My quest to rewrite this story continues, wish me luck.

Disclaimer: The great series Chrno Crusade does not belong to me. Only Daisuke Moriyama has the honor.

Here she was again.

Embraced by the darkness, every inch of her skin kissed and worshiped by the cold.

Alone and blind she stood and awaited what was sure to come.

You see she has been here many times before.

Slowly her eyes adjusted to the darkness and they dull gray walls full of strange patterns, became visible but now they had been angrily cracked and twisted and from any opening in the once smooth stone more darkness and cold flowed out like a million malignant waterfalls.

And in the center of the nightmarish room was a metal cross.

An empty metal cross…

A painful shot of fear and excitement ran through her body and for the first time she truly felt the cold in this accursed place.

She could feel her heart beating furiously inside her rib-cage. An overwhelming urge to run singing in her poor terrified nerves.

But she knew that no matter in which direction she took off she would always end up here.

Always where it all started.

Why was she so afraid?

She knew what would happen.

It was always like this.

It always stopped.

So why it still terrified her so much?

Because it had never stopped haunting her.

Ever since that day when she wandered off with her brother to search for an adventure she had never forgotten this awful place or the fear and wonder she had felt…

She could still hear the sound of the ticking watch chasing after her, calling her back into the darkness… and to him.

Tick

A pull on her lower belly. A tingling in the back of her neck. The laboring of her breath.

He was here. He was watching her.

Tock

"Where are you?!"

Anger replaced fear.

She was no coward. She had handled everything the world had decided to throw at her and he was not going to the exception.

She was too tired to deal with his shit.

Tick

Louder and louder.

Tock

He was coming.

Tick

A movement! A slight stir in the darkness in the corner of her eye.

She turned!

Tock

Only to find nothing.

Tick

But he was here.

She could feel him.

A presence in the back of her mind, the soft murmur of a heartbeat that wasn't hers, the crackle of electricity against her skin.

She knew his presence better than she knew her own brother's.

"Show Yourself! NOW!"

Tock

Louder and louder

Tick

Impatient for him to make his move, and wanting to just get over it, she made hers.

She turned to leave.

Tock

An arm shot out from the darkness, strong and warm it enveloped her waist in a firm grip. With an upsetting amount of strength but an even more disturbing amount of gentleness it pulled her to him, and soon enough she could feel her back touching a male chest, a toned firm male chest… a toned, firm, male chest that was warm, moving slightly with his every breath and just thrumming with a life that it should not possess and that felt disturbingly pleasant against her back.

And that was always the scariest part.

Tick

Louder and louder it became.

Tock

"Don't go…"

It was a low, deep whisper against her neck that made her shiver in fear and excitement.

Her hands flew to the arm that held her, gripping and scratching, trying to pull it off of her with all strength.

Useless…

Tick

A sigh against her skin, a second hand wrapped around her right one and firmly pulled her struggling arm until it stretched with his. Rendering her already useless attack even more useless.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Don't be afraid."

Embarrassment, anger, a pit of fire inside her.

"I am NOT afraid of you!"

Tock

She feels more than hears the small chuckle and wishes that her she was at the right angle to elbow him in the face.

Tick

She missed.

He laughed.

Tock

Helpless, small, scared, alone and not alone.

Like a child waiting for her parents to come home only to slowly realize that they were never coming back.

Rosette never wanted to feel that helpless again.

So she struggled and cursed and pulled and kicked but it was like a kitten meowing and trying to scratch a lion.

"Let me go! You sick son of a whore! Let me go so I can kick your ass!"

And let go of her he did. He disappeared so suddenly that she lost her balance and fell on the cold wet floor.

Growling and cursing she rose to face the never ending darkness and although he said nothing she could feel his amusement.

"It's not funny!"

"Well it's not sad either."

She hated him. Oh how she hated him.

He was playing with her and no one messed with Rosette Christopher unless they intended to spend a long and relaxing vacation in the intensive care unit.

She raised her fists ready to fight. Every sense on max trying to find him. Breathing fast she searched in the darkness for any sign of her enemy.

"Rosette that's enough. I'm trying to talk to you."

"Oh really?! I couldn't really tell with all the unwanted touching!"

A sigh echoed in the darkness, sad and a little frustrated.

"This is important and we don't have much time."

A rumble in the emptiness a lightening of the atmosphere, she knew this part too, it was almost over.

"Be prepared."

His voice was getting distant.

"It's getting dangerous."

Just a few more seconds.

And suddenly there was a strong clawed hand gripping hers, he was so close, too close she wanted to go away she wanted him to go away.

His breath burned against the skin of her neck and she watched helplessly and a claw ran across her fingers cutting them in the same place that she has all those years ago, red blood glowing in the cold air. She wanted to scream but then it got trapped in her throat.

"I'm coming to get you."

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock

Rosette Christopher opened her eyes and immediately raised her hand to shield them from the soft morning light. She gazed at her fingers, relieved to find that the skin was intact and pristine even though she knew it had been just a dream.

It had been different this time. He had never been so insistent to talk to her, he sound almost urgent.

She could still feel his hot breath against her neck…

With a frustrated growl she slammed her fist against the snooze button ending the loud shrieking of the rock music with a loud thump. The clock showed the depressing number 06:00 in a soft green light.

"What kind of deranged radio station plays rock at this hour?"

"Maybe they want to wake up lazy people like sis."

With a curse and a glare she turned to her brother.

The young twenty year old man was leaning in the door frame finishing buttoning the cuffs of his shirt. Slightly taller than his sister, with an average lean body but the paleness and the air of just recuperating from a long sickness that had haunted him as a child still remained in a subdued form. His hair has slightly longer and kept in a casual messy look. The clothes were washed and well cared for but a little worn with use.

"Shut up. No one should be allowed make that much of a racket at this time of day."

"Just get up. Every second you waste time arguing with me increases your changes to be late."

"I know, I know."

Grudgingly she crawled out of the comfort of her bed and into the slightly chilly late spring day. Passing her brother she took in his relaxed, perfectly at ease appearance and scowled in envy of his ability to stand to wake up at ungodly hours.

"The bathroom's free, right?"

"Sure thing. I'll shave after eating breakfast."

She paused at the bathroom door and took a glance at his nearly smooth, almost boyish face.

"Shave?" Snort "Please Joshua, I have a bigger mustache than you."

"You said it not me, sis."

Joshua made an excellent job at dodging the toothbrush that came his way.

The boy sighed and made his way to the kitchen/living room/office space, if the clothes they wore were worn out the house was ten times worse. The small apartment had two small bedrooms, a bathroom and the main room, all connected through a small hallway that went from the main room to the bathroom. In a word it was crummy, the windows let in currents of air and provided little blockage to the noise of the traffic outside, and the walls were damaged with humidity. Every time Joshua took in the view of the place he called home he was somewhat grateful that they were too poor to have much stuff in the first place, the little possessions the siblings had filled out the limited space to the maximum of its capabilities.

But to say that it was dirty or unkempt would be a lie. The apartment was clean and organized, no dirty laundry on the floor, no spoiled food in the fridge, the worse they had were a few papers and books on the table and the couch but Joshua had promised to fix those later. The pictures hanging on the walls, the sea shells and other childhood mementos in shelves brought a warmer aura to what could have been a very sad and desolate place.

When Rosette emerged from the bathroom wearing a fluffy brown bathrobe Joshua was already frying the bacon and preparing the eggs. As Rosette closed her bedroom door her brother cried out:

"Hurry up sis or your share will get cold."

"Coming! You should at least wait till I'm ready before making the food you know?"

But then there's the risk of you cooking.

Joshua sighed, to him preparing breakfast was a matter of life or death. God only knew what would happen to him if he infested another one of Rosette's toxic culinary experiments. His health was fragile enough as it was.

Soon after he set the plates down and began to chew on a piece of bread his sister emerged from her room dressed in her waitress uniform, black pants, tie and vest, and a white shirt, complete with black Mary Jane shoes. Joshua always felt a pang in his heart when he saw her dresses like that.

Rosette quickly sat down and engulfed the food on her plate, barely pausing to chew in a matter of two minutes the eggs, bacon and bread had disappeared and the glass of orange juice was being consumed at a tremendous pace.

As soon as Rosette stopped her carnage she found her brother still eating his bread staring deeply at her.

"What?" She barked.

"Just wondering how amazing it is that you don't choke on your food every morning."

"Shut up! You should have more respect for the person who puts food on this table. Shit, I got to go. I'm pulling an extra shift so you're going to be on your own for dinner. Now do you have your cell?"

"Yes."

"Your keys?"

"Yes."

"And don't forget your inhaler."

"I got it mommy. Now go! If you're late again you might get fired."

Those were the magic words and Rosette had raced out the door in a matter of minutes leaving the boy to the silence of the empty apartment.

Racing through the busy morning streets Rosette Christopher fought the mass of bodies for her place in the subway, pushed and ran her way back to the streets until she finally entered a small, cozy Bistro with flowers at the door and golden letters on top: The Secret Garden Café/Bistro.

"Miss Christopher you're late!"

"Sorry Mrs. Bayard."

"Please be more careful it's the third time this month."

"Yes Mrs. Bayard"

She hung her coat and began cleaning the tables for the new day. A sigh finding its way out of her mouth, she shouldn't complain, considering all the facts she was actually doing pretty well, stable job, a home her brother going on the right track for a bright future. But as she did her job and tried to smile for her customers, this was a popular stop and she spent most of her days serving meals to happy families, groups of students or office workers and happy couples she couldn't help but think about all she had lost and all that she would never have.

Life had never been kind to the Christopher siblings.

She had little memories of her parents, the sound of her mother's voice, the strength of her father's arms, a few blurred faces. They had left one day just to drive to the store and never came back, a slippery road, a cliff and a pointless accident had robbed her, at the tender age of four of the greatest pillars of love and support she could have had, and condemned her and her brother to a lifetime of difficulties.

They were alone and helpless in a cruel harsh world. She remembered the feeling of helplessness as the adults around her rushed around passing them from hand to hand like an unwanted toy, the feeling that time had stopped for her and her brother, like they had been put aside, forgotten…

But, for once, fate smiled on the children and they were sent to the Seventh Bell Foster Home, run by the kindly Mr. and Mrs. Gene in Michigan. The couple, middle aged and childless possessed a great property in the country, near a small town. There in the flowery meadows and great forest she had found peace and happiness growing up with a small group of children with similar experiences to her and especially with dear, dear beloved brother.

However adoption was a complicated process and she soon realized that their chances of finding a new family were next to impossible. First of Joshua had been prone to illness since he was a baby, suffering from severe asthma and a weak immune system, even if there was a couple who became interested in the sweet looking boy or the strong healthy girl most couples just wanted to adopt one child, not two especially when one of the two had so many health problems. And even though it would have given them a chance for a better future they refused to be separated, they couldn't, they were all each other had and to every couple that showed the slightest interest the ultimatum was clear it was either both or none.

No one wanted them and time passed, Rosette's dreams of becoming a doctor shattered early on, she had no illusions about her future, she had no money, no connections, and no support, soon she would be a legal adult and would have to provide for herself and her brother, pretty soon she abandoned the idea of college altogether and concentrated on finishing High School and then finding a job. At fifteen she got her first part-time job in the ticket booth at the movie theater and from then on she has sacrificed and saved for the day when she would have to fight her away through the world.

At eighteen she left Seventh Bell to go to New York and try to find a job, her brother dreamer of attending Law there and she struggled with all her might to provide him the best chances in life she could. The first two months were hellish in the least and many times she thought on giving up and going back but then she thought about Joshua, and somewhere inside her she found the strength to carry on. Finally she found a job as a waitress in this popular Bistro, the payment wasn't bad but the hours were long leaving little time to pursue a life outside of work.

A year later Joshua joined in her small apartment, it was small and cramped and money was always short but it would be lie to say they were unhappy.

But there was one thing that bothered her…

Ever since that day ten years ago when she and Joshua had discovered the locked room and the strange statue she had a strange feeling. It wasn't like she was being watched but rather the in-depth knowledge that she wasn't alone. It was a soft and kind touch but still a little intrusive, most of the time she barely felt it, but she knew it was there, hiding in the corners of her mind something that wasn't her. It never harmed her, ever, in fact during many of those miserable nights where worries about money, memories from the past and bleak visions about her future kept her from sleeping she could feel it flowing softly through her mind, warming her, caressing her, whispering words of comfort and hope making her believe that things were going to get better until she finally fell into a deep sleep. She thought it must be her imagination and that she felt so lonely living like this that she had actually developed a comforting presence to help her cope.

Of course the presence of a kind-of imaginary friend were not the only consequences of that little adventure. There were also nights like the last, where memories and nightmares mixed together till they created that. And that was an issue, she hated the way she felt when she had dreams like that, weak, helpless against s force she just couldn't beat and yet never threaten, and then the dream faded away and left her feeling angry, frustrated and… burning.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

It was better not to dwell on that particular subject.

The tables were starting to fill up and the scents of several breakfasts, she put on her best business smile and made sure all the orders were written and all the food delivered hopping for a day of good tips.

She was giving a table order to the chef when Mrs. Bayard approached.

"Rosette, your regular is here."

Rosette smile brightened and she did a little happy dance in her mind, immediately making her way to a small booth near the window. This man was a tall, very friendly and very attractive middle-aged man, that came here for breakfast every day and always left generous tips. All the other girls fought for a chance to serve him but she usually won…

Maybe this day wouldn't be so bad…

"Good morning Mr. Remington! May I take your order?"

"Yes, yes. I just left her, everything seems normal. What about the boy?"

For the last three years Ewan Remington had breakfast at the exact same time at the exact same place, usually at the exact same table. Some of his coworkers thought it was because of the food, other thought it was a habit. They were all wrong. It was because of the waitresses. One in particular that was the object of his interest.

"Any signs of activity from him? Anything at all?"

He sighed deeply and hanged up, every day the same question and every day the same answer. He was relieved and disappointed at the same time, on one hand this meant that these children were still safe, they could go on living the dream of a happy normal life before the cruelty of reality came crashing down. On the other hand he had been waiting for decades to finally track the monster down, to finally make him pay for all the pain and death he had caused. And every day they failed to find him was day he grew stronger and harder to take down.

Right now the boy and the girl were their best chances of finding him. We would come for one of them.

Till then they would just have to keep watching them and pray that the past would never be repeated.

It was him again… That dammed priest.

He had hoped, when he awoke in this strange modern world that he had been destroyed by now. He had hoped that we would be able to spit on his grave as his bones crumbled into dust six feet below.

He and his little group of fanatics were always getting in his way.

And they dared to interfere with his little one. Dared to insert themselves in Rosette's life and defile it with their blood stained fingers. His Rosette to whom he owed his second chance.

Such insult would not stand.

Maybe it was time to make his move.

He had been waiting long enough, Rosette was no longer a child and they were coming closer.

Maybe it was time to show them exactly how much of his power he had gotten back

It was time to come to her.

Rosette sat up in her bed, startled, cold sweat running down her back, blue eyes darting around the room still shrouded by darkness, her chest going up and down in a rapid pace, she ran her cold fingers through her forehead and, her hands were shaking.

It was another dream, a worse dream, he was closer this time and arm around her torso, another grabbing her arm, stretching it. This time she felt his fangs against her neck, penetrating her skin making her bleed.

And that ticking in the background getting louder and louder.

I'm coming for you.

That promise made her tremble, he felt closer this time, more real, she could still feel the sting in her neck…

Automatically her shaky hand raised to touch the place where she had bitten it and her heart stopped for a few seconds, her mouth opened but no sound came out.

She didn't feel any blood but she did feel a chain.

Tick

She felt it against her breast, a slight tremor…

Tock

That felt like a stab

Slowly her fingers followed the path of the chain.

Tick

No…

Tock

It can't be…

It had to be a dream, it had to be…

Then why wasn't she waking up?!

It was getting hard to breath, she was scared, she was so scared.

She hadn't been this scared since that day ten years ago.

Tick

She gasped as her hand wrapped around a leather round case with a glass and metal lock. And it was…

Tock

Ticking…

Summoning her courage she looked down at the object in her hand.

The blood curling scream resonated through the door and flooded the small apartment during a few terrifying seconds. This horrible scream pulled Joshua out of his peaceful sleep. Stunned he looked around for a moment until he realized who exactly had screamed.

"Rosette!" he called.

Nothing.

"Rosette! What's wrong?"

Silence.

And that was the most terrifying thing of all.

Swearing he pushed away his sheets and grabbed the baseball bat he always kept beside his bed and raced out of his room.

His sister was loud and violent the fact that there was no noise coming from her room froze his blood his chest already aching from unexpected run and his breath was coming short. But he didn't care about that all he cared about at that moment was his sister.

He crashed her door opened

"Rosette!"

There she was just sitting on her bed, the moonlight coming from her window making her golden hair look silvery. But even in the dark he could tell her skin was an unhealthy shade of white, eyes distant and unfocused. Her hand was clutching something to her chest.

"Rosette? Rosette what's wrong?" He knelled in her mattress and grabbed her hand, carefully pulling it away from the object it was clutching.

Once he saw it he immediately backed away face contorted in shock and horror, falling off the bed in the process even so he could not stop starring at what was hanging from his sister's neck, still desperately clutching the bat as if he could beat the nightmare away.

There it was like something of deepest darkest fears, something he hoped never to see again, the last time he saw it was smeared with his sister's blood but now it was clean and the cracked glass had been replaced by a shiny new one. There it was ticking away between his sister's breasts.

"The watch…"

Tick

Tock

To be continued

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