Disclaimer: I'll give you a hint: I'm writing a disclaimer. If you still think that I own either Chrono Crusade of Fullmetal Alchemist, than you're mentally challenged.

Chapter One- The Gate Not of Heaven

She remembered once that she heard from Chrono how that, when you die, you rejoin all the dead as astral energy. But now, as she stood before the towering gate, that same devil at her side, she wasn't so sure he had been right.

Where are we? she tried to ask, but her voice never left her throat. She faced Chrono, who seemed to be having the same problem, as he was mouthing words to her she didn't understand.

What? she asked him silently. Chrono, what are you trying to tell me?

Suddenly, the doors to the gate opened, and small, black things reached out at them. She tried to resist their pull, but soon they had both her and Chrono wrapped up tightly, and she felt a horrible scraping against her skin as the things pried at her limbs.

She made a strangled noise in her throat, and she tried to find Chrono near her. She located him not to far away from her, but she was shocked to see that he was in his original form, instead of the normal childlike form he took on to conserve his astral energy.

Then, a small scream escaped her throat as the small creatures ripped away Chrono's left arm, and his shout of pain echoed in her ears. Soon, though, she neither saw nor heard anything as blackness overtook her world.

………………

He had finally done it. Scar had finally done it. In Lior, the giant transmutation circle activated just as the soldiers flooded into the city. He almost smiled; the thought of those military dogs finally meeting their demise pleased him.

Despite that, he did have one concern: what would happen to Alphonse Elric? In the time they had known each other- however short- Scar had come to a grudging respect for the young boy. He had known pain more than that of anyone else. The pain of not being able to feel…

That was the real reason he was now creating the Philosopher's Stone in him. There was no other person on this earth who was deserving of it as much as Alphonse Elric, who loved his brother more than the entire world despite Edward's mistakes.

So now, although his final act alive was a mass slaughter, Scar could not help but finally feel free of all the guilt that had plagued him.

But, right as the last breath left his body, he saw a large gate appear before him. Its doors opened, and it took him in. He saw before him two people, leaning against each other, resting peacefully. Then, he heard the gate whispering in his ear:

This is your equivalent exchange.

………………

Ed rushed into the remains of Lior, hoping beyond all hope that he would find a survivor. As he wandered the barren desert, he was a huge pile of sand, from which a small hand was sticking out of.

Panicking, Ed grabbed the person's hand and pulled them toward him. Then, the sand fell away from the form, and revealed there to be, not one, but two people and a large suit of armor laying there.

Recognizing one of them immediately, Ed simply dropped the girl he had pulled from the sand and rushed towards the armor, which was rolled almost completely on top of another figure with long purple hair, whose face Ed couldn't see. "Al?" asked Ed concernedly.

The armor's head lifted to face the short blond boy. "Brother…?" then, suddenly, it hopped out of the pile of sand it had been laying in and away from Ed. "Ah! Get away from me, brother! I'm gonna explode any minute!" It paused. "Uh…"

"Okay," said Ed slowly. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but…"

"Oh! Well, first, Kimbley turned me into a bomb, and he told Scar that if he turned me into something else he could save me, and then Scar put his arm on me and then it was like his arm WAS me, and…"

"Al," interrupted Ed, "open up your chest plate."

"But, brother, why?"

"Just do it, Al," commanded his older brother impatiently.

Doing as his brother said, Al's metaphorical eyes widened. "Brother…" he gasped, "what is this?"

"Al, Scar drew a huge transmutation circle all around Lior. Just a few minutes ago, Archer sent in his men, and Scar activated the circle. Scar had been trying to make the Philosopher's Stone… but he didn't make it in his own body," explained Ed, clenching his fists tightly together in rage.

"Brother, do you mean that… I'm the Philosopher's Stone?"

………………

When he woke, Chrono found that he couldn't move. His entire body ached, especially his left arm and shoulders, which had just recently healed from when those things inside the Gate had taken it. It had been incredibly difficult to regenerate, but Chrono found himself shocked he could at all.

For the truth was, he sincerely remembered dieing.

After a moment, Chrono seemed to gain some semblance of control over his body, and finally could hear what was happening around him.

"…transmutation circle all around Lior. Just a few minutes ago, Archer sent in his men, and Scar activated the circle. Scar had been trying to make the Philosopher's Stone… but he didn't make it in his own body."

"Brother, do you mean that… I'm the Philosopher's Stone?"

Chrono's thoughts were racing; transmutation circle, Philosopher's Stone? Neither of those things sounded familiar. And where in the world was Lior; he had traveled much in his long life, and had never heard of it. And who exactly were "Scar" and "Archer"?

Groggily, Chrono opened his eyes, and was shocked to see a very short blonde boy, whose hair was tied back in a braid that fell down to his mid-back, with golden eyes that held a very familiar emotion to Chrono: regret. He wore black boots, leather pants, a black tank top, a black jacket, and white gloves despite the blistering heat of the desert, and his companion was even more unusual. He wore a complex suit of armor, which had on a loincloth and what appeared to be a long feather sticking out of his head.

Although the strangers didn't frighten him, Chrono couldn't push back a strong fear that gripped him when he realized he couldn't find Rosette; with his movement limited from his still weak limbs, Chrono wasn't sure he would be able to face off against even a minor threat.

Grunting with the effort, Chrono pushed himself up into a sitting position, and the two strangers whirled around to face him. The blonde's eyes widened, before they narrowed and he glared at Chrono.

"Who the hell are you? What the hell are you?" Ed asked angrily.

Ignoring him, Chrono's eyes scanned the surrounding area, only to find Rosette laying on the ground, still unconscious, laying face down in the sandy ground. Crawling over to her, Chrono wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up to face him.

He looked over her, trying to see if she was injured in any way. Suddenly, his eyes stopped on the watch that marked their contract. It was still ticking, and had barely used up any of the time.

Chrono felt Rosette stirring in his arms, and her blue eyes blinked up at him. "C-Chrono?" asked the sister wearily. "What happened? I thought that…."

"So did I," answered Chrono, "but I guess that He had other plans for us."

Smiling at him gently, before her eyes widened. "Chrono," she breathed, "your horns… they're back!"

"What?" murmured Chrono. Lifting his hand up, he felt that his horns were, indeed, back. Not only that, he finally realized the weight of his wings and recognized that he was in his original form.

"But, Rosette, the watch- it's still sealed," Chrono pointed out.

Smiling, Rosette nodded. "With your horns back, I guess you don't need me to use your power anymore. Maybe that broke the contract."

Chrono shook his head. "No, it wouldn't. But… what about that Gate we passed through?"

Finally, Ed brought their attention back to him. "HELLO!" he shouted. "Could you please stop ignoring me please and tell me what the hell is going on here, who the hell you are, and how the HELL you got here!"

Rosette glared at the short alchemist. "You don't have to be so rude, you know," she pointed out. Grinning, she asked, "Or is your temper just as short as you are?"

Ed snapped. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE COULDN'T EVEN PROVIDE ENOUGH SHADE TO KEPP AN AMOEBA FROM GETTING A SUNBURN!"

"Brother," Al soothed, "I'm sure she didn't really mean it like that."

"What are you talking about! Of course she meant it like that! She reminds me of that no good Mustang!"

"Who are you calling a horse!"

"Now, now, Rosette, no need to bite the poor kid's head off…"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A KID!"

"Urgh…"

"Brother, calm down--!"

"Well, what do we have here?" came a voice from off to the side of the arguing parties. Instantly, Ed recognized her.

"Lust! What are you doing here?" Ed cried.

"I'm here to warm you boys to leave. The State will be looking for you, as will my… comrades. It would be best for you to leave," she said coolly.

Chrono and Rosette simply stared at the woman; they both got a bad feeling off of her. It reminded Chrono of a devil's aura, but it wasn't quite the same, it seemed somehow more… dead. Chrono tightened his grip on Rosette.

"And why aren't you coming after us, huh?" Ed called, seeming to have forgotten about Chrono and Rosette.

A soft sound of realization came from Al, and he lifted the necklace Scar had attached to his armor up, just enough for Ed to see it. He understood.

"Come on, Al," he said, walking away from both Lust and Chrono and Rosette. The suit of armor followed after his older brother without hesitation.

Lust sent a curious glance Chrono and Rosette's way, before she too left.

Standing up slowly, Chrono lifted rosette up off the ground with him. He let go of her hesitantly, not sure if she could yet support himself, but reassured when she didn't immediately collapse.

"Chrono," she said thoughtfully, "it would probably be better for both of us if you changed into your other form- so you don't stick out quite as much."

Nodding at his former contractor, Chrono concentrated on sending all of his astral energy solely into his horns, and weakening himself enough that he was able to take on his more childlike form.

Seeing that Rosette now stood a few inches taller than him, Chrono assumed that it had worked. "We should probably go after those two," Chrono suggested.

Rosette nodded, albeit reluctantly. "I guess you're right… though that midget is gonna drive me crazy… I guess that it'll all be alright if we do. After all, how likely is it we'll find someone else out here in the dessert?" asked the sister with a smile.

Chrono nodded. "Come on then; I have a feeling that they're not going to wait around for us if we don't catch up to them."

………………

To be Continued…

………………

A/N: It wasn't too long, but it wasn't really short either. Well, I hope that you all liked it, and that there weren't too many spelling or grammar mistakes. If there were, I'll try and fix them later on.

So, how did you like my first Chrono Crusade fanfic? I just finished watching the anime (it only took me four days of obsessive-compulsive viewing), and I can't get it out of my head! I love that series so much! Chrono is so awesome! And it was just such a compelling story with awesome characters. Rosette and Chrono are so obviously meant to be, that there can just never be enough fanfiction for them!

Well, please read and review. I might not update regularly, but I will try to update as often as possible (and seeing as I just about to start the most boring summer of my life, that might be more often than normal), so you all keep coming back.

Remember, reviews make the author update more!