A/N: PLEASE READ! This is post-anime; the witches and Kishin are defeated and Soul is not a Death Scythe. I'm omitting the fact that Maka's part weapon, and also the fact that Crona seemingly moved in with them. Sorry if this creates confusion, but just think of the anime ending but without Maka's weapon abilities and Crona staying at Maka and Soul's place.
Warning: Well if you watch the show then you should know what to expect
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater!
Chapter 1: They Never Saw It Coming
Maka Albarn skidded across the muddy grass as she was hit with yet another attack. She faintly heard her weapon partner Soul Evans call out her name in a panic as she fell to the ground, releasing him from her grasp.
"Get up, she's coming this way!" Soul exclaimed, watching in horror as Maka didn't budge. "Maka! Snap out of it!"
The meister lifted her head slightly as she looked at her enemy with fear etched on her features.
"She's too strong…" She mumbled. There was a quick flash of light before her weapon appeared in front of her in his human form. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.
"No, she's not. That's just what he wants you to think. You're letting the fear control you, Maka! It doesn't control you, you control it." He craned his neck to look behind him and saw their enemy closing in fast. "Maka, get your head in the game!" He added before turning back into a scythe. His partner grabbed him by the handle and stood up shakily.
The fear doesn't control me, I control it…
"Let's do this!" Soul declared.
"Right!" Maka replied with a smirk.
"Let's go, soul resonance!"
The human-looking creature had finally caught up with them and laughed at their attempt to become stronger.
"I told you it was stupid, yet you try to defeat me anyway!" She mocked, "I'm telling you one last time, girly, I know a weapon's weakness and I'm not afraid to use it!"
To this, Soul slightly winced, but kept his cool nonetheless. Maka noticed this and narrowed her eyes as her grip on Soul tightened. Her mind briefly went back to the day in Italy when he nearly died to protect her.
Don't worry…I'm not letting you get hurt again.
"Yeah right! Weapons have no weakness!" Maka yelled. She dashed up to the monster and jumped. "Witch hunter!"
The enemy just laughed once more before swatting her off. She slammed into a nearby tree and her scythe fell to the ground.
"Maka!"
"I'm alright," She assured him, picking him up again. Their enemy walked up to them and shook her head slowly.
"You think a soul resonance will help you?" She asked, sighing.
"Shut up! Of course it will!" Maka defended, getting up quickly.
She ran up to the tall woman again and didn't even bother to aim as she furiously swung Soul around, hoping to hit at least once. Witch Hunter seemed to be helping slightly as the woman started bleeding wherever she was hit.
"I'm warning you! Nobody defeats Agnes!"
Maka ignored the threats coming from their enemy as she continued hitting.
"Hey! Pay attention to where you're hitting. You keep missing!" Soul said loudly, trying to get his meister's attention.
Suddenly, the woman grabbed Soul by the blade, stopping Maka's attack in midair. Soul's outer blade from Witch Hunter broke off into hundreds of pieces, leaving his regular form in plain sight. The shorter girl's eyes widened as she realized that her hit had been blocked. The elder smirked evilly before speaking quietly.
"I warned you."
As quick as she had blocked their attack, Agnes released a powerful burst of energy—seemingly her soul wavelength. Maka flew backwards and fell harshly to the ground, Soul landing not too far from her. She shook her head to erase the stars in her vision and looked around for her partner, only to find him lying on the ground, confused, and in human form.
"What the hell?" He muttered, staring at his hands. Maka jogged to him and kneeled next to him. "That bitch forced a transformation..." He trailed off, slightly baffled.
"What? Change back!" Maka ordered in a panicked tone.
As Soul tried to turn into weapon form, he was enveloped in an electric shock. He cried out in pain as Maka jumped back, surprised.
"I can't," He said, panting.
"Why?" Maka asked softly.
"Not sure," Soul replied, frowning.
"Soul…" She turned her attention to Agnes who was watching with entertainment. "What did you do to him!?" She yelled, standing up and keeping a firm posture. Soul stood up as well, glaring daggers at the woman standing in front of them.
"I told you. I warned you! A weapon's greatest weakness…is not being able to turn into one!"
Maka's eyes went wide once more, as Soul's eyebrows furrowed.
"Change him back to normal!" Maka demanded, voice shaking.
Agnes smiled and turned to face Soul. She looked him up and down before shrugging.
"He looks normal to me." She then sniffed the air and crossed her arms, "Even smells normal."
Soul grumbled and took a step forward angrily.
"You know what she means! Why can't I change back!?"
Agnes put on a fake frown and puppy eyes.
"Is my wavelength doing that? Oh dear! I'm terribly sorry!"
Soul was about to retort but was once again electrified seemingly out of nowhere. He crumpled to the ground before breathing heavily and glaring at the enemy in front of him.
"Soul!"
"Calm down, Maka. It's nothing." He assured, voice somewhat strained.
His meister was skeptical of his response, but didn't say a word.
No…it's not nothing! I promised myself…from that day…
Soul stood up shakily, one arm leaning against the tree behind him for support. Once he was fully standing, he shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Listen, lady, you're starting to piss me off. Just take away whatever it is you did and let's continue this fight fairly." He then turned to face the girl standing next to him, "And Maka, no holding back."
Maka hesitated, but nodded slowly. Agnes sighed sadly and lifted her arms up in defense.
"Even if I wanted to, I can't. That spell lasts a couple of hours."
Maka frowned. Spell?
"You said you did this with your wavelength," Soul pointed out, also wearing a scowl on his face.
"Yes, but how do you think my soul got so strong? With a spell of course!" She clasped her hands together and jumped up and down eagerly with a smile.
"Spell? So you're a witch, then." Maka stated, holding her ground.
Agnes moaned and crossed her arms.
"Why do all you Academy students think that any being who uses magic is a witch? Honestly it's starting to hurt my feelings!"
Soul rolled his eyes as Maka barreled on with the questions.
"What are you, then? If you're not a witch."
"Just a simple girl who knows magic, duh!"
"Wait, not just anyone can learn magic. It's near impossible for a normal human!" The meister protested, her gloves balling into fists. Soul put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, but didn't say anything.
"I said I was a girl, I never said I was human, did I?" Agnes smiled.
Before their conversation could continue, the three of them heard screaming in the distance.
"Yahoo! You better watch out, because the show is just getting started!"
Agnes started at the little teal dot at the back of the forest, squinting her eyes.
"Is that a blue monkey?" She asked doubtfully.
Soul and Maka groaned in response, turning around to see none other than Black Star running at them, Tsubaki in ninja sword mode in the palm of his hand.
"No…a squirrel maybe?" Agnes rambled on, scratching her head, "Do they have blue squirrels, now?"
Maka sighed and took a step back, copied by her partner as Black Star reamed into Agnes, sending her flying.
"Hahaha! I told you!" He turned to face his friends, but noticed how beat up they looked.
"You guys get back; I'll take it from here! Right, Tsubaki?"
From the blade of the sword, the blue haired meister saw the reflection of his partner who nodded once.
"Of course."
"Right then, enchanted sword mode!"
Maka just smiled and shook her head before she realized something.
"Wait, Black Star! Tsubaki!"
Her cry went unnoticed by the assassin as he charged for the enemy. He swung his weapon up in the air and dragged it down, slicing a large cut on the woman's chest. Agnes frowned before putting her hand in the air as if she was being controlled by a puppet master.
"I'm warning you now, runt, if you try anything with that weapon partner of yours, she's toast."
"Ha! Keep thinking that!" He jumped up and spun around before diving down—arm fully extended and prepared to strike.
However, Agnes caught Tsubaki just as she had with Soul. Another powerful wavelength attack sent Black Star flying, although he quickly landed on his feet. He then noticed that Tsubaki wasn't with him anymore.
"Tsubaki?" He turned around to see Maka and Soul kneeling next to his partner as she slowly sat up, putting a hand to her head.
"How…?" With the help of her friends, she was hoisted up, "I didn't mean to change back, Black Star, I'm sorry…"
Soul growled in a low tone and shot a glare to the woman who was now sitting in a tree branch, painting her nails as she waited for the fight to continue.
"No, it wasn't your fault. That enemy, Agnes or whatever, she can make it so that weapons can't transform." He said sourly, putting his hands in his pockets again. "I didn't even know weapons had a weakness. I thought we were more or less invincible when in weapon form." He muttered.
"How can she do that?" Tsubaki asked quietly.
"With her soul wavelength. It's a spell that apparently lasts a few hours," Maka explained, frowning.
"Spell…so she's—" Black Star was cut off by Soul.
"She's not. She's just able to use magic."
Black Star faced the girl sitting in the tree and yelled in frustration.
"What the hell!? I'm so gonna defeat you for doing that to my friends!" He cried out, dashing to Agnes with a grin. "Maka, go get Tsubaki and Soul some help! A star like me doesn't need any backup!"
Maka smiled slightly when she heard that, but nodded. Then, remembering her friend couldn't see her, she called out in agreement and led the two weapons back to the Academy.
Their walk back was longer than expected, as Soul and Tsubaki had to stop every few minutes from being electrified. Maka ended up needing to help them both with the simple task of walking, and she grew more worried by the second for their condition.
Why is it hurting them so much? I don't understand…it's not like they're being tortured or anything…
She let out a barely audible gasp as Tsubaki stopped in her tracks once more, eyes shut painfully as she felt another attack coming on.
When the taller girl recovered, the three continued on once more.
Agnes…what is she? What can she do to weapons?
Maka stole a glance at Soul. He had one arm draped over her shoulders and the other one dangling loosely by his side. He said nothing as they walked, and merely gritted his teeth when he felt the electricity once more. She knew he was trying to hide his pain for her sake, but she didn't mention it.
Maybe if I use my Soul Perception, I can figure out what's going on with their souls. That must have something to do with it.
Closing her eyes and focusing her energy, Maka suddenly felt the presence of multiple souls that surrounded her. She opened her eyes and looked to her left, where Tsubaki trailed behind her slightly. She deemed herself too tall to be supported by the meister and was therefore walking on her own.
Maka frowned when she saw nothing wrong with Tsubaki's soul. However, as the latter was seized with another shock, Maka gasped when she saw part of the weapon's soul disappearing. It repaired itself, however, but still…
How does a piece of her soul just get ripped off like that?
"You okay?" Maka asked her, adjusting Soul's position as he swayed slightly. She stared at him a second, worried, before turning her attention back to the weapon on the other side of her.
"Yes, I'm alright." Tsubaki said softly as she smiled.
Now, to get a look at this idiot's soul…
She faced the boy once more, this time paying attention to what happened to his wavelength when he was shocked. She waited a moment for the electricity to reappear, having only shown itself a few times since their fight.
Soul suddenly grunted, nearly tripping. Maka knew what was happening and watched as his soul was ripped apart, just as Tsubaki's had been, and as it was magically healed as if nothing had happened.
I see…so it hurts their souls to not be able to transform…
Lost in her thoughts, Maka didn't even notice Kid and his weapons running toward her.
"Oh, Maka." He said, startled by her appearance, "I heard some commotion and decided to come see what it was."
"I hope we win!" Patti exclaimed from Kid's hand.
"You don't even know what it is. We could die." Liz pointed out, trying to sound confident.
Maka turned around, and, looking past a limping Tsubaki, she was able to see that Black Star was putting up quite the fight with Agnes.
"I think it'll be alright." She mentioned, turning back to face Kid, "Right now, these two need help."
As if on cue, Soul was seized by a shock more powerful than the last, and he brought both hands to his chest as he cried out. Kid watched in worry as his form slumped to the ground, unmoving.
"Soul!" Maka immediately kneeled down next to him.
"Maka, what happened to them?" Kid inquired in shock, still staring at Soul.
"That person Black Star is fighting can disable their weapon forms. It destroys their souls to not be able to transform." She explained worriedly, trying to shake Soul awake. "Soul, please wake up…"
"Kid, I'm getting a bad feeling about this!" Liz said suddenly.
"Yeah, it feels kinda creepy…" Patti admitted. She then turned back to human form along with her sister as they hugged.
"I'm too young to die!"
"Don't worry sis, we have Kid here to protect us!"
"Don't say that, Patti, you're making it worse!" Liz exclaimed in tears as she continued holding on to her sibling. To this, Kid frowned. He then noticed Tsubaki cry out as Soul had done moments before. Just like the male weapon, she fell to the floor, unconscious.
"Tsubaki!" He called out, bending down next to her, "We need to get these two to Nygus." He announced, trying to get Tsubaki on his back.
Don't think of the non-symmetrical being on your back, Kid, don't think of the non-symmetrical being on your back…
His face turned into one of disgust as he tried to imagine Tsubaki being perfectly symmetrical.
Maka did the same with Soul and started walking ahead, quickly followed by Kid who called out to his partners.
"Liz, Patti, are you two coming?" He questioned, still walking forward.
"Y-yeah…" Liz stuttered, releasing her hug.
"Coming!" Patti exclaimed, racing past her sister.
Hearing a scream, Kid turned around to see smoke arising from where Black Star and Agnes were fighting.
"Are you sure he'll be okay?" He asked skeptically.
Maka thought a moment before sighing.
"If you wanna go…"
Kid's lips formed a thin line as he thought about it.
If I fight, Liz and Patti won't be able to come with me. I'll have to go in alone.
He nodded once, gently placing Tsubaki on a padded area.
"I'm going back."
Liz screamed and held on to Patti as the younger tried to cheer her up.
"Oh, calm down, Liz! I'm going by myself. I can't risk you two getting hurt."
Maka was about to protest, but Kid patted her on the shoulder and ran off to join Black Star.
Liz sighed in relief, and Maka seemed to notice this.
"How can you be so relieved? Your meister is going there alone!" She argued, shifting Soul's position on her back.
Well, at least he's not too heavy.
"He's Kid, he'll be fine! Besides, Black Star's with him." Liz defended, walking up to Tsubaki, "Anyway, shouldn't we worry more about her and Soul?" She said, nodding to the unconscious figure on Maka's back.
"Yeah…" Maka walked on by herself as Patti helped Liz get Tsubaki on the elder's back. They quickly joined up with the meister and the three walked in silence.
"Sis, do you still have that weird feeling?" Patti asked suddenly, turning around to face her sister as she walked backwards.
"Yeah," Liz said seriously, "I hope this doesn't happen to us."
"So do I," Maka agreed, surprising the sisters, "I know it's bad, what happened to Soul and Tsubaki, but they need to be the only weapons this happens to. If Agnes does this to everyone else at the Academy who knows what'll happen…"
There was a short silence before Maka shook her head.
"Come on, we're wasting time." She uttered.
Liz and Patti said nothing as they continued on their way.
After a little while, Maka felt Soul move around and stopped dead in her tracks, causing Liz to stop and Patti to bump right into Tsubaki.
"What? What is it?" Patti asked, curious.
"Soul?" Maka questioned, looking over her shoulder.
"Mmn…"
"Oh, he's awake…" Liz commented, quickly looking over her shoulder as well to see if she could say the same of Tsubaki. Unfortunately, she couldn't. She looked back at Soul and smiled slightly.
"Soul!" Maka exclaimed in relief, "Are you okay?"
"Wha…" It took him a moment to realize he was on Maka's back. Shocked, he stumbled off of her and fell to the ground. "You were carrying me!?" He asked in surprise, pointing to Maka. The latter blushed a bit and extended her hand out to him with a nod. Soul smiled and shook his head.
That idiot…she could've hurt herself.
He grabbed her wrist and she hoisted him up, immediately embracing him in a hug, once again surprising the weapon.
Was she that worried? How long was I out…?
As if hearing his thoughts, Maka spoke up.
"Geez, Soul! I was so worried. You and Tsubaki just suddenly collapsed and I didn't know what to do…"
It was then Soul realized he was surrounded by two other familiar weapons—Liz and Patti. He looked around a second before asking a question.
"And Kid's not with these two?" He asked, referring to the sisters as 'these two'.
"He was just here. We ran into him not too long ago and he was going to come back with us." Maka explained.
"But then instead he went to go fight that mean lady with Black Star!" Patti added in a giddy tone.
Ha, that's just like Kid and Black Star. Fighting without their weapons in order to protect them…
Soul looked over at Maka who was now looking over Tsubaki.
Or even Maka, whenever she refuses to guard because…because…
He unconsciously put a hand to the scar on his chest as he watched Tsubaki wake up while Maka asked her how she was doing.
Maka…
He clutched his bright orange shirt unknowingly, and Maka caught him in the act.
"Soul?"
Dragged from his thoughts, Soul noticed that Maka was staring at him with a concerned look. He realized what he was doing and quickly shoved his hands in his pockets.
"I'm fine," He said, just as fast.
Not fully believing him, Maka kept her firm look on him for a few seconds before standing up and helping Tsubaki get up as well.
"Let's get going." She said sternly, walking ahead of everyone.
Soul, confused, ran up to join her and walked beside her.
"What's up?" He asked, frowning, "You're acting weird."
Again, Maka stopped in her tracks. Soul stopped as well, motioning for the others to continue on.
"I'm acting weird?" She repeated softly. Soul kept his look on her, not showing how uncomfortable he suddenly was with her tone, "Soul…" Her meadow-green eyes locked into his strawberry ones as she spoke, making him a bit nervous. "You're hurting me!" She exclaimed, arms in the air.
Soul stood there in shock, but quickly recovered.
"How the hell am I hurting you?" He asked calmly, trying not to feed the fire.
"Whenever I see you like this…" She walked up to him and placed a hand on his chest. Soul was slightly surprised although she had done this numerous times before. He remembered the first time she had done that, while they were with Medusa and Stein in the alley way.
Damn, she's still feeling guilty about that scar? It was ages ago!
"Maka—"
"I know what you're going to say." She looked down, hand still on his torso, "That it wasn't my fault and you were supposed to do that—to protect me."
Soul said nothing as he gently grabbed her wrist and lowered her hand, catching her by surprise.
"But it's true. Maka, it really doesn't bother me anymore. It's behind us and I hardly ever even think about it. It's not cool to dwell on the past. If anyone should be feeling guilty, obviously it's me for making you feel this way." He countered, smirking. "Besides, having a battle scar is pretty freakin' sweet. Not even Black Star has proof of all his battles."
"But we lost that one!" Maka argued, tearing up.
This was definitely not the direction I wanted to go…
Soul sighed and walked on ahead.
"C'mon, we should go see how Tsubaki's doing, right?"
Maka hesitated before catching up with him and the others as they continued their walk to the Academy.