25.7959° N, 80.2870° W
Miami International Airport
0600 hours
The scent of gasoline was the first thing that registered when she stepped off of the bike. To her the scent was like coming home, especially since she had spent most of her childhood around planes, dreaming of the day she would finally fly one. She stood, taking in all of the sights and sounds of the field of runways before her.
"Maka, are you coming? If we don't hurry we're going to miss check in," she turned to see her mechanic, Soul Eater, standing impatiently near the doors that lead into the airport.
"Yeah, I'm coming, chill out," she took one last look at the airfield and made her way after her moody mechanic.
Stepping into the airport, Maka felt the AC wash over her, causing her to shiver. So far, she was not enjoying the Florida weather. As a Nevada native, she was used to hot dry summers, unlike Florida with its thick humid air that seemed to cling to her skin and make it hard to breathe.
Nearing the check-in table, the realization of what she was actually doing finally hit her. She was going to compete in an international flight race: the one she had been dreaming about ever since her mother told her the Albarn family legacy was in her hands now. She had spent so many hours studying and practicing for this day and it was finally in her grasp. She was actually here and she would win this thing, no matter what the others kept telling her. She would make her mother proud and leave her mark on the world just as her mother had. Maka walked up to the table and saw a woman with blonde hair sitting down, flipping through pages attached to a clipboard. Seeing the teens out of the corner of her eye, she looked up and gave them a smile.
"Hi, I take if you two are team Soul Resonance?" said the woman sitting behind the table. She had a pin on her shirt that read 'Marie' and an eye patch over her left eye.
"Yup, that's us. Plane number 4242564," Soul told her, shooting Maka a look that said 'Get you head out of the clouds, stupid'. Maka just rolled her eyes at him.
"Ok, so looks like they're getting your plane ready now, and final checks will be at 0700 hours, make sure you have everything that you need to take with you. Here are the flight plans and a couple routes you can take as well as a map. You'll find most of your belongings in the lounge along with some breakfast. Umm, I think that covers it, have a good time and fly high!" Marie handed them the packet with another smile and bid them farewell.
"Well wasn't she chipper this morning," grumbled Soul, "couldn't just be a normal person who needs 3 cups of coffee in the morning to function."
"Oh quit your grumbling, you're just mad because I stole the covers when you didn't get up when the alarm went off."
"You're damn right I am. It was flipping cold in the hotel room thanks to you."
They continued bickering down the hallway until they found a door marked 'Lounge'. Maka reached around Soul to pull it open.
"And another thing," she stopped when she saw Soul's expression. His eyes were huge and his mouth was wide open, staring at something in the room. Maka turned to see what could have caused that reaction and almost did the same thing herself.
Sitting inside the lounge shoving pineapple pieces into his mouth at an almost inhuman speed was her old childhood friend and piloting nemesis Blake, or as he made everyone call him, Black*Star. He looked up at them and smiled, showing them the pineapple stuck in his teeth and the juice dripping down his face.
"Look Tsubaki, it's my old minion Pigtails!" Black*Star's voice always seemed to be permanently loud, even when they were kids. Maka self-consciously tugged on her hair, annoyed that he still used the nickname he had given her when they first met.
"Black*Star what are you doing here? I thought you said you were gonna go back to Japan?" Maka said with a bit of confusion and exasperation in her voice. Black*Star was originally from Japan but was an orphan soon after he was born and ended being adopted by close friends of Maka's parents, Sid and Nygus. Sid had been a pilot as well and had grown up alongside Maka's mother, with Nygus being his mechanic.
Black*Star had grown up with Maka, with them living so close and him probably being the only other person alive who could match her love for flying. They had entered all of the Flight races together, always trying to beat one another. But soon after they both completed Pilot school, Black*Star had announced that he was leaving home to go back to Japan and would continue his flying over there as well as look for a good mechanic he could trust (and one who could deal with him and his obnoxiousness). The last time Soul and Maka had seen him was at the airport as he boarded his plane.
Seeing him sitting here now really surprised the both of them. Especially when Maka looked at the person who was sitting next to him. Sitting there was a tall, pretty girl with long dark hair pulled up into a ponytail. Her hair hit waist length and she had a small serene look on her face.
"So, Black*Star, do you want to introduce your friend here, who you are completely ignoring?" she gestured to the girl.
"This my minion Tsubaki. She's the mechanic I picked up while I was over in Japan." Black*Star looked pretty smug while he said it, obviously pleased with himself.
Tsubaki stood and looked at Maka and Soul, and with a small bow said, "Hello it's nice to finally meet the people I've heard so much about. I'm Nakatsukasa Tsubaki, Black*Star's mechanic."
Maka pulled herself from the shock that she still felt about Black*Star being back and introduced herself. Copying what Tsubaki had done she bowed and said, "I'm Maka Albarn and this is my mechanic Soul Eater," she elbowed Soul in the ribs to get him to bow as well, "we've been partners for a few years now. How long have you and Black*Star known each other?" She was genuinely curious seeing as he had only been in Japan for a little over a year.
"Blackstar just walked into the plane hangar where I was working and yelled that he needed the best plane and mechanic we had. Course he yelled it in English so most of the people just thought he was a crazy foreigner, but I came over and asked if he needed help and then I just kinda became his translator for a while. When he learned that I was a mechanic he flipped out and told me he needed a mechanic immediately and that I should definitely take the job because what minion wouldn't want to be partners with an amazing God like himself. He told me his story and what he planned to do and I decided it sounded like fun, and plus he was really nice and really needed help and that's pretty much it honestly. I've been with him for about 9 months or so? Maybe a little longer." Soul straightened from where he was standing next to Maka and gave Tsubaki a once over.
" You know you seem like a really nice person and I got to give you props for leaving your home to go be a mechanic for a crazy guy like him," Soul jerked a thumb in the general direction of Blackstar, "but he's a good guy and I feel like you guys make a good team. However if you ever need someone to kick his ass, both Maka and I will be available 24/7 to do it, just give us a call." he finished with a small grin on his face while Blackstar protested loudly about how he would never harm or annoy his favorite worshiper. Tsubaki smiled and bowed again.
"Arigato Gozaimasu Soul-kun. I will remember that if there is ever a need." Soul's smile grew broader. Maka turned away a little jealous. It was so hard to get those big wide smiles out of him that they were a rare occurrence. Blackstar cleared his throat. His face had an expression that Maka only saw right before he got into a fight, and then she realized something. He was jealous too. Maka knew he was going to tease him for it later.
"So have you guys looked at the flight plans and map yet?" Blackstar asked with sudden curiosity. Tsubaki shot him a look out of the corner of her eye, one Maka couldn't entirely place.
"No, why do you ask?" she honestly just wanted to go somewhere quiet with Soul and discuss their strategy for this race, but seeing as she very well couldn't do that without being rude, she humored Black*star and pulled out the packet that Marie had given them. Inside they found a list of items they would be given in a case of emergencies, as well as a complete version of the flight rule book. Finally moving both of these things, they found the map and flight plans. Actually getting to look at it now, Maka understood why Blackstar had been curious. Soul whistled under his breath as he looked at the map. Maka looked up at Blackstar.
"Are they serious about this? " she asked. The map they had been given was a map of the Atlantic ocean, showing Florida and part of Africa. Mapped out in dotted lines were possible flight paths, the part that had them all worried was that a few of the patterns passed right through what was most commonly known as the Bermuda triangle. The place most infamously known to be where more than 5,000 people had mysteriously gone missing. Many planes had flown over that part of the sea only to never be heard from again. Both Maka and Black*star's parents refused to fly over there for fear that something might happen.
"It appears they are, however, there are 8 different routes that can be taken and they're just suggestions. Most of the flight paths lead around the triangle and since our destination is Morocco, there are lots of options. However, it does appear that going through the triangle would be the quickest way to get there, but I don't know if it's worth the risk. Lots of weird stuff happens in that triangle. I mean seriously, didn't you hear about the crystal pyramid they found at the bottom, that aliens might have put there?" She had heard about the pyramid, it was much bigger than the Pyramids of Giza and appeared to be much older, but she did not think that aliens had put it there. She told Blackstar as much and he just rolled his eyes and said, "Keep saying that, but when you do get abducted by aliens and are having your brains sucked out through your ears don't come crawling to me." she assured him she wouldn't. Satisfied, he went back to trying to shove as much food into his mouth as he could. Maka and Soul cringed and turned back to Tsubaki to continue asking her questions about her homeland and what it was like to live and fly with Blackstar.
Finally, when it was time to do final checks, they headed out to the runway to get to their planes. Maka and Soul headed for their plane named 'Soul Resonance' which was painted a zigzag pattern of red and black with a giant eye on each wing. Blackstar and Tsubaki headed towards their plane named 'Shadow Star' (Maka was pretty sure he had gone and named it himself) It was painted a deep shade of black with bright yellow stars all over it. And Maka was surprised to see another plane on the runway as well. This one was named 'Black Blood' And was a light blush shade with a splattering of black all over the plane.
"Hey, Soul, who is that other plane over there? I didn't think anyone else was competing in this leg beside us and Black*star and Tsubaki." Soul looked just as puzzled as Maka did, actually setting down the wrench he was holding to get a better view of the plane.
"I don't know Maka but I feel like we should be careful of them, especially since we didn't see them around earlier."
"Ya, you're probably right." Maka turned and hurried over to help Soul finish the last minute checks, tweaks, and adjustments he needed to do before they could take off. Maka made sure they had their in case of emergency packs, just in case anything happened (which she didn't expect it too, given she had learned to fly a plane at the age of 12)
Maka sat in the first seat of their 2 seater plane and relished the feel of being there. It was her favorite spot in the world. She loved getting to see the expanse of the land and sky as she flew over it and the feel of the plane flying over and against the wind currents. She loved every second of being in that seat not just for those reasons, but also because it made her feel closer to her mother. Her mother, who was a world renowned pilot, had passed on her legacy when she had decided she had enough. Maka was going to make her mother proud, she was sure of it.