In a jail cell below Shibusen, a man in chains starts, then stands up slowly. Although he cannot move very far, he squints at the light through the cell bars, and tries to stretch.

"I feel calm... finally." He lays a hand on his heart. "That wavelength... it's strong, but I think we're getting used to it. Aren't we... Erin?"

"The two of us... and Kitsune."

"Shinigami-sama." Sid stuck his head into the receiving room, then straightened and walked in. "It seems that 'that boy' has awakened."

"Hmmmmm?" Shinigami paused for a moment. "Which one was he?"

"He became unresponsive after his partner was killed... the incident with the two of them and the witch..." Sid lifted his notebook and glanced at it. "It was a long time ago."

"Aah... the staff Meister. Well, if he's awake, then that's a good thing!"

"But..." Sid lowered his notes. "What if the witch takes control?"

"You're worrying too much. He's been sleeping a long time, hasn't he? I think if he was in danger he wouldn't have come back at this point." Shinigami raised a hand to wave off the objection. Well, he should be fine as long as he keeps his Soul Protect on."

"Well... about that..."

The man stands on the roof of Shibusen, feeling the breeze, hearing the sounds of young people going about their business. He is a large man-well muscled, tall, burly in several ways. He's been here for a little while now, and there are a couple people staring at him now-notably, Meister Maka Albarn and her weapon Soul.

"I'm certain of it now," said Maka, peeking out of hiding at him. "It's a little strange, but that's definitely a Witch's soul wavelength."

"Do we tell someone?" Soul peeked a little, too, but he wasn't as interested in hiding it. Still, the man didn't seem to notice.

"No... I'm worried. Let's go!" With a swift movement, Soul was in hand, his body transformed into the scythe that was his second form. With an abrupt movement, Maka launched herself out of hiding, bringing Soul to bear, aiming for the neck, hoping to catch him and trap him so he could not escape.

The man turned, his arm transforming into an amber wooden shaft. His eyes were a little afraid, but his strike was the real thing-Maka's attack was interrupted, and she and Soul were pushed back, to land a few feet away.

"Wait a minute," said Soul. "Is he a weapon?

"I don't know." Maka paused, but held Soul up defensively. "I suppose he could be... after all, it was Witches who first made the Weapons, but..."

"You're mistaken." The man's voices sounded hurt, like he was sulking. "Meister, Weapon, Witch. I am one of these, and all three at once." He paused for a minute, trembling, then launched himself at Maka. "Who the hell do you think you are, attacking some innocent person at random?"

"What?" Neither Maka nor Soul reacted fast enough, in part because of his strange reversal, and the man's hand-once again a wooden shaft-nailed Maka in the gut. He spun, trying to deliver a sweeping strike with his other hand-come-staff, but Maka managed to block it. He struck again, and again, but after the first blow, Maka kept up. He tried a sweeping kick at her legs, but his sudden peg-leg didn't surprise her, either.

"Tch," he said, and reached his hand for his face. As he brought his hand up to his hair, a translucent white object began to appear, and he drew it down over his face-a white mask, but one with whiskers protruding from its front. As it settled over his face, Maka felt a sudden burst-a rise in the Witch wavelength she felt, and a splitting of wavelengths, like one had become two-or two had become one.

He tried again, and his strikes were different-faster, angrier, more spiteful somehow, and with a darker red tinge to the wood. He also extended the wood further, without turning more of his body into it.

"Tch, what the hell?" Maka deflected a last blow and took another swipe with Soul, aiming this time for a killing blow. However, the mans' body also turned into wood-this time, all the way, becoming a redwood quarterstaff, which was knocked away by the strike. However, before the staff landed, it morphed back into his previous form, still wearing the mask.

From behind Maka came two pairs of running footsteps-belonging to Franken Stein and Spirit. In spite of the scene, Stein and Spirit didn't seem worried, and spoke like they were friends.

"Rick-kun," said Spirit. "It's been a very long time. Are you-?"

However, the man didn't listen, for the moment. He pushed off with his feet, at the same time transforming into the staff-and hurtling straight towards Stein. Stein, his face serious, dodged out of the way... however, as the staff passed, it partially transformed back, and a hand lanced out into his gut.

"Stein!" Spirit leaped over to lend a hand, and Stein took it, letting Spirit transform into his Deathscythe form.

"Looks like his strength hasn't diminished after all this time." Stein, with his free hand, wrenched the bolt in his skull. "How interesting. I'd love to dissect him... again." His grin was full of wickedness, and of pain.

"Stein..." Spirit's voice echoed from the scythe. "In any event, we need to pacify him. Getting the mask off should be enough, shouldn't it?"

"Probably." Stein's feet shuffled a little, and he launched off quickly. Three blows was more than enough to prove that the two of them together were better; two swipes from Spirit were barely blocked, and Stein's crushing palm strike struck home. Unfortunately for them, Rick transformed back into a staff even as he was being hit, and he flew a short ways away.

"Rick," warned Spirit. "Calm down. You just got out, right? We want to talk with you."

The staff bounced once, spun in the air, and Rick transformed as he landed on his feet. When he spoke, though, his words held an echo of a second voice, one definitely feminine: "Yes, yes, but only after I'm done playing for a bit." Rick's head lowered, and the voices were threatening. "You know damned well how much I want to beat your ass down, Franken.

Along with the words, Rick set a stance, again forming more and more of a staff from his hands as if out of nothing-without reducing his bodyas though he were a Deathscythe-until he was holding a copy of himself in his hands. At first, it seemed like a trick, until the words escaped his lips: "Soul resonance!"

Maka and Stein felt it most clearly. The two soul wavelengths that were combining were coming from the same person, it's true, but one was from underneath the mask... and the other from the mask itself, and that wavelength was definitely a witch's. The staff in his hands fully separated from him, but the wavelength was too close to identical to really say that they were disconnected... their wavelengths were so close to begin with, Maka wondered what sort of power could be drawn from that relationship.

There were two changes-the staff began to reshape itself, becoming more of a body-length wand of twisted red wood, a mage's staff that blossomed at the end to encapsulate a blood red fluid, which formed into the shape of a crystal and held that shape, although the surface rippled. The other change was his body; a whiteness spread from the mask, wrapping around Rick's body... and then shrinking, well past where his body had been, replacing what he was entirely with the form of a woman's-a tall woman, slender, busty, and furry, with ears and the tail of a fox, all covered with red hair. The face, too, was no longer a mask, but revealed her true features-features that bore no twistedness, only sadness. She still wore Rick's clothing, though, and it was a little too large for her, such that it started to come loose in a couple places.

"Wooooaaaah!" Spirit couldn't resist the urge to drop out of weapon mode and fawn over the beauty that appeared before him. She shifted position for a moment, causing her pants to fall down-although her torso remained covered by the oversize shirt. Spirit, approvingly, fawned and babbled incoherently. Maka gave him a solid strike to the head with Soul's shaft.

The action drew the woman's eye. When she alighted on Stein, her eyes flashed with anger, and she rode the staff into the sky, then back down towards him. Her voice was clearly a woman's, without the half-tone of before. "How... dare... you...!"

The staff smashed into the rooftop, blowing up debris, but Stein avoided the blow carefully. His eyes were set, and he leaped after her, his hand charged with his soul wavelength, ready to strike. However, she leaped out of the dust and hung for a moment in the air, her shirt flapping in the breeze, her eyes ablaze and set upon Stein. Then, she smirked. "Fox, fix, flex, foax..." the incantation was short. "Tail Blade!"

The staff's crystal suddenly spouted a fox tail from one edge; in an instant, though, the tail reshaped itself into a scythe blade, flattening and stiffening as though it had always been a part of the design. Still using it like a broom, though, she launched herself towards Stein, swinging only at the last moment. Spirit got quickly behind her-flanking her along with Stein. However, the swing of her staff-cum-scythe kicked up a fierce wind, which raised the back of her shirt up more than enough to keep Spirit unfortunately down for the count.

Maka and Soul, however, didn't have quite the vulnerable angle that Spirit had, and they charged in from one side. Stein was quick to wave them off, however: "Don't! I don't know exactly what's going on, but this woman..." He kept his eyes on her, but his glare got a little fiercer. "She clearly has all the abilities of a witch. Let me handle this."

"But Professor...!"

"More importantly..." Stein's hands clenched, like he was gripping nothing, but tightly, and his eyes were wild again. "I need to confirm the results of my autopsy from back then."

"Oh?" The fox woman's firy eyes glared at him. "You know you set the three of us back quite a bit with your impromptu surgery, Stein. It might have taken far fewer years if we had only not been torn apart."

"I don't regret it." Stein grinned madly. "You're the most interesting person I've ever dissected... the extinct witch, Kitsune."

Kitsune hissed in return, and pointed her staff at him. "Fox, forx, flax, flix... Tail Troop!"

Three fox tails sprung from the staff, falling to the ground. Each of them suddenly grew fangs and ears, and they scattered, then began to converge on Stein.

"Wait a minute," came Spirit's voice from behind Kitsune. "The three of you... does that mean that Erin is still with you?"

Kitsune twitched hard, and the three fox tails disappeared into smoke.

"She is, isn't she!" Spirit ran up to Kitsune and threw his arms around her in a giant hug, pinning her arms and forcing her to drop the staff. "God... she's alive, after all these years!"

"Ah... ah..." Kitsune's form wavered, the mask showing. Her voice had the dual tone again, like two people were speaking at once. "Spirit... kun..."

"Rick... you have to tell me. You have to let me talk to her! Please, Rick!" Spirit was crying, and clutching Kitsune/Rick tightly.

"Spirit... kun... need to..."

"Please, you have to-"

Stein rushed forward, and for a moment, everyone thought he was going to smash Rick in the chest. However, instead, he hit Spirit in the face, making him go flying backwards.

"Aaah!" Spirit jumped to his feet. "What the hell was that for, Stein?"

"Rick was trying to tell you to stop." Stein put a fresh cigarette on his lips and turned away. "He has to be able to use his hands to remove the mask, you know."

"Oh... yes, I suppose so." He turned to look at Rick-and then noticed the burly man's physique was back, but his pants were not. Maka and Soul were already looking away, with Maka well in into the middle of a stream of epithets about her father. Stein, ever the pragmatist, simply thew the pants to him.

A moment later, Rick lifted the mask, which faded away as it rode up to towards the top of his head. "Ah... that does feel a lot better." He stretched a little bit, rocking back and forth. "It's been ages since I moved a muscle! Honestly, this near-immortality thing is great."

Spirit ran up to him again. "Rick," he pleaded. "You have to let me talk to her. Please, let me see my sister!"

"Dad has a sister?" Maka turned back suddenly to look. Rick's hand went to his face again, but the left side of his head instead, and drew a mask across his face. Maka was too far away to hear the words, but the voice she heard was musical... soft, and kind. Somehow, it put her at ease. Stein, however, took both Maka and Soul by the arm and led them away.

"Wait a minute," protested Soul. "Are you sure we can trust that guy?"

"Spirit-sempai can take care of himself," Stein assured them. "And somehow I think Rick was always controlling himself. However..." his eyes were sad. "Spirit hasn't seen his sister since she died. The least I can do is give them a few moments alone."

"Stein..." Maka regarded him. "Somehow, this isn't like you."

"That woman, when she was alive, had a miraculous effect on everyone around her." Stein clamped down on his cigarette nervously, biting it in half. "Even... someone like me can respect her."