Chrono was led by gun point to a cabin in the very front of the train, his arms held behind his back the entire time. He was silent as he was led away from Rosette and Azmaria. His captors also were silent. Knowing he could easily escape, he chose not to, for the sake of those who could not fight back. These people were terrorists, unafraid to take hostages. What else were these people willing to do to get what they wanted? Chrono couldn't take that chance.

"In there," one of the people holding him grunted, unlocking a door and shoving Chrono into a cabin where faint crying could be heard. Chrono stumbled into the cabin and the door was quickly locked again.

"Shush, Lilllith, it'll be OK. We just have to behave," a young boy was saying comfortingly to a little girl next to him. Chrono walked up slowly and offered the crying girl a handkerchief. With wide eyes, she accepted it and wiped her eyes. The protective arms around her tightened instinctively.

"I'm Chrono, a passenger on this trip as well. I promise that I won't hurt you. This will work out if we just stay calm," Chrono assured them both.

"I'm Adam. This is my little sister Lillith. I'm sorry if you got drawn into this," the boy told him. The two kids were clearly siblings, given how much like each other they looked. Both had black hair and green eyes, as well as the shape shaped eyes and nose."This is all our fault."

"No, this is no one's fault but the terrorist's," Chrono corrected him. "You're just victims as well here. If I can help it, I'll make sure you two don't get hurt. Can you two trust me enough to believe me?" The two children nodded fearfully. "Alright then. How about we get to know each other? It'll help pass the time."

--

No one noticed three people skulking around the cars. Joshua had somehow gotten them out of a room from the inside that was locked from the outside. Leaving the thinking to others, she only thought of getting Chrono back and stopping these terrorists.

"This way," Joshua urged, pointing to a door that led to a storage compartment. They waited for everyone to leave that area and snuck in quickly and quietly. Joshua shut the door behind them with a sigh of relief.

"This is unusual behavior for a priest," Azmaria said with a laugh.

"Me? A normal priest? Perish the thought," Joshua joked. "Besides, they don't have any serious police present in the town where this train was hijacked from. I promised the town that I would watch over Lillith and Adam, since I was halfway on the train when they took it."

"Why did they take two kids and bring them on board against their will like they did?" Rosette asked. "That's odd behavior for terrorists. Usually they would just take hostages from the train passengers."

"Lillith and Adam are the joint heirs to a very large and prestigious family," Joshua said heavily. "Their family is very rich, both in money and property. Unless the town sends a huge amount of money to the terrorists, they're going to crash this train, heirs and everyone else on board." He pulled out a map and unrolled it, indicating a spot on the map. "In about twelve hours, this train will be going over a section of track that extends over a river, actually high above the river. These tracks were just installed recently. If this train goes down there, there is no chance of survival for anyone on board."

"So our deadline is twelve hours from now," Rosette summarized. "Do you have a plan of action?"

"Actually, yes, I do. But it wasn't very effective with only one person doing it," Joshua told them, rolling the map back up and stowing it away. "We start from the car in front of us, incapacitating any of the terrorists on board. We have the passengers restrain them in some way while we move onto the next car. Azmaria and Rosette, I want you two to be a team. Azmaria may be strong, but she doesn't have any combat experience. I will be able to be on my own. After all, these are only humans. The only true weapon they have on their side is fear and deception."

"And if we should find Chrono, he could take another car apart from us," Azmaria pointed out. Joshua smiled and nodded. "Do we know where all the terrorists are?"

"Three of them, the ringleaders of this operation, are in the front car running everything. They have about fifteen lackeys keeping the other cars under control. That's also where Lillith and Adam are. As I understand, the hostages being taken from the other cars are being held there as well, in different compartments separated into small groups," Joshua said.

"So that's where Chrono will be," Rosette stated.

"Yes. But I want you two to take the back cars. I'll find Chrono in the front and have him help me take down the ringleaders. If they fall, this operations fails," Joshua told them. "Rosette, I would send you and Azmaria up there, but you're still too hotheaded to act clearly in such a crucial spot."

"I don't like it, but I agree," Rosette muttered resentfully. "If they hurt Chrono, they'll regret it."

"I won't let anyone hurt Chrono," Joshua promised. "And Chrono can take care of himself anyways."

"When do we start?" Azmaria asked.

"The sooner the better," Joshua replied evenly. "You two up to it now?" He put an open hand in the center of them all. Rosette and Azmaria put their hands in as well. "We don't end this until this train is freed."

--

Lillith cringed as they heard another door slam shut and lock, suppressing a sob. Adam also shuddered. They huddled next to Chrono, one of their hands reaching over his lap to hold each other's hands. "It'll be OK," Chrono said soothingly, rubbing each of their backs in circular motions. They dug in closer to him. "I won't let anything happen to you if it's within my power to do so."

"Chrono, can you help me protect my sister?" Adam asked softly. "I wanna protect her, but there's not much I can do."

"Keep nurturing that bond and it will make you both very strong," Chrono told them. "You remind me of my friends Joshua and Rosette Christopher. They're siblings who are just as close as you two. It was severely tested, but now it's stronger than ever."

"You mean Father Christopher?" Lillith asked excitedly. "Father Joshua Christopher. Short blonde hair, green eyes, he's really nice. Is that the same one you know? He's always mentioning that's he's gonna protect his sister Rosette. And just recently he told us an old friend Chrono had returned from a long trip."

"Sounds like him," Chrono replied cheerfully. Lillith and Adam yawned. "You two sleep if you're tired. I'll watch over you both. So don't worry about a thing." They nodded and were out within seconds. Chrono carefully maneuvered himself from in between them and moved them closer to each other, covering them up with his jacket. Sighing, he sat nearby. Even in sleep, his two charges clung to each other. Chrono saw this and hoped that their bond would not be tested the way Joshua and Rosette's had.

I will protect you both. In this situation, it's all I can do. So I'll do this with all my heart, Chrono swore as he settled in for the wait that this situation was sure to bring.

--

"Azmaria, leave the dirty work to me," Rosette said with a saucy grin as Joshua ran to the front of the car. Rosette and Azmaria turned to go the opposite direction. The car they had just entered only had two lackeys in it. So Rosette silently crept up behind one of them and tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, the man turned around, only to meet Rosette's fist slamming into his gut. He went limp without a fight. She lowered him to the ground, kicking the second guy in the balls as he tried to come up on her from behind.

Azmaria also had apparently karate chopped the guy as Rosette kicked him. He too went limp. "Can you passengers please restrain their movements somehow? This would help our efforts to reclaim this train greatly," Azmaria asked sweetly. Several of the males in the compartment came forward, some pulling off the ties from their business suits as they moved the criminals to a corner.

"If they come to and try to attack, feel free to defend yourself. Just be quiet about it," Rosette urged them. Several people nodded. Young children went to the adults for comfort. Nodding jerkily in return, Rosette and Azmaria went into the next car. Three lackeys were in this one.

"I'll take one Rosette," Azmaria said eagerly. Rosette had no time to answer as one moved to hit her. Rosette swung around with an elbow as Azmaria leveled herself using the shoulders of one of the other criminals, using the momentum to knee the guy in the gut. Rosette handled the third one easily enough. This time she didn't need to ask people to help tie them up.

"We'll block the door once you two leave," a young lady told them . "If you need to reenter, tell us you're involved with the effort to reclaim the train." She smiled and urged them through.

"That was a nice one," Rosette complimented as they entered the next car.

"But of course. These people are not only threatening my friends, but these innocent passengers. I won't stand for this," Azmaria replied. Both grinning, they gave each other a high five.

Things went easily enough, even to the point where they reached the last car and liberated them. That was when they heard the gunshut from the front of the train, followed by a scream. Without a word, they ran to the front of the car, wondering who had been shot.

--

Author's Note: About the ending, the next chapter will pick up as Joshua begins his own sweep. Eventually, Rosette and Azmaria will catch up when they hear the gunshot. Just wanted to get that out and understood now in case this was not made clear. Sometimes I have trouble when it comes to this, since I know what will happen and how it all works together. Since you guys don't have access to my mind, you guys may not know if how I put was not written clearly enough.