"The Crystal Wish...granting the true desires of others, however...with a terrible price."
"Maka..."
It was a fair day at the DWMA, a voice called out to her only Maka can hear, which made her confused on who was speaking to her.
"What's wrong, Maka?" Soul asked
"I thought i heard a voice just now." She replied
"You must be hearing things."
"Yeah, that's probably what it was." After class was over, Maka went to the library and looked for some books to keep her mind off of things. When she grabbed a few, she found an old book lying on the floor and read the title: Legend of the Crystal Wish. Maka was curious about this and started reading: "The Crystal Wish is a special wish that grants any desire from one's heart. Spoken from the mouth or not, the wish will automatically grant it. And soon a person's dream will come into reality."
"Wow." Maka is amazed from what she read from the book, and thought about Soul becoming a Death Scythe being her wish. "I wonder if anyone's gotten to it yet."
A folded map then falls out of the book, and Maka picks it off the floor to look over the routes and directions. Later in the classroom, the curious meister shows this to her weapon.
"A Crystal what now?" He asked
"A Crystal Wish. It grants you anything from the desire of our hearts. I found it in the library." She answered
"Really? How do we know if someone already took it? Plus, the book looks old and outdated."
"Well, why don't we look there for ourselves? I got the map, it fell out while i was reading."
"Okay, fine. If it's not there, don't blame me."
"I know, geez. And it'll be there, i hope."
As Maka and Soul ventured out to the south where the location of the crystal is, the map lead them to a possible forgotten land, a land filled with sand and rocky areas.
"Are you sure this is the place? Looks deserted out here." The weapon asked
"It should be, at least i think so." Both weapon and meister went inside the mysterious catacombs where the item should lie in. Torches immediately lit up the way, but the weapon was feeling uncertain about where they're heading to. After miles of walking, a dim light was spotted ahead.
"I see a light up ahead!" Maka shouted as she ran, with her weapon following her. The light got brighter as they followed the path, and when the meister and weapon went inside the room, there lies the floating heart-shaped light blue Crystal Wish in all of its glory.
"There it is, Soul. The Crystal Wish." The girl was in awe as she came face to face with this item.
"Are you sure this is the thing you've been looking for, Maka?" He asked
"There's only one way to find out."
"Hello, young meister. What is your wish?" The item spoke which surprised the girl
"Watch out, Maka. It could be a trap." The weapon warned her
"Don't worry, i'll be fine." Maka closed her eyes, and thought long and hard about her wish.
"Crystal Wish, I wish that Soul will become a Death Scythe and that I will become a powerful meister!" Maka's wish is granted as the crystal glowed brighter than ever.
"Your wish has been granted - however, it is also regarded as a selfish choice...so your transformation will begin slowly." It whispered without the meister and weapon hearing the last part. The item disappeared, leaving no trace behind. Maka and Soul was left standing there, only wondering did it work?
The next day, Maka and Soul entered the academy, only to be congratuated by all of the students for something they've unknowingly done.
"Wha-What's going on?" Maka asked
"What do you think?" One student answered, "You've collected all one hundred souls!"
"I...did?" She replied dumbfounded
"Yeah! Lord Death is waiting for you!" Other student said.
As she and Soul entered his office, more teachers and students, including Maka's father, congratuated her for her accomplishment on collecting one hundred kishin souls for Soul to become a Death Scythe.
"Congratuations, Maka Alburn and Soul Evans, on both of your accomplishment of collecting ninety-nine kishin souls including a witch's soul. I'm proud of you both." Lord Death honored
"Thank you, sir." she thanked, "Soul, how about it?"
"Alright, I guess I could give it a shot." Soul transformed into a large silver and black scythe, instead of his usual colors. Everyone applauded once more after that presentation and made Maka felt proud. After that, Maka and Soul went on their first mission as meister and Death Scythe to help out the others on defeating a Joker-like kishin. When it was defeated, the girl lends the kishin soul to the other meisters. Meanwhile, back home, the young meister's friends were all invited by the talking feline, Blair without the young girl's permission.
"What are you guys doing here?" She asked
"Your cat friend, Blair, invited us." Dia answered
"And you didn't ask me?" Maka glared at the cat
"Hey, today was your big day. I figured, why not a party at your house?" Blair replied
"I have to agree with Blair, though despite planning this without your permission and disobeying your wishes, this is a great way to celebrate your acheivement on collecting all one hundred kishin souls." Jian-fan adds
"We're all very happy for both you and Soul." Luna added happily
"Thank you, everyone." She smiles
"Hey, Soul." Tsubaki sees him looking unsure
"Huh?"
"Are you okay? You look down."
"Yeah, cheer up, man." Ryder adds
"Nah, i'm okay. Just tired from today."
"To Soul and Maka!" Black Star shouted
"To Soul and Maka!" Everyone cheered, then suddenly Soul felt a sudden shock, which made him unsure about the wish that granted his meister. That night, Soul heard from what it sounded like moaning next door, he gets up from out of his bed to wonder where it was coming from. He walks out of his room and continues hearing this as he walks closer to Maka's room. The weapon opens her door slowly and quietly to find his meister in bed to what it looks like she was in pain. He quickly opens the door wider and came to her side, trying to find out what was wrong.
"Maka! What's wrong? Are you okay?" The weapon asked but no answer from her, but only the moans of pain. Maka was sweating and continued holding her hands on her head to try and stop the mysterious pain that's going through her head.
"Maka! Wake up! What's wrong?" She all of a sudden stopped moaning, and looked up to Soul with a smile .
"I'm fine." Soul looked into her eyes, but saw a glimpse of a skull in her eye right before it disappeared. He knew he should be conserned about the girl. The next day at the DWMA, the weapon was beginning to worry about the lass after the events on that night.
"Umm...Maka, I mean Miss Alburn, may i call you Miss Alburn?" One female student asked politely
"It's alright, i'm not like a celebrity. I'm still just a normal person like you." the lass smiles
"Oh, good. I just wanna say you are like an inspiration to me. Congrats on your hard work!"
"Thank you!"
"You too, Soul! You and Maka make a great team together, plus not to mention that I think..." The student stopped as she sees Soul looking down and conserned.
"Umm...Mr. Evans, are you okay?"
"Oh, sorry. I just still couldn't believe that i've become a Death Scythe."
"I understand, you're not used to it yet. I think you're pretty cool, Soul. Er, Mr. Evans, is that okay if I call you that?"
"Soul's fine. Thanks anyways."
"My pleasure!"
The meister closes her book, and is starting to question Soul's current behavior.
"Soul? What's gotten into you? You seem distant."
"It's nothing."
"You can tell me."
"About last night, you were in pain. What if..."
"Like i said, i'm fine. It's just a minor headache." Maka feels the pain again, but smiles again when the pain stopped. "You're starting worry much."
Soul looked into Maka's eyes and spots the skulls in her eyes, only to be fully visable now. This made him even more worried, or worse, more scared on what will await for the duo. Mission after mission, Maka strangely became brutal for slaying countless amount of kishins. Even at home, while she was getting ready for bed, the girl saw a quick reflection of a monster behind her, which surprised the lass at first, but shortly ignored it. Meanwhile, at school, not only was Soul concerned, but so is the blue haired boy, the boy with the three white stripes, the pink haired girl and the lavender haired girl were thinking about the pigtailed meister on what's becoming of her.
"Hey, Maka." Black Star asks
"Oh hey. Don't worry, you can call me Maka. No Miss Alburn, unless you want to."
"Maka, what's gotten into you?" Luna asked
"What do you mean?"
"You've been acting strange, not only that, you've been slaying kishins more violently." Kid replied
"What are you talking about? I'm not violent."
"From what we've seen, yeah you are." Dia added
"What?"
"Maka, you're not yourself. We think you should go to Dr. Stein for help." Luna added
"Oh, I see." The pigtailed meister chuckled, "You all are jealous. You're just jealous because i got the most fame than anyone. Black Star, think you're the biggest star? Well guess what? I'm bigger than anyone even you! I can even surpass the gods better than you! Dia, you're named after a dumb rock, you think you can bring honor to your family with that?! Kid, ha, you think you're so special. You're nothing but Daddy's little boy."
"Maka! Stop!" Luna yells
"Oh and Luna. Little miss perfect. You don't love Kid, you just wanna impress his dad. Or, you do love him, and that attending the academy is your one way ticket to earn Kid's heart. What a sappy love story. You seem strong, but in truth you're just a weakling with an easy weakness, and let's say i'll kill Kid right here and now, would you drop out or be a crybaby about it?"
Luna unknowingly slaps Maka hard in the face after that insult.
"What the hell is wrong with..." She then sees the lavender haired girl bursting into tears.
"You're not Maka." she says this, then was escorted out by her weapon, Ryder.
"COME BACK HERE YOU..."
"That's enough, Maka!" Kid yells, "You've done enough damage."
As everyone walked out of the classroom, the pigtailed girl was left alone, now terrified of herself.. She later went back home, silent and regreting the words she said towards her friends. She is never like that towards them, what could become of her? Sure they have their disagreements from time to time, but this is different. The girl drove to a point that she could easliy lose her friends. The meister's weapon was still sitting on the couch while he was awaiting for her to come back from school. The girl sits beside him silently, with her head hanging down, not wanting to look up.
"Why?" She whispered, "Why is everyone against me?"
"Nobody's against you, Maka." He spoke
"Yes they are. We finally got what we wanted, and yet everyone seemed against it."
"Don't you mean, YOU finally got what you wanted?"
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Have you forgot that you made that wish? I'm starting to think that wasn't no ordinary wish, it's making you go crazy!"
"I'm not crazy!"
"Yes you are! Ever since you made that stupid wish, you've changed. Your eyes, attitude, everything changed! Plus, I don't feel like i deserve anything, hell, i don't even feel like a true Death Scythe."
"Oh, I get it."
"Huh?"
"It's all coming to me now. You're jealous too."
"What?"
"You heard me! My weapon is jealous because i got the fame i've always wanted. Everyone cheering me on and only me, you're just a sidekick who's jealous and wants all the attention to yourself.. Who's your meister here, huh? Who's your master, commander, leader, your god?!"
Soul is shocked by her answer and told her: "Luna's right, you really aren't the Maka I know."
This remark struck her hard, and as Soul walked out, so did she. The young meister went out and desided to appologize to each and everyone to whom she hurt. She first went to Black Star's, but found Tsubaki to answer the door.
"Oh, hi Tsubaki."
"Hello, Maka."
"Is Black Star here? I need to tell him something."
"Tell that girl to go away!" She hears Black Star in the other room, "I don't care what she has to say!"
"But, Black Star...Sorry, Maka. Maybe you should come back later." Tsubaki closes the door, so Maka heads to Luna's house next. Instead of Luna, her older sister, Stella answers first.
"Hey, Stella, is Luna here? I need to talk to her about something."
"Well, she's not doing too well."
"Please?"
"Luna, Maka's here to see you."
"Don't let her in! She doesn't deserve to walk into this house!" Luna yells as she was comforted by Ryder
"But Luna."
"But nothing! A meister like her doesn'r deserve to walk into the Vermillion household! Just leave!"
"I think you should leave." Ryder said
"I'm really sorry, hon." Stella replied. When she shut the door, the girl goes to the mansion of the son of Lord Death. Like the others, one of the weapons or family members answers the door, like Patty did.
"Hey Maka!"
"Hi, Patty. I need to talk to Kid."
"Uh...he's pretty mad right now."
"Oh, okay. Could you tell him that i'm sorry? I tried apologizing to Black Star and Luna, but they still seemed angry."
"Well, what did you expect?" Liz came in, "You insulted everyone, not to mention threatening to kill Kid in front of everyone! So it's best if you just let Kid be."
"Alright, thanks." Lastly, the pigtailed lass came to Diamond's place, however royal guards halted the girl in her tracks with their spears.
"Halt! Are you the meister that goes by the name of Maka Alburn?" One guard asked sternly
"Yes, but i need to..."
"You are not allowed on the property of the Diamond Clan, by the order of the princess herself!" The second guard shouts
"At ease, men. Please stand by." Jian-fan came out of the household residence to see what she wanted.
"Jian-fan, thank God. Could you please tell Diamond i'm sorry? Please, Kid, Black Star and Luna wouldn't let me, and I understand that you guys are mad at me, but please hear me out."
"I will tell her, but I don't think she will take the apology well. You have not only insulted her and the family name, but she doesn't think she would trust you anymore because of your unruly behavior. I am sorry, but it is for the best that you should leave her be for a while until she recovers."
"Thank you, Jian-fan." After many attempts to apologize to her fellow friends, she gave up and fell into sadness. The young girl went back to a place that made her to what she's become: The catacombs of the granted wish. Meanwhile, Soul was searching for her after a long while, he asked each and everyone in the streets of Death City to where his meister was last located. He finally got one answer from a woman who saw her exiting the city to the middle of nowhere, the boy knew where she was heading to. The silver haired boy spotted the girl sitting near the entrance of the cave, and sat by her side wanting to comfort her.
"What's wrong with me?" She finally spoke, "Have I really become a monster?"
"Maka..."
"No, it's alright. You don't need to worry about me. You were right, maybe it is the wish that's causing everything to fall apart. I was selfish, I only wanted what's best for me."
"We can fix this, we'll have to tell Lord Death the truth."
"No, Soul." Maka started to cry while smiling, "I...I..."
A voice called out to her: "Accept your fate."
"I deserve it." Suddenly, she fell and transformed into darkness. A dark purple stream of aura and screams of sorrow surrounded Maka and capturing Soul in the middle of the transformation.
"MAKA!" He screams
A large storm cloud began to form atop of the cave, growing larger and more eerie by the second. The residents of Death City sees this and began to panic. Back at the DWMA, Lord Death prepares for this action by sending the meisters and Death Scythes to carry out this mission.
"It seems that a disturbing yet familiar presence is near."
"Father," His son spoke, "what in the world is happening out there? One minute the sky is clear, and the next it seems tense and ominous."
"I know, that is why i called you all here. Something triggered outside of the city, and I hope it's not what I think it is."
"What is it?" Dia asked, "Is it something worse than the witches or the kishins?"
"I'm afraid this far worse than the witches." Dr. Stein came in, holding a book from what it seemed like the one Maka found at the library.
"That book." The black figure replied
"Yes, I happen to find this on Maka's desk. The book that should have been locked away from anyone." The man with a screw in his head answered
"The legend of the Crystal Wish. Oh dear, it is exactly what i feared."
"What's this legend about a wish?" Black Star asked
"It is no ordinary wish, Black Star." The doctor added,"The Crystal Wish may seem like a harmless name and a harmless item, but looks are deceiving. Say you make a wish for anything, wether it's a selfish one or not, it will grant you that wish, however, it will change everything about you: Your persona, your demenor, your sanity. The crystal needs a new host in order to live on."
The meisters were horrified by his explaination on what the crystal does and how it operates, and even worse, they thought about their friend.
"And Maka found it." Luna adds
"Correct. In my theory, she wished for Soul to become a Death Scythe, not knowing what might happen to her and Soul."
"That's why she was acting all crazy?" The blue haired boy remarked
"So how do we take her or it out?" The pink haired girl planned
"You have to destroy it, but in order to do that, you need to avoid getting killed. Destroying the wish will cause a large explosion, so you have to get out faster or else you're dead."
"Then it's a risk we're willing to take!" The blue haired boy exclaimed
"It is also a sacrifice. Wouldn't she live?" The lavender haired lass worries
"I'm not sure, it is a possiblitiy she will die in the impact."
The young ones thought about losing their friend, a leader, a student, a daughter.
"I'm coming with you!" A man with red medium length hair walks up to their side.
"Spirit, don't be foolish." The doctor warned
"I don't care! I'm not going to lose my daughter! We may not get along well, but...at least i'm trying to be the best father she'll ever have!"
Those words of determination struck the meisters on the inside, which also made them strong and determined to destroy the item and in hopes of keeping their friend alive.
"That's just like you, Spirit." The doctor smiled
"Very well, you and Stein will lead the kids. It's all in your hands, students. I am counting on all of you." says Lord Death
As the meisters and teachers exited from the city, they were heading to the catacombs where the crystal is last seen. However, from out of the ground, multiple phantoms with scythes for hands, piercing red eyes and a chilling grin began to attack and stall most of the students and teachers, leaving only Kid, Black Star, Luna and Diamond to find the source of the chaos. Inside they can already feel a powerful yet gut-ripping presence, but the four stayed stong and kept going, until they've reached to their end. Their terrifed faces spotted the pigtailed lass, only she didn't look like herself, she was floating, had a pale complexion, wore a long ripped black dress, surrounded by large multiple books containing records of her memories.
"Where's Soul?" Diamond questioned
"Look!" Ryder answered, "Up there on the right!"
Soul was hanging on the wall, being binded by his meister's book pages. The silver haired weapon looked unconsious, because of the toll he took from the impact on the girl's dark transformation.
"Why isn't Soul affected?" Liz asked
"Not sure, but we have to take Maka down!" Kid shoots her multiple times, but the girl resisted the bullets and summoned one of her pages to attack the boy, he nearly misses this attack for now. Diamond and Black Star slashed their way through the haunted literature, almost near the possessed lass, she summons a phantom copy of the duo from one of her records and call out a shadow Soul Resonance. This attack was strongly effective towards the real duo as they were brutally beaten by this force. Luna finally slashed Maka from the left, while also leaving this open for the young grim reaper to fire.
"Black Star, Diamond, go and try to free Soul. Me and Luna will handle her!" the boy commanded
"No way!" says the beaten blue haired boy
"We can still take her on!" says the pink haired girl
"Don't be stupid! Just do as I say!"
"He's right," Jian-fan agreed, "you are not able to fight Maka in this condition. You must free Soul until otherwise."
The two young ninjas went to the wall were the weapon is captured and held on to the binded material.
"Yo Soul, wake up! We're here to save ya'." says the male ninja
"He doesn't look consious." Tsubaki spoke
"Hey! I don't know if you can hear us, but we're gonna get you out!" says the female ninja as she uses her weapon to slice the paper tentacle.
"M...Ma...ka..." the silver haired boy woke up in time for the planned escape
"We gotta get you outta here."
"Nn...no. I have to...i have to save...Maka."
"You can't face her, not like this." Tsubaki suggested
"But I have to! Even if it means i have to risk my life. She started this, so i'm going to finish it."
The duo respected his wishes, and freed him from his prison, while on the battlefield, Kid and Luna were taking a heavy amount of damage, bloody and bruised. Maka looked emotionless, she was no longer the student everyone knew, her heart is corrupted, so is her sanity, attitude and demenor. Just then, from behind with a quick slash, Dr. Stein slightly damaged the crystal, where it lies by her heart and seen out from her back and chest.
"Maka! I'm coming for you!" says her father in his weapon form
The ex-meister looks directly to the doctor's way and thrashes him down to the ground with the record pages. Soul walked in front of her just as she was almost about to make the finishing blow to both doctor and her father, she seemed confused at first, but then summoned another tentacle to pummel him. He quickly dodged this and leaped onto Maka's ominous books to reach her.
"Kid, Black Star, get everyone out of here!" He commanded
"But what about you?" Luna asked
"Don't worry about me. Know that I have a plan to end this once and for all. And that i'm sorry to do this, Mr. Alburn. But know that Maka's alaways love you, even if she doesn't express it to you."
Everyone evacuated from the wrecked cave, Soul is lifted by Maka's telekinisis, and recieved an answer from her: "Why do you fight for me?"
"Because, you're more than just a friend." As he kissed her, Soul formed a scythe from his hand and pierced it through the crystal, destroying not only the crystal and the cave, but he and Maka themselves. Everyone watched in grief as the catacombs were completely gone. The students, teachers, and Maka's father realized that Soul sacrificed himself and the girl in order to save Death City from despair and chaos.