Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Chrono Crusade, Hellblazer Constantine, or any of the other books, movies, and/or songs that may be mentioned in this fan fiction. All Copyrights belong to their Respective Owners.

© Chrono Crusade – Daisuke Moriyama

© Hellblazer Constantine – Vertigo Comics

Chrono Crusade:

The Final Prophecy

A Fan Fiction

By

Tattoo Alchemist

I am eternity, given birth by desire, the shadow cast by God, Pandemonium is filled with light and heaven with darkness. Look at the times, no matter how hard people struggle, their fates are in our hands.

- The Sinner Aion

“The Bishop clothed in white makes his way with great effort toward the cross amid the corpses of those who were martyred. He too, falls to the ground, apparently dead, under a burst of gunfire.”

- The Third Prophecy of Fatima

In the year 2000…the Vatican has revealed the contents of the Third Prophecy of Fatima, which was kept under seal. Because it touched on the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, which happened in 1981, it had never been disclosed.

We can do nothing but to see the times go by in the path which God has chosen…

Chapter 1: The Rebirth

It is the summer of 2005, a hot and humid summer for New England. It was the kind that could make the fittest of men sweat from standing in the sunlight. Even with such heat, there were those who had managed to stay cool inside.

In the upstate part of New York were the Church and the convent that belonged to the Order of Magdalene. This was the very group who had prided themselves upon demon slaying as well as ghost exorcisms.

The leader of this New York branch to the Order of Magdalene was one of the eldest, most experienced, and dedicated members, Sister Azmaria. It was true that Sister Azmaria was old in her age but she had retained the fire of her youth. In her time between the 1930’s and when she became the leader in the mid-1960, she had earned quite the reputation. Much like her predecessors and legends in the Order; Sister Rosette and the devil named Chrono.

Sister Azmaria had finished some of the paperwork on a few routine exorcisms when she paused for a moment. She set her pen down, reached up to take off her reading glasses, and rubbed her closed eyes while her massage stretched out to network of wrinkles in her face. She then looked over to the nearby wall where there was that picture that held the discoloration of age but still kept its image in tact. It was that picture of Azmaria when she was ten years old and with her friends, Sister Rosette Christopher, the Jewel Summoner Satella Hollenheight, and the devil Chrono. For that one time in that picture, the four of them looked truly happy before their tragic end that three of them had faced. During those difficult times, Sister Azmaria wondered if they had found some semblance of peace that they couldn’t find in life.

As she looked at the picture, she couldn’t help but reminisce about the old days of the 1920’s when she was with those three. With such memories, one can’t help but smile at them, but time fogs over them like tears coming to the eyes, blurring all vision.

Just as Sister Azmaria was about to get back to her paperwork, there was a loud and fast knock at her office door. She looked up noticing that ti sounded hurried as if the person at the door was quite panicked.

“Come in,” she called.

The door flung open and in came Sister Yomiko Readman, a glasses wearing novice who was in charge of the Order’s library and records. Even though Yomiko had trouble keeping herself (and her room) tidy, she was an excellent record keeper.

“Sister!” She called, “Sister!”

“Calm down, Sister Yomiko,” Sister Azmaria told as she rose from her desk, “What’s going on?”

“It’s a miracle!” Sister Yomiko exhaled showing that even she herself couldn’t believe what she was about to tell, “It’s a miracle of miracles!”

“Well, what is it?” Sister Azmaria asked being curious and starting to loose a little of her patience.

“They’ve returned!”

“Whose returned?”

“Sister Rosette Christopher and the Sinner Chrono! They’ve returned!”

Sister Azmaria thought that she was about to have a heart attack from the sound of the news. At first, she didn’t want to believe it because it simply sounded too good to be true, but she’s seen far too much in her life to really disbelieve very much. She got up from her desk, looked sternly at Sister Yomiko.

“Take me to them,” She asked.

Sister Yomiko gladly led the way, while the elderly Sister Azmaria followed trying to force her old body to match the speed of the young Yomiko. She remembered that her doctor advised against any kind of fast movement because of her weak heart and her frail bones, but Azmaria wasn’t about to let her body stop her from finding out the truth.

At last they came to the Order’s cafeteria, normally around lunch time, it would be filled with members of the Order evenly spread out among the tables. Yet, when Sister Yomiko and Azmaria had arrived, the other sisters were crowding in one corner of the cafeteria. Every one of them banded together like a crowd of onlookers at a car crash, shoving their way to try to get a single peek.

Yomiko and Azmaria moved to the crowd, hearing the muffled whispering of the sisters with a sound that Sister Azmario had not heard in 75 years. The sound was of a very loud slurping like when one eats soup directly from the bowl.

Coming closer to the crowd, Yomiko called out, “Please, make way, Sister Azmaria needs to see them!”

Instantly, the sisters that were crowding in that corner of the cafeteria began to part like the Red Sea. IN the center of it all, Sister Azmario looked with her aged eyes and still not believing it for a moment. She saw them, Rosette Christopher, she was eating bread and soup as if she had not eaten for a week, eating out large chunks of the bread, and picking up the bowl of soup and gulping it down. Sitting next to her was her always faithful companion Chrono, who was eating his food like a proper gentleman, spoon to soup and to lips while taking small bites of the bread. They sat there as if it was the way it had always been, yet their clothes were so different. They were dressed in rags, all drained of color and caked with dirt and all kinds of filth. Even their faces were dirty under unkempt and matted hair. Still, looking at them, Sister Azmaria couldn’t believe that they were actually there.

She tried to call out to them, but she couldn’t formulate any words from her cotton dry mouth. Only a slight wheeze came out while Chrono and Rosette continued to eat. At least until Chrono had set down his spoon, and looked to Azmaria.

“It’s been a very long time, Azmaria,” He said with a smile that Azmaria had not seen in so very long. It was both literally and metaphorically that she had rediscovered a long lost friend, and two of them at that. It was with that that Sister Azmaria began to weep.

A little over fifteen minutes later, Azmaria, Chrono, and Rosette had returned to the Sisters Office. In that place, both Chrono and Rosette’s attention were caught by the old photograph on the wall. Rosette looked at the young Azmaria in the photo and then back at the old Azmaria who was sitting at what was once Sister Kate’s place of office.

“We really have been gone for a long time, Chrono,” Rosette commented.

“Please,” Azmaria asked, “Have a seat.”

Chrono and Rosette took Azmaria’s offer and sat down in front of her desk ready to tell everything.

“Tell me,” Azmaria began, “What brings you two back to our world?”

Rosette grinned, “Is that all you have to say to us after all these decades?”

“Sorry,” Azmaria apologized.

“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that,” Rosette explained, “but there is a reason why we came back. We were sent by the Lord God.”

“God?” Azmaria asked, remembering the concern that was going around the Order after Rosette and Chrono’s death in 1929, “You mean you went to heaven?”

“Yes, we did,” Chrono answered, “Even I did, God saw the love I had for Rosette and the sacrifices I made, so he rewarded me by making me an angel.”

Azmaria was already intrigued, “What’s he like?”

“God?” Rosette asked, but then paused for a moment as she tried to gather the right words together, “lonely…but funny…she’s got a great sense of humor, take the giraffe or the Duck Billed Platypus for example.”

“She?” Azmaria asked, “God’s a woman?”

“Was there ever a doubt in your mind?” Chrono asked

“But…” Azmaria stated feeling a little perplexed by this new fact, “God’s always been referred to as ‘him’.”

Rosette shrugged, “Bad part about being intangible; no say about gender, but all the writers were men, so ‘she’ became ‘he’. The whole bible is gender bias; a woman is responsible for original sin, a woman cuts off a man’s source of power, and a woman asks for the head of John the Baptist.”

Chrono set his hand onto Rosette’s shoulder, “Calm down, Rosette, we didn’t come to discuss this. We have a bigger mission at hand.”

Rosette took a deep breath, “You’re right, Chrono,” she agreed, “we’re here because Aion has returned to Earth.”

“Aion!” Azmaria asked shocked by the news, “I thought that we took care of him years ago.”

“Aion said that he was given birth by desire, so it could be that the despair that the world is feeling now has allowed him entry to Earth.” Chrono postulated, but added, “We also know that he plans to bring about the prophecy talked about in the Third Fatima Prophecy.”

“Yes,” Azmaria nodded, “After the assassination attempt on the Pope in 1981, the Vatican has sent the final prophecy to us for safe keeping. There’s more to it than was originally disclosed, but it’s written in Aramaic. So if Aion is going to bring about the events in it, then I’ll have it translated so we’ll know what he’s up to.”

“That would be the best thing to do for now,” Chrono agreed.

“In the meantime,” Sister Azmaria added, “Since you’re here, perhaps it’s time to reactivate your status in the order.”

Rosette leaned to Chrono, “its frightening…she’s become a lot like Sister Kate.”

“It must be maturity that comes with age,” Chrono responded.

“Don’t worry, Rosette,” Azmaria reassured, “I won’t be as bad as Sister Kate, but I do urge you to keep property damage to a minimum.”

“I’ll try,” Rosette compromised as her shoulders slumped.

“Also, I think I’ll call in someone else to add to the team.”

“Who?” Rosette asked

“He’s a very good exorcist, a little unorthodox, but still good,” Azmaria explained as she picked up the telephone receiver, “Connect me to our operative in Washington D.C.”

Outside a modest townhouse in Washington D.C. a large black Cadillac pulled up to the iron barred gate. The gates opened and the Cadillac pulled in, without a pause, the engine turned off, from the drivers side the door opened, and out stepped a tall man in a black suit, long trench coat, and a small black satchel in his hand. Approaching the door with one free hand, he pulled out a piece of chewing gum, and slipped it into his mouth.

The tall man stepped up to the front door of the modest town house and rang the front doorbell. It was only a matter of a second before the door opened and there stood the mother who made the call about her daughter.

“Thank you for coming, Mister Constantine,” the mother greeted, “Please, come in.”

John Constantine followed the mother to the living room where they sat down. In the soft light of the house, Constantine could see a great cut and bruise on the mothers cheek. He knew that no twelve-year-old girl could make that kind of gash.

“Did your daughter do that?” He asked remarking to her cheek.

“Yes,” The mother sobbed as she reached for her cigarettes. She was about to light one but she then offered to Constantine.

“I quit that,” He said, “Believe me miss, that shit will kill you.”

“Well, we’re all gonna die sometime,” She remarked as she lit up her cigarette, “but my daughter, Mister Constantine…this started a month or two back when she started swearing, but it just got worse and worse…” She nervously took a puff of her cigarette, “She’s up there now, tied down to the bed.”

Constantine took a slight whiff of the cigarette smoke feeling himself cough from the inside since his lungs were cleaned of that tar that once infected him. He reached into his pocket for another piece of gum to block it out.

“We’ve taken out most of the furniture,” The mother explained, “because things started to…to move…on their own.”

Constantine looked toward the staircase leading upstairs, he heard a roar that was eerily human but at the same time it wasn’t human at all. He stood back up and walked towards the stairs hearing the sickening roar a little clearer. He didn’t say anything to the mother, he only walked up the stairs, chewing the gum, and looking at all the furniture and possessions that had been moved into the hallway. He stepped passed and over them to the door where the roar was coming from. As he stepped closer he could feel the air growing colder, the same kind of cold night air that he had felt outside.

He reached for the doorknob and opened it, the human roar came down to only a snarl like a dog greeting an unwelcomed visitor. Constantine looked into the single light room and saw the girl tied down to the bed. Her face was grotesque, pale, eyes devoid of color, cutes on her face that were fully open but with no blood coming from them. Her pale eyes saw the exorcist Constantine as he crossed the room and up to the bed. He looked down at the little girl, climbed onto the bed, and leaned down so that his face was against hers, smelling the stench of her rotting breath, he whispered:

“This is Constantine…” He snarled at the girls face, “John Constantine…asshole...”

The girls pale eyes looked up at the exorcist and she said to him, “I am…the devil…himself.”

“Yeah, right…” John Constantine sneered as he pulled out an alchemic silver crucifix and mashed it against the girls forehead. Her flesh began to burn and smoke like raw meat on the grill. She screamed as Constantine held the crucifix onto her forehead. Holding his position, he could feel the bed underneath him start to shake and even raise off the floor.

“A show-off, huh?” Constantine asked sarcastically as he continued to hold the silver crucifix onto the girls’ forehead.

He couldn’t hold his position as the bed dropped to the floor and by a force that Constantine couldn’t figure out at the time, he was thrown off the bed and against the nearby wall. Keeping his wits about him, he looked back at the bed and he saw the possessed girl sitting up free of the straps. She had a demonic smile as she turned her head to the left, further, and further, and further, until it spun a total 360 degree turn. Yet, John Constantine was not impressed.

“You really are a show off,” He laughed as he got back to his feet seeing that he was going to need a little more for the job at hand.

“Fuck me!” The girl snarled as she lifted up her nightgown and pulling off her panties showing her sickly pale body, “Fuck me! Lick Me!”

Constantine chuckled, “Not without dinner first, honey.”

The possessed girl dropped her nightgown and opened her mouth where she projectile vomited into Constantine’s face. It was like a hydrant as it shot out in green putrid sludge that dripped down on his black suit. Instantly, the cynic mystic went from amused by this possessed girl to being absolutely pissed off.

“Oh, you little bitch!” Constantine cursed as the possessed girl laughed lying back down on the bed.

Constantine wiped the green vomit off his face as he reached into his suit coat for a pair of brass knuckles that were plated with silver and etched with blessings and crosses. Putting on the metal knuckles, John Constantine leapt onto of the possessed girl, pinning her arms down with his knees; he reached up and punched her. The blessing marks indented on her face and were burning as she screamed even further.

“You’ve had your fun, asshole!” Constantine sneered, “now to go back to hell.”

“Your mother sucks cocks in hell!” The Possessed girl snarled

“Yeah, sure,” Constantine answered back as he reached into another coat pocket and pulled out a pair of white gloves that were spotless of the vomit. On the tops and the palms of the gloves, there were symbols and blessings printed in red. Constantine slipped the gloves on over his silver knuckles still pinning the girl under his knees. With the gloves on, he placed his hands on the girls’ chest, she screamed as the flesh seared around the gloved hands. Constantine pushed until his hands were inside the girls’ chest.

“I banish you demon!” He cried out as he pushed harder, “I banish you in the name of the father…the son…and the holy spirit…AMEN!”

The girl gave one final scream as there was a burst of red light that came from underneath the bed. It had such a great luminescence that it had drowned out all other lights in the room. Constantine could feel the rush downward as the demon had exited the girls’ body as if it were falling through a trapdoor beneath the bed back into hell.

The red light began to die down and the single light on the nightstand light up the dark and cold room. Constantine looked down at the demon free girl who was sleeping peacefully with the color of her flesh returning to her face. He got up off the bed, went to the open windows and closed them up. He took off his gloves and metal knuckles, the green and putrid vomit still dripping off of him as he came back down the stairs to speak with the mother.

“My God!” She uttered seeing the green vomit “Is everything alright? What happened?”

“The demon is gone,” Constantine answered.

“Demon?” The mother asked, “I thought it was the devil up there.”

“Miss, I’ve met the devil, and that wasn’t him,” Constantine clarified as he headed back to the family room to get his bad and then to the door. Before he left, he took in the smell of the vomit and turned to the mother, “By the way…I’m adding my dry cleaning to the bill.”

He headed back out into the cold night air, but it still didn’t diminish the stench of the vomit on his suit. Just as he was moving back to his Cadillac, he heard the monotone version of Motorhead’s Born to Raise Hell from his cell phone. He reached into his pocked, pressed the “send” button and spoke,

“Constantine, here,” He answered, he paused for a moment listening to the message, “You’re shitting me…they’ve returned…yes…got it…I’ll be on the next plane to New York.”

In Sister Azmaria’s office in New York, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” She called

The door opened, and in stepped the tall, handsome, and darkly dressed cynic mystic, John Constantine. He crossed the office meeting Sister Azmaria, as well as seeing Sister Rosette and Chrono. The two of them were given clean clothes more appropriate to their office and time. For Rosette, she had her blue nun’s wimple, but the rest of her dress was more combat-like. She wore black combat boots, blue camouflage pants, and a blue shirt with leather gloves. For Chrono on the other hand had some great changes made to his clothes. He wore red long pants as opposed to his shorts that he had back in the 1920’s. His coat was long and red, but unlike the multiple tails it had to signify his devil wings, it only had two one for each of angelic wings.

Constantine looked at Chrono and his picture on the wall and saw that the present Chrono looked a little older, about the age of a teenager as opposed to the young child in the photo.

“Sister Rosette, Chrono,” Sister Azmaria introduced, “meet John Constantine.”

“Nice to meet you,” Rosette greeted.

“Likewise,” Chorno added.

Constantine only quietly bowed his head to the two of them. In truth, he didn’t know how to address them since he had heard so many stories about these legendary exorcist. It was comparable to a major league baseball player meeting the most legendary player of all time. How should someone act when they meet such a legend? Yet, Constantine kept his cool as he reached for another piece of gum in his pocket.

“John Constantine has worked with the order for the last few years and has shown excellent skill,” Sister Azmaria explained, “He’ll be part of your team until the Fatima Prophecy is fully translated, you three will be given missions.”

“What’s the first case?” Constantine asked still chewing his gum.

“Here’s the report,” Azmaria answered as she handed Constantine a file folder, “There’s a town in New Jersey called Innsmouth where travelers as well as Fisherman have disappeared.”

Constantine read the report, but Rosette had a very important question.

“Shouldn’t this be something for the police to handle?” She asked, “Why aer we being called in?”

Constantine answered, “It says here that the Orders scouts had sensed a very demonic aura there, but it’s very hidden…and elusive.”

“Sounds like our case,” Chrono shrugged.

Constantine closed the folder and handed it to Chrono for him to look over.

“When do we leave?” Rosette asked.

“As soon as possible,” Azmaria answered, “But first you’ll need to see the Elder for equipment and weapons.”

“The Elder?” Rosette asked remembering the lecherous old man who went by the same title.

“Just a title, Rosette,” Azmaria explained, “Her actual name is Sister Kimber Anderson. She’ll give you what you need. Good luck on the case.”

Walking around the Order of Magdalene’s abbey, Chrono and Rosette could see how much things have changed. They certainly noticed that during their time in waiting for John Constantine. Rosette had noticed how much the rooms had changed, the beds were more comfortable, the bathrooms somehow seemed cleaner but the greatest thing that she had seen was the washing machine. Secretly, she was thanking God that she would no longer have to fetch water or soak her hands in laundry.

That was soon blown away when Rosette saw the television and the computer. Such technological advancements seemed to have been impossible in the days of the Model T and the days when she did things her way; she suddenly remembered that old movie called “Metropolis”. Everything that she had seen in that movie was sitting right before her, and she was starting to wonder where the robots were n this world of technological advancements. She was soon disappointed that such robots didn’t exist. Still, there were bigger things to concentrate on as she and Chrono followed Constantine across the courtyard to the Elders Workshop.

It was in the very same building that Rosette remembered, but only a few changes had been made. A garage was added onto the side of the workshop while the ivy had completely claimed onto brick wall except for the closed up windows and front door. Standing there Constantine had to tell something to Chrono and Rosette.

“Before you see Kimber,” He said, “you two have to understand that she is a little…touchy feely.”

“Shouldn’t you tell this to just Chrono if it’s a woman?” Rosette asked

Constantine raised his eyebrows at her, “Alright…but don’t’ say I didn’t warn you.”

Constantine reached up to the door and knocked, “Sister Kimber? He called

At first there was no answer, but Constantine could hear the slight whir of machine work as if someone was working a metal lathe. He reached up to knock on the door again, this time a little louder than before, even raising his voice.

“Elder!” He shouted as he knocked harder.

The whir inside stopped and within a moment, the door flung open and a pair of arms reached out and hugged Constantine.

“John-babe!” A young voice cried out, “Oh, it’s so hire to see you again handsome, have you come for more weapons or to fill up my honey pot?”

“Elder…” Constantine wheezed, “You’re choking me…”

“Okay, I’m sorry babe,” Kimber said as she pulled back to give herself full view to Chrono and Rosette.

The Elder, Kimber Anderson, didn’t look that old, in fact she didn’t lok a day over 30. She had shortly cut blonde hair that came down to the middle of her neck, she looked to Rosette and Chrono with her hazel-blue eyes. She wore a mechanics jumpsuit that had oil stains smeared on her pants, while it was unzipped down and tied around her wait to give her upper-body some cool air. Last of all, she had a loose black tank top that did very little to hide her firm and full 38-C breasts.

“So, these are the legendary exorcists Chrono and Rosette that everyone’s been talking about?” She asked

“Yes,” Constantine answered, “And we’re here for weapons.”

Constantine wanted to get to business, but like always, Kimber had to have a little pleasure before business. She went over and wrapped her arms around Chrono. Her fingers in his deep purple hair and cheek rubbing against hers.

“You’re as cute as I thought you’d be, dear Chrono,” She cooed, “Your skin is so smooth like porcelain and your hair is like silk and smell like lavender.”

“Hey!” Rosette cried out in hot anger as she yanked Chrono away, “You stay away from my Chrono!”

As unexpected as it was, Rosette was thwarted when Kimber wrapped her arms around her. She was doing the same thing to her as he did to Chrono, that was when she suddenly remembered that Constantine warned that she was touchy-feely. That soon changed to lecherous when she felt a pair of hands at her breasts, she looked in great shock when Kimber was fondling them. Rosette reached up and slapped Kimber’s face, the bi-sexual letch only smiled as she rubber her cheek.

“Oh yes,” she cooed, “I haven’t seen that kind of spirit in a nun for a while now. I like a feisty woman.”

“Elder!” Constantine called, “can we get to business?”

Kimber straightened out right away, “Right,” She said, “Since I heard that you three were coming, I pulled a couple of all-night jobs for your arsenal. Come in.”

The three of them followed Kimber into her workshop, instantly the smell of metal, oil, and burnt solder filled their nostrils. Constantine was used to it, but it was so potent to Chrono and Rosette that they had to cover their noses as they came in. The interior of the Elders workshop was both organized and messy at the same time. Along the walls, there were all types of tools for different uses, there were three work benches in the middle of the room, the closest one of them had a chemistry set on it with the Bunsen burners still lit. At one far corner of the workshop was a small bed that had the sheets piled up at one end as if someone had just woken up, gotten out of it, and didn’t bother to make it. The lost workbench at the far end of the workshop near the beds was covered by a sheet, where the Elder Kimber Anderson was waiting to show her creations.

Chrono, Rosette, and Constantine came closer and with her audience before her, Kimber pulled back the sheet to show a whole array of weapons and accessories for the team. The first that she produced were a pair of .45 mm handguns that she handed to Rosette.

“I based these off of the design of yours back in the 1920’s, but I gave it a few touches of my own,” Kimber explained, “I felt that you should have two just in case you loose one or if one runs out, you can use the other. It also has laser sights so you won’t have to worry about missing.”

Rosette took the gun, aimed at the nearby wall to see a bright red cross appear on the wall. She looked at her gun, at the laser sight, and how the gun had a type of chrome look to it, along with a handle that had blessings and other types of writings etched into it.

“The outer casings of the guns are also coated with silver and etched with spells and blessings,” Kimber explained further, “This applies to all the guns so that way if a devil gets a hold of it, it’ll sear their arm right off.”

“Like that time when that devil got a hold of your gun, Rosette?” Constantine asked.

“Don’t remind me about it.” Rosette looked at the cynic mystic angrily, but looked back at the gun marveling at the precision of it, “Why didn’t the last Elder think of this?”

“Probably because he was too busy typing to look up your skirt?” Chrono speculated.

“Speaking of protection,” Kimber interjected as she handed out three long sleeve shirts to Chrono, Rosette, and Constantine, “These shirts have spells woven into the threads to protect you from any kind of possession, but they breath like the lightest cotton.”

After giving the shirts, Kimber went back to the workbench and brought to Chrono and Constantine, what looked like three large crucifixes.

“What are these?” Constantine asked

“Crucifix swords, right, Elder?” Chrono asked

“Exactly, Chrono,” Kimber answered, “These have magic runes engraved into the handle and depending on the aura of the holder determines the blades strength and color.”

Chrono took the crucifix sword handle in his hand and from the handle came the blade that he had seen once before. It was transparent blue but had such a holy glow to it that Chrono wondered if this would be called a flaming sword.

Rosette picked up on, and from hers came a blade just like Chrono’s, except hers had an odd silver coloration to it.

The curious Constantine took the hilt the Kimber was holding out to him. Holding the thing in his hand he suddenly felt sharp warmth like the side of a cup of hot chocolate. The heat soon changed to electricity as there was a spark at the tip of the hilt and from the spark came a transparent green blade. Constantine looked at it and only uttered one word:

“Woah…”

He concentrated, like flexing a muscle, and the beam retracted back into the crucifix hilt. Putting the sword in his pants belt, Constantine grinned:

“Luke Skywalker doesn’t have shit on us.”

“You’ve got that right, sweety,” Kimber agreed as she brought out a small case, “Here’s something else you may need, silver casing grenades.”

Rosette looked at the pineapple-like grenades, whose casings shinned in the lights of the workshop.

“Demons wouldn’t stand a chance with these,” Kimber said with a slightly evil grin on her face. After handing the case to Rosette, she brought out a case that looked almost like the one that Chrono used to carry around back in the days of the 1920’s, but at the same time it looked different. It looked smaller, and the way Kimber handled it, he imagined that it was lighter.

“This case is for you, Chrono,” Kimber said, “It holds two M-16 machine guns as well as two holy water Super Soakers.”

“Super what?” Rosette asked

“Super soakers,” Kimber reiterated as she took one out of the case to show her, “It’s filled with holy water all you gotta do is pump it up with air pressure and you can shoot water out at a demon.”

Chrono looked at the gun case and saw what was missing, “Where’s the telephone?”

“Right here,” Kimber said as she brought out two cell phones, both having the Order of Magdalene cross on them but one was blue and the other was red.

“Oh, I’ve heard of these things,” Rosette observed as she picked up the blue one, “cellular phones, right?”

“Right,” Kimber answered, “but if you three are in a situation where you need to maintain constant communication use these ear pieces.”

She pulled out a small earpiece that had a small microphone attached to it. She set the ear piece back in the gun case and handed it back to Chrono.

“Also, the case is a little lighter,” She told Chrono.

“Oh thank you, merciful God,” Chrono sighed.

“Thank me, sweety,” Kimber corrected before she turned to the cynic mystic, “for you my dear John Constantine, I have something very special.”

Going back to the workbench, Kimber brought out the largest item that was on it. It was something that was so large that Kimber needed both arms to present it to Constantine. The thing looked like an enormous silver cross, yet at the same time there was something mechanical about it with the straight cracks that rand down each bar of it. In the center of the cross, Constantine saw something that looked like a skull, yet the eye sockets and holes around it looked just right for a human hand to hold.

“What is it?” Constantine asked

“I call it, the Cross-Punisher,” Kimber grunted trying to hold the thing up, “See that trigger mechanism in the center? Grab onto it.”

Constantine did just that, he set his hand into the skull-shaped mechanism in the center of the Cross-Punisher. Kimber had let go of it and Constantine felt the weight of it, but it wasn’t that heavy.

“The long end,” Kimber explained, “is a machine gun loaded with Gospel Rounds and also has a dragon’s breathe flame thrower.”

“I thought no one could get that anymore,” Constantine stated.

“The Order of Magdalene has many friends and connections.” Kimber explained, “You’ll also feel some triggers under your fingers. First finger is for the machine gun and the middle finger is for the flame thrower.”

Constantine turned away holding the Cross-Punisher, he held onto the middle finger trigger. He squeezed it seeing the long end of the punisher open and out from the end came the breath of the dragon that illuminated the Elders workshop. He turned back to the Elder with a smile on his face.

“I like it,” he smiled.

But Kimber smiled back, “There’s more, the other end is a mini-rocket launcher, all you gotta do is turn the trigger mechanism to the position where you will position like a bazooka.”

Constantine did just that, twisted the mechanism so that the triggers were pointing up while he rested the Cross-Punisher over his shoulder. The short end of the Cross-Punisher opened while at the same time a sight scope came out in front of Constantine’s face.

“You don’t think we’ll be running into any big demons, do you?” He asked.

“Experience in the Order has taught us to prepare for the unexpected,” Kimber shrugged, “Finally, if you twist the trigger to the left side there are six .45 mm handguns like Sister Rosette’s. The right side is the reload bay for the machine gun and the rocket launcher.”

“It’s definitely me,” Constantine smiled as he switched the Cross-Punisher back to the machine gun position.

“Hey, why didn’t we get something like that?” Rosette protested.

“I didn’t have time to make more,” Kimber explained, “Besides, Constantine has more experience with heavy artillery and now for the final piece: mode of transportation.”

Kimber had lead the team to the door behind her that the team had already deduced would lead to the garage. Rosette was starting to wonder what kind of mode of transportation would be given to them. Kimber opened the door to the darkness beyond where she had gone in and turned on the lights. There in the center of the garage, the new team saw a brand new car. It was truly beautiful to their eyes, it was mid-sized, four door with turbo and an intake manifold coming from the hood. It had a royal blue and gold paint finish that shinned like polished glass in the fluorescent lights.

“It’s gorgeous,” Rosette cooed.

“Yes, it is,” Kimber agreed, “I call it the Seraph. This is a pure custom job; the car engine has turbo and nitrous oxide boosters. It can achieve speeds up to 210 miles per hour, but it can go from 0 to 80 miles per hour in 4 seconds. The trunk has ammunition packs for hand guns and machine guns as well as holy water refill tanks for the super soakers.”

She walked to the side of the car and tapped the glass.

“The glass is made of bulletproof Plexiglas with spells etched into the edge to keep out unwelcome guests,” She said as she finished, “It also has a DVD and stereo system for long drives as well as a GPS system so you won’t get lost.”

“What’s DVD?” Rosette asked

“You can watch movies in the car,” Constantine explained.

“Incredible,” She uttered.

“Please, Rosette,” Chrono pleaded, “The Elder’s put a lot into this, so don’t wreck it.”

“What’re you saying Chrono?” Rosette asked with a great glare in her eye.

“I’ll drive,” Constantine stepped forward to the drivers’ side of the car, opening the side door, and setting his Cross-Punisher in it.

“Why’s that?” Rosette complained.

“I heard how m any Model T’s you wrecked,” Constantine explained, “And besides you’re physically sixteen-years-old, and so you’re under age and you don’t have a driver’s license.”

Rosette scratched her head, “We have been a way a long time, Chrono.”

“No question,” Chrono whole heartedly agreed.

To Be Continued…

Author’s Notes: Well, here it is, the first chapter of the story that I had promised in my profile. I have a few chapters of it done and I’m still working on the others so, please be patient as I post them. I figure that if I post them more slowly than I normally do, the readers will have a better time to digest the chapters one by one. Just to let you know, I hadn’t used the comic book version of John Constantine I used the movie version (Keeanu Reeves version) of him. Though the story ahead between now and when they make their confrontation with Aion, they will be sent out on cases in different places, best way I can describe it for you now, imagine something like the X-files and different horror movies combined with Chrono Crusade. That’ll give you a rough idea of what I’m going for here and I hope that I’ll wet your appetite for what will come.