Missing Marie

Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.

This story contains spoilers for the end of the Soul Eater Anime.

His eye lids felt heavy. With considerable effort Stein managed to pry his eyes open, only to close them immediately to the bright artificial light. His nostrils filled with the smell of antiseptic as he took a deep breath. Twitching his fingers he felt the starch heavy sheets that covered him. Trying again, he opened his eyes and despite the obscenely bright light kept them open. Oh. He was in the infirmary on one of the patient beds.

Footsteps approached and the door opened. Spirit stuck his head in, "Stein, you're awake." The Death Scythe came inside and sat on the chair next to the bed.

Stein reached toward the bedside table and put his glasses on. "Spirit. What happened? Why am I here?"

Spirit shook his head, "You just collapsed. We were hoping you could tell us. Nygus thinks the sudden absence of the Kishin's wavelength might have caused it."

Stein said nothing, staring straight ahead. The hypothesis was plausible. He reached up and cranked his screw, some of the lingering fuzziness of his mind faded. "Where is Marie?" He would have thought she'd be waiting at his bedside. It seemed the kind of thing she would do.

Spirit turned toward him, his blue eyes blank, "Who?"

"Marie. Did she get lost on the way back from the toilet? Or is she still with Chrona?"

"Who is Marie?" Spirit still looked incredulous.

Stein looked at Spirit in surprise, "the Deathscythe. Marie Mjolnir." Receiving nothing but doubtful looks from the redhead Stein continued, "Short. Blonde. Wears an eye patch over her left eye. Marriage obsessed. Nasty temper. Has been living at the Patchwork Lab since the Kishin's release."

At this Spirit broke in sputtering, "A woman has been living with you?! And she has not run screaming? You have got to introduce me, I should warn her of your evil ways." At this Spirit dissolved into his usual glassy-eyed drooling look. "She will run eternally grateful into my arms and-"

"You have already met her," the Stein broke in, unsettled, "She comes to every one of Lord Death's meetings." A gleam entered his eye, "Did you hit your head, Spirit? I could take a look; make sure there is no extensive brain damage."

Predictably Spirit jumped back, "Hey, take it easy, I'm still recovering from battle with the Kishin."

Luckily for the Scythe, Azusa chose that moment to walk in. "Spirit, Lord Death wants a report on Stein's condition." Seeing the scientist she added, "Now that you are up you should visit him yourself."

Spirit turned toward Azusa, "I'm not sure Stein should leave the infirmary just yet."

Azusa's glasses flashed, "Oh?"

Stein interrupted and started to stand up, "I feel fine; I just would like to know where Marie is."

The crossbow turned sharply toward him, "Marie?"

An uneasy feeling settled in Stein's gut, "The Deathscythe assigned to me by Lord Death after the Kishin's release. The former Deathscythe of Oceania, Marie Mjolnir."

Azusa continued to stare down at him, "I have been the Deathscythe assigned to East Asia and Oceania since shortly after I became a Deathscythe."

Stein refused to play along with this joke. "There are eight Deathscythes; Spirit, Marie, you, Justin, Tesca, Djinn, Tsar, and Deng."

"No," Spirit spoke up, "There are seven Deathscythes, and have been ever since Justin became one."

The scientist growled, "We went to school with Marie! She was in my classes!"

Azusa shook her head, "If she was I don't remember her. In any case she certainly isn't a Deathscythe."

"What about the students?" Stein tried again, "Marie has been teaching classes at the academy since she arrived. She went after me with Chrona when I fell into madness and followed Medusa! Ask Maka or Soul, she was there!"

Spirit held up his hands in a placating manner, "If it makes you feel better, I will ask them, but for now stay here and rest."

"Yes," Azusa agreed, "I will research Marie Mjolnir but Stein had better stay here. Don't forget to report to Lord Death, Spirit."

"Wait! On the failed mission to retrieve BREW I was to use Marie. When we performed soul resonance I collapsed and she helped me out-"

Azusa shook her head cutting him off, "You went into the magnetic field alone, Stein. The kids found you and made sure you got out. Get some rest, Stein."

With that the two weapons left the room leaving the confused and angry meister alone.

When the weapons next returned they both had grim expressions. Azusa had brought what appeared to be a stack of notes with her. Neither bothered sitting down.

Stein stared at them, waiting for one of the Deathscythes to speak.

Spirit cleared his throat, "None of the students know who Marie is."

Stein's hand shook as he brings it up to crank his screw. He laid back and stared at the ceiling.

Azusa straightened her notes, "Marie Mjolnir did attend the academy with us. However, she died in the battle with a witch that would have made her a Deathscythe. Her meister died in the hospital two months later."

Stein stayed frozen, not reacting in any way.

Fixing her glasses Azusa continued, "Marie was stunned by the witch causing her to fall off the roof they were battling on. She was in human form at the time."

"What?" An image of Marie falling backwards into the clouds came to him. He had run to the edge shouting her name only to see her limp body lying at the lab's entrance. Hallucination. That was a hallucination from the madness. Stein swallowed thickly to keep the bile down. She had fallen off the roof before he could stop her then as well. Collecting his thoughts he tried again, "After I fell into the madness Marie was the one to bring me back. I used her wavelength to corner Medusa and allow Maka and Soul could finish her."

"Maka and Soul say that you brought yourself out of Medusa's influence when they chased after you, and Chrona confirmed," Spirit reluctantly countered.

Azusa glanced at Spirit before looking back at Stein. "I think 'Marie' is a creation of your madness."

"Marie brought me out of the madness. If she were a part of the insanity why would she bring me back?"

The crossbow fixed her glasses. "When did Marie first appear?"

Stein cranked his screw. "She arrived at the DWMA when you and Justin did, Azusa."

"After the Kishin was released."

"Yes."

"When was the last time you saw Marie?"

"When Marie and myself escorted Chrona into the Death Room to watch the battle that defeated Asura."

Spirit interjected, "After which you passed out."

Azusa continued, "Since the Kishin has been defeated have you seen Marie?"

Stein paused. The answer on his lips disturbed him, "No."

"Exactly. No one knows this 'Marie' except you. Sounds like a manifestation of the madness inside you." When Stein opened his mouth to protest she cut him off, "Perhaps to your insanity driven mind she represented sanity, but now that your madness is gone- so is she."

Stein stared back at Azusa, "I want to talk to Lord Death."

Silence filled the Death Room as a meister and two Deathscythes stared Lord Death down.

"Well? Lord Death?" Odd that Stein was the impatient one, normally he was the most level-headed. When not being afflicted with madness, that is.

Lord Death hemmed and hawed trying to delay the inevitable.

Spirit coughed. Stein twitched, his glasses reflecting the light. Azusa fixed her glasses and gave him a hard look.

Death sighed, there was no escape. "Marie was a student here at the DWMA. With her partner she collected 99 tainted souls. In her battle with the witch she lost her life."

Azusa straightened at his words while Spirit sent Stein a concerned glance.

Lord Death continued, "However, Marie and her partner were a loyal and effect weapon-meister pair. I had high hopes for them. Having almost achieved Deathscythe status I gave Marie's soul a choice: to move on to the afterlife, or continue to serve me as a guardian soul."

Death paused; the meister and two weapons were watching him intently. "I did indeed assign Marie to watch over Stein after Asura was released. What I find remarkable is that Stein could see her and knew she was there. Normally the living, even those with soul perception, are completely unaware of a guardian's presence."

Stein looked up, "She interacted with others as well as myself. If even I'm not supposed to know she was there, how can others have interacted with her in my memory?"

Silence. Lord Death announced, "I don't know!"

Everyone jumped.

Lord Death continued, "It is possible that Marie's presence has somehow affected or manipulated your memory."

Stein pushed the bridge of his glasses, considering what he had been told.

Stein slowly walked up to the Patchwork Lab. He paused before the entrance taking several puffs of his cigarette. The last time he was here he left consumed by the madness to follow Medusa. He also had believed that he left his partner and housemate, Marie, behind.

The unsettled twinge returned. If Marie did not exist in the physically did that mean that monstrous purple couch was not in his home either? What would he find inside?

According to everyone else his memories were false. Even after Lord Death confirmed the existence of Marie, Spirit and Azusa had been adamant that the hammer did not have physical form and could not have interfered or interacted with any of them. The only thing Marie could do was suppress his madness. Any form she had, anything she did or said was all a figment of his imagination. Now that the Kishin was gone, would Marie still be there?

Would he find his imagined delusion and false reality with Marie in it? Or the truth and reality without her?

Stein cranked his screw before opening the door.

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