaying, "shut it now, Rosette!" cried the small devil.

Quickly shutting the device, the wind stopped completely and Vincent's body collapsed into Ewan's arms, sleeping without its soul.

'That was an interesting experience,' Rosette could hear in her mind, 'it wasn't as shocking as I thought it was going to be.'

Rosette would have said something out loud about it being weird having Carmen's voice in her head, but she remembered that the she-devil had talked to her about it when it had just been her. Deciding that it probably meant she should keep it a secret for now, she said nothing.

"Rosette?" Chrno's voice shook her from her thoughts, "how are you feeling, Rosette?"

"Jake, how about you, Chrno?" she asked him back.

"I feel…" he began to answer too quickly, but then he stopped, blinking rapidly, "I actually feel… a little sick." covering his mouth, Chrno blanked out and fell backwards, hitting his head on his way down to the floor.

"Chrno!" Rosette kneeled beside him.

'Don't worry about him,' came Vincent's voice, 'he just got overwhelmed by the rush of energy.'

Wouldn't a rush of energy, you know, energize him? Rosette asked out with her thoughts.

'You'd think,' Carmen's voice began, 'but it's like when you have too much sugar, you feel really good and hyped up, and then you crash. He'll be fine after he rests a little. You should probably take it easy as well.'

"Sister Rosette?" Kate question, wondering why the girl froze in her spot.

Rosette shook her head, "it's nothing, I'm jake." She shifted her eyes from side to side for a moment, "I think he's just tired, may I be excused to take him back to my room, Sister Kate?" questioned the nun timidly.

Blinking, the abbess nodded and excused Azmaria as well. Both young women helped picked up the small devil and carried him to the older nuns room.

Ewan and Kate looked on as they left the room, Elder was grinning, happy with his research and the result of the transfer.

"Do you suppose things will become a little easier for them, Ewan?" Kate questioned, hopeful of the answer.

Ewan did not have a promising expression, "maybe when it comes to energy," he began, frowning, "but when it comes to the tasks and trials they must overcome, I'm afraid that it will become much, much more difficult."

It was the answer that Kate had been afraid of, but knew very well would be likely. Sitting back in her chair, she raised her face to the ceiling.

"Lord, bless those two with your love and protection." With that said, Ewan and Elder picked up the bodies of Carmen and Vincent and strode slowly out of the abbess' office, heading to a place in the Elder's laboratory that would keep their bodies safe and healthy.

DK: Ah, finally, another chapter completed!

V: Certainly took you long enough!

DK: Hey, hey, hey, you can bite me! I have college classes to deal with, I don't have time to just sit on my butt for ten thousand hours and type.

R: … yet you sit on your butt for ten thousand hours and do nothing.

DK: ~covers Rosette's mouth~ Shhh, they don't know I do nothing when I'm relaxing in my dorm!

C: Seeing as how no one else is going to move forward, I will give the overview of the next chapter.

~clears his throat~

A month passes after Carmen and Vincent enter the watch, and the first signs of change are occurring for Rosette and myself. When a few higher ranked devils decide that they want to attack the order, and Rosette attacks in an unusual way, it's up to me to guide her through it.

R: Of course with the help of Carmen and Vincent as well, since you don't know I can hear them.

C: Yes, there's that too.

DK: Ok guys, I'll talk to you later. For now, I don't know when I will be able to continue, so in the meantime, leave some feedback! Bye, bye!