A/N: I apologize in advance for the brevity of the chapters, they should eventually get longer.
(Eventual SteinxMedusa, I have slight a problem)
Maka and Soul hurriedly raced to meet their friends in front of the new arcade and restaurant in town. The group of friends had planned to go for lunch and check out the new place. The boys had been overly excited about the idea of gaming and eating while the girls were more or less just dragged along because their partners were going and food didn't sound too bad. Maka and Soul were the last of the friends to arrive due to Maka making the mistake of letting Blair try to help her get ready. By this point the girl was convinced that taking any advice from the magical cat was a bad idea.
"Hey! What took so long?" Black Star asked Soul without even bothering with a greeting. "We've been waiting for like ten minutes now!" The hyper ninja was rather impatient.
Soul shrugged, "Maka took a while getting ready." The weapon smirked and Maka's cheeks flushed red in anger and embarrassment.
"You're the one who spent half an hour fixing his hair!" She exclaimed loudly in frustration, directing some of the blame away from herself. She never did understand her partner's obsession with his hair.
"Um, I don't mean to interrupt," Tsubaki quietly interjected, "but shouldn't there be more people here?"
When the last of their friends had arrived, the group had entered the establishment. Upon the taller girl's comment, the others paused, looking around as though they were just noticing how empty the place was. "It did just open… you have a point Tsubaki; something doesn't feel right." Maka replied looking around warily. "Let's get out of here," Maka suggested turning and walking to the door. She moved to open the door but it didn't budge. She tried again, tugging the handle harder to no avail.
Black Star pushed her aside. "Let the Great Black Star handle this!" He exclaimed and gave a mighty jerk on the handle, only succeeding in ripping the handle off the door.
"Great, you broke it!" Liz snipped in annoyance and fright. "Now we're stuck in here!"
"Maybe there's another exit?" Tsubaki suggested helpfully and Maka nodded.
They spread out, looking about the place for another exit. They re-grouped after about 15 minutes. "Did anybody find anything?" Maka asked, the group shaking their head in disappointment. Suddenly there was a hissing noise and a strange smell in the room. A thick fog began to cover the floor like smoke, creeping down the walls from the vents. Maka tried to say something but it was too late as her vision became blurry and she fought to keep her balance, she heard the others coughing before she collapsed and the world faded to black.
