"Paris, huh? Weren't we just in Italy, fighting Crona?" asked a Soul Eater, chuckling.
Maka and he walked side by side, Maka taking in the breathtaking beauty of the city, glancing back and forth, but also keeping a keen eye out for their target, while Soul had his hands shoved in his pockets, and looked like he was casually strolling around.
The girl let out a sigh. "Focus, Soul. We have a job to do here... Hawk Moth, remember? He has the power to influence the madness inside innocent people to control them... He must be stopped!"
Soul raised an eyebrow. "Funny, I don't see him around. Maybe we should stop at that bakery and see if they know where he is. Maybe we can also get some food there, too, I haven't eaten since we got on the plane!"
Maka smiled softly and nodded. The bell rang as she opened the door.
"Oh, hello there!" said a cheerful woman behind the counter. "What can I get you two lovebirds?"
The brunette growled. "We're... We're not in love. We're here on business. Do you know anything about Hawk Moth?" she asked, approaching, a serious look in her eye.
The woman blinked twice, surprised. "Well, I know he's the one who keeps akumatizing people... He wants Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous, doesn't he? Why do you ask?"
Before Soul could say a word, Maka chuckled. "Oh, just curious... Do you know where he is, by any chance?" she raised an eyebrow.
The bluenette woman behind the counter slowly shook her head. "Sorry, I can't say that I do... Nobody knows where he's hiding," she explained with a sympathetic smile.
"Hmm... Oh, well. Could we have a could croissants?" asked Maka, with a smile.
They set out again after a couple more exchanges, Maka and Soul thoughtfully chewing on the pastries.
Maka swallowed, and hesitated. "So, I was thinking... A man with the ability to control madness would have a unique soul wavelength. I could use my soul sight to try to find him, couldn't I?" she suggested, glancing at her partner.
He shrugged. "Seems like a sound idea to me. But Paris is so big... How would you ever know where to look?" He took another bite of his croissant, glancing at his partner.
"I..." The girl stopped, in thought. "I don't know... But I know we can't wait until his next victim. No doubt about it, that man, Hawk Moth... His soul must not be far from becoming kishin. We must stop him before he ever gets there!" she exclaimed, with determination and a smile.
Soul gasped, before smiling back. "You're right. Why don't we keep looking?"
"Yahoo!" shouted an eager voice.
Tsubaki let out a groan. "Really, Black Star? Is it wise to intrude on Maka and Soul's mission?"
The young star grinned. "Nah, they'll be glad to have me! This Hawk Moth guy sounds like a real problem - and I'm going to be the one to take him down!' he proclaimed, with a grin.
The girl's eyes widened before she smiled. "If you say so!" she cheerfully encouraged.
The duo set off, walking down the street with no clear endpoint in sight. But that wasn't a problem for Black Star. Even without Maka's soul sight, he was sure he would find Hawk Moth, and with Tsubaki's help, it would be over in a second. He cracked his knuckles, chuckling, blathering on and on about how he would surpass God one day, and how he was such a big star. Tsubaki provided bits and pieces of encouragement from time to time, but for some reason, she felt hollow. Something was very wrong, she was convinced... A deep, dark evil was somewhere in this city. And she feared Black Star wouldn't be able to handle it.
Night came quickly. Maka and Soul still walked, Maka using her soul sight without faltering. So far, every soul she had come across was pure human. She glowered, becoming exhausted.
"Hey, Maka, you okay?" asked her partner, glancing at her.
She lowered her head and growled, "I'm fine... I'm just worried that he isn't here. From what we've heard, no one has ever seen him face to face - how do we know that he's even here?!" she asked, snapping.
Soul's look now hosted concern. He looked around, trying to figure out what to say before he saw it. "Look out!" he shouted, and she jumped back just in time. A boomerang narrowly missed her.
"I'm Boomerang Boy, and my parents will never stop me from throwing the boomerang in the house again!" he loudly proclaimed.
Soul tilted his head. "Is this guy for real?"
Maka stared, like in a trance, before shaking her head to break out of it. "Doesn't matter. He seems like one of the innocents that Hawk Moth is influencing - there are black and purple chains around his soul!" she gasped, as she saw it. "We must free him... Soul!"
"Right!" the white-haired boy shouted, before transforming into demon scythe form and being expertly caught by his meister.
The brunette stared at the boy ahead of her with concern. "Boomerang Boy - you don't have to do this, snap out of it!"
He looked around, confused. "Where did the guy go?"
"Right here!" shouted Soul, as the back of the scythe sent the villain flying into a brick wall, and crumpling to his feet as he fell.
Maka gasped, rushing to his side. "Oh no, is he...?"
The boy jumped on to his feet, laughing. "You think the back side of your stupid stick can hurt me? Fool!"
Soul frowned, his form shown on the blade of the scythe. "It seems like this kid is invulnerable to our attacks. How are we supposed to free him?"
"I don't know..." muttered Maka.
"Stop right there, Boomerang Boy!" shouted a voice from above. A girl leapt forward, a bluenette with a red suit dotted with black. She wore a mask, too.
The boy chuckled. "Ladybug... I'm so glad you could show up! Give me your earrings, or I'll have to take them from you!"
"Ladybug?" whispered Soul, confused.
Maka chuckled. "Right, I forgot to tell you... Ladybug is the one who fights Hawk Moth. She makes his victims return to normal somehow... And I guess we're about to find out how!"
The superheroine smiled. "You're never getting these earrings!"
"Then I guess I'll have to take them from you!" The boy shouted, throwing his boomerang at Ladybug, who easily ducked.
"Ha, missed!" She grinned.
Maka watched the boomerang begin to circle back and gasped, quickly sliding over to push Ladybug out of the way.
The bluenette gasped. "Another akuma? I didn't know Hawk Moth could do two at once!" she quickly pushed herself away from the meister.
"Akuma? No, no, I'm Maka, I'm a meister from the DWMA, in Death City! I'm here to help defeat Hawk Moth," the girl quickly explained.
Ladybug raised an eyebrow, ever the skeptic after the Volpina incident. "Really?" she asked, disbelief seeping into her voice.
The brunette sighed and held her scythe in front of her. "Soul? Let's do it."
Her weapon chuckled. "Let's show her what we can do..."
"LET'S GO, SOUL RESONANCE!" they both shouted, and energy began to swirl and crackle around them, as their very souls began to connect.
Both Boomerang Boy and Ladybug stared, shocked, at Maka.
The girl chuckled. "Witch hunter!" she shouted, and her scythe began to grow, and glow with iridescent light, shaped like a glimmering crescent.
The villain gasped, meekly holding his boomerang up in defense.
"Ha!" Maka shouted, slamming the attack down at the boy, but instead, hitting the boomerang. There was a bright flash of light, causing Maka to close her eyes, Ladybug to look away, and the boy to shield his face.
When the light faded, Boomerang Boy was no more, instead replaced with an ordinary boy. "What am I doing here?" he asked, looking around, confused.
From the once scary, black boomerang popped a white butterfly, and the boomerang, too, was returned to normal.
The demon scythe, returned to normal form, transformed back into a human. Soul stretched, cracking his neck.
Maka chuckled and turned to Ladybug with a smile.
Ladybug's jaw was dropped in disbelief. She readjusted it, before meekly asking, "What... What did you say your name was?"