A/N: My first Fanfic! *Claps happily* But it's AU, so please bear with me as I'm quite nervous about how this will all play out. I'm a huge CroMa fan, seriously cutest couple ever, they just balance each other out so well that I couldn't wait to type this out and try out writing some stories! Crona will be male for all of you wondering, so yeah! This story mainly focuses on their relationship as it gets from bad, to worse, to a rollercoaster of emotional confusion. Hell yeah! Loads of fluffy, albeit twisted, moments and maybe something a little more...

Who knows! Oh wait, I do... *Ahem* Anyway, enjoy the first chapter, dear Readers!

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater, duh.

Chapter I

The first thing to register in the girl's head was that her body felt incredibly hot. Not the like the sun's burning gaze, but more like a growing fire slowly seething in her veins, through every single inch of flesh and making damn sure that it was as hot and burning as an inferno. Sweat accumulated heavily upon her forehead as she gasped with each breath of air she took in. Not only that, but she could feel beads of sweat collect and slide from underneath her suddenly tight clothes. Her hands in her gloves felt infuriatingly clammy and wet. As she writhed around uncomfortably on what she assumed was the floor, she took in her surroundings, or lack thereof.

The room was completely black with impenetrable darkness, her eyes roamed around blindly trying hard to spot something, anything. Her breathing quickened, the pain doing well to mess with her mind. It was maddening. A long, aggravated moan was drawn out of her throat as she struggled, eyes shutting as she tried to feel where it was stemming from. The poor girl working on overdrive to try and overcome the searing pain coursing through her in the process.

Feeling the small spikes of panic begin to claw at her mind, her eyes shot open, trembling and darting everywhere just to distract herself from the pain, to think, to be rational. Screaming and crying wouldn't help her. It would only make everything worse.

Okay, think what else was there? What could she make out of all of this?

Darkness blocked her vision, but there was nothing strapped to her eyes. Her hands and feet were limp, but there weren't any cuffs or iron chains that she could feel. This room, it was closed off, but she was left unshackled. She could tell she was lying on the floor on her back, but her muscles were drained of the prideful strength she knew she held. Swallowing dryly, she tried to see, or feel what else there was to identify her location. What else was there?

Lifting her head, the young girl searched wildly, desperately trying to find anything at all. But it was just too dark and the stinging sweat rolling into her eyes wasn't exactly helping. Groaning in despair, she relaxed a little, allowing her head to fall to the side as she focused back on her breathing.

Why was it so hard to breathe? Her body, despite being completely free, felt constricted. It's as if her lungs simply couldn't get enough oxygen even though she was breathing so much in. It was starting to pile into her pain.

"S... Sou... Ah!" Her body jerked as the fire inside her veins intensified. A small scream tore through her as she roughly turned onto her side. Trembling hands shakily lifted to try and hold onto her arms, but such a simple task was too hard. Tears pricked painfully at her eyes as she was now becoming mad with pain, small hopeless whimpers pierced through her dry lips as she slowly curled into herself. It hurt so much.

Maka knew she was alone, no other sound bounced back against the walls, her gasping breaths and pained whines were all she could gather along with the shuffling of her clothes. And if there were anyone else in here they would have moved or she would've been able to hear them. The silence was thick enough to allow her to.

She was completely alone.

How had it come to this, what had happened to render the mighty Scythe Meister helpless and weak? Where had her companions gone? Professor Stein and her father, Spirit. Where were they? Out of all else, where was her weapon? Where was Soul when she needed him? All these questions stirred in her mind, yet try as she may she couldn't remember. What had happened, they were on a mission weren't they?

Why, why couldn't she remember?

"Gah!" Another wave of pain rushed by, pouring out of her abdomen, boiling into her blood and scorching her flesh. An angered, pained scream ripped through her lungs as she voiced out her torture. Seemingly unaffected by her pain weighing her down, a clenched fist raised itself and crashed onto the marble floor as she vented out her frustration. Her green eyes now burned alight with new vigor even as the sudden burst of energy now took its toll on her.

With whatever poison running throughout her bloodstream, her muscles started to ache. Shoulders she didn't even know were tense, slumped lifelessly as she panted with the amount of energy it took just to move a single arm. The blow she had made on the floor hardly made much of a difference.

Still, regardless if she was in pain, despite the fact she was weaponless, she had to find a way out. She had to get back to Death City. She knew at least that much.

Managing to calm her racing mind for a moment, taking quick gulps of air she then proceeded to try and hoist herself up.

The result was instantaneous. Maka managed to lift her upper body above ground before she fell back to the ground, jarring her head and dulling her senses. She wasn't even given enough time to cry out. Her arms couldn't support her, her muscles screamed and shook with pain biting savagely along her nerves.

Oh, how she hated the feeling of helplessness. Her fierce eyes stared at nothing as she snarled at her own vulnerability.

Then, as she tried to calm down, a door she was unknowingly facing slowly opened, bringing with it the merciless flood of piercing white light. Her eyes may as well have been shut as she struggled to look at whoever it was that had come. Whatever or whomever it was, her instincts told her it was not a friend and the thought only made her anger flare significantly.

"Ah, it seems that you're awake. I really thought that pill would have you dead within moments of awakening." That voice was hauntingly familiar, but her disoriented, pain filled mind couldn't make a connection. Someone had tried to drug her? "Well, it's not like you'll last long anyway." A woman's, this was a woman's voice, but who's?

Soft footsteps quickly made their way closer to the girl. She flinched at the sense of close proximity, her eyes not yet accustomed to the excruciating brightness. "Still..." the woman hummed. "It is rather impressive."

Hands grabbed at her jaw, another light loomed over her eyes and Maka tried damn hard to close them, but smooth fingers prevented her. The hands touching her were sticky and uncomfortable, the sweat from her obvious fever not making it feel any better. They were gloves. Was this person a doctor, or some sort of scientist? Maybe both?

"Yes, I believe you might progress my dear child further. You'll be a wonderful gift for him." she chuckled lowly, her hands letting her jaw go. "Much better than all those other weakling humans."

Maka sighed in relief, clenching her eyes and pushing her cheek further into the floor. Humans, what did she mean? The footsteps started again and stopped at the entrance. There was a moment of eerie silence before the woman said something else, but she couldn't catch it. More footsteps sounded, but they were slow and soft, not at all like the confident stride the others took. This was someone else.

Willing herself to look and see her captors, she tried once more to shove the pain and discomfort aside and look.

A soft, barely audible gasp startled her. Her body froze as she strained her ears to listen closer. The soft footsteps had stopped and the air had suddenly filled with tension. It weighed onto her like a solid being, as if it were a live thing and keeping her from furthering her attempts at sight or any sort of movement.

Why was it suddenly so dreadful?

The silence reigned for what felt like a century before she felt the sea of light begin to pull back away from her. This seemed to jar her out of her paralysis and she called out. "W-wait! You can't leave me like this! Ah..." She struggled once more to get on her feet, but she knew deep inside that it was futile. Her arms shook precariously and drool was beginning to stream over her lips from the effort to move. The door closed without so much as a creak as the light was gone and she once again was left alone in the darkness.

Well, not completely alone.

She fell again, this time landing on her elbows as she simply refused to fall to whatever drug was making her useless. She panted, loud and heavy as the pain began to boil anew. "Nngh... Hah... hah..." For a while it was just her breaths breaking the stillness, but she kept her mind open, aware of that presence that was still there.

"Who's... there...?" she breathed, her voice fierce and demanding.

Whomever it was, they were still standing near the entrance of the little room. The figure was practically towering over her as its eyes stared at her in both bewilderment and fear. That stare was almost as burning as the pain she felt. Almost.

"Well?" she snapped, grinding her teeth at the pain that stabbed at her chest from the shout.

A small, fearful yelp squeaked from the person, but nothing else was heard. Nervous hands wrung together as the stranger contemplated this situation, bright, sharp eyes darting everywhere in search of a clue. They listened to her ragged breathing and for some odd reason it seemed to catch their attention. Eyes that seemed to see in the blackness, narrowed as the sound of her breathing sounded awfully familiar.

"Looks like the runt got a special dose of that venom." a dark voice cackled. "It's just like all those other times." it laughed tauntingly, yet dryly as if the owner was pained by something.

Maka heard that voice and it made her heated blood run cold. That voice, that low awful voice... "I'm actually kind of glad I can't come out. I get to see you die like a helpless babe. Nothing beats a good fight, but this... I can settle just fine with this."

That deep voice laughed, mocking her.

"Y-you..."she could all but whisper the word, the rest choking in her throat as the memories came flooding back to her. She didn't want to believe it, but she had to make sure it wasn't a hallucination. If she couldn't see with her eyes, then she'd look with her soul. A moment in time she wished that she hadn't.

There floating above her was the same dominant and intimidating soul staring back at her own with the ever present X, shaping its character. A smaller, introverted soul levitated just inside it.

Maka's eyes snapped open as she heard the sound of feet shuffling by, her body quivering in both fear and pain as she felt someone come closer to her. Unable to bear anymore, she fell from her elbows and landed harshly onto the ground, yet despite the pain she kept her hand planted firmly on the ground, attempting to try and lift herself once more. Sensing his closeness, she could easily tell through her hazed mind where he was. Angry eyes stared back into dark, blue trembling pupils.

"Get away from me..." she growled, trying her hardest not to let her fear show. "Get the hell away from me!"

The boy mutely stared at her, his mind seeming conflicted with something. "I..." he mumbled thoughtfully, his head turning to look at the door with great curiosity. "I-I can't... This is my room..." he almost sounded embarrassed.

"I don't care! Just stay away..." she panted, the poisonous pain was beginning to concentrate in her stomach, churning it enough to make her dizzy with nausea. "S-Sou..." she bit her lip, not wanting to sound weak in front of the enemy.

No matter how much she wanted her friend with her, it was because of her that her best friend got hurt, she didn't even know if he was okay. That thought struck at her coldly, her protective instincts kicking in and honing onto the boy just beside her. Forcing herself up once more, she hoisted herself up and aimed a vengeful fist at where she estimated his cheek would be or hopefully the center of his face.

A solid thwack echoed around the lonely room as her fist connected solidly against the boy's cheek; exactly where she aimed. The force of the punch however was too much for her to bring back her hand. Her body twisted with the force of her movement that she landed onto him, her chest heaving on his lap. Her body tensed as a whole new level of pain invaded her. Solid and almost tearing at her insides.

She screamed. Ear-splitting and blood curdling, she wailed as this unbearable force of electricity felt as though it were tearing her nerves apart, bit by little bit. Were she not blinded by her suffering she would've heard that same deep voice cackle wickedly in front of her.

"Look at that, Crona! It's looks like she's going to die faster than all the others!"

The boy called Crona slowly turned his head back towards her, his cheek burning vaguely with the force of her weak assault. He watched with rigid eyes as Maka writhed against him, crying out in pain, hands pitifully trying to push him away from her.

"What is this?" A sickening sound of gurgling liquid barely managed to reach her ears as her screaming slowly died down. "What happened to all that spunk before, huh?"

"R-Ragnarok stop, that hurts... You're not supposed to come out yet..." the boy moaned in discomfort.

She could feel a very close pair of eyes stare at her, but her body was frozen unable to move, unable to do anything. Furious eyes clenched shut and her teeth clamped down on her lips as she tried to keep in the tears and sobs that threatened to surface. Her stomach lurched, making her nausea all the more worse as water pooled in her mouth. She was going to vomit, but she held it back. Swallowing thickly, she panted, loud and hungry for oxygen; for relief. To hell with the boy she was on, she couldn't care less if she barfed all over him, but something told her she shouldn't.

It would make everything that much more worse than she already felt.

There was a shuffle of movement, she felt hands hold her firmly from under her arms. The legs she lied on gone from beneath her.

Her eyes finally peeked open, but she dared not open her mouth. Whatever it was, be it poison or some sort of drug, it was making her life miserable. Had this been a normal person they'd certainly be begging for death, if only to get rid of the pain. She moaned in discomfort, her body was exhausted and longed for rest, but this damn fever heating her up made the task of sleep seem almost impossible. Finally she felt the familiar marble touch her cheek gently, yet it did nothing to alleviate the fever as she uselessly tried to feel something cool.

However, the hands that were touching her body were now at her side, pushing her onto her shoulders. They moved about her, seemingly gliding along her arms, her side and then...

"Ah!" she gasped when she felt fingers press into her stomach, slowly going further, probing her. "Ah, s-stop!" she fought, a hand reaching over to try and fight him. "Stop!"

"What are you doing? Cut that out, leave the bitch alone." the same deep voice seethed.

Those fingers continued touching her, pushing aside her coat and lifting her shirt to look even though there was no light to aid him. Yet with or without light, he knew exactly what it was that making her so sick. Crona ignored his partner's warnings and demands as he felt around her abdomen a little more before pulling away. A sigh of relief left the girl as he looked back at her heavy lidded eyes.

"There are no windows here. Its always dark, you know." he mumbled, still staring at her eyes. "This is my room. My room... is always dark."

"Whatever, I'm tired. You'll be dead soon enough and then I'll eat your soul, girlie." The same sickening gurgle sounded again.

Maka could only guess that he had left. But hearing Crona's words, she couldn't understand what he was saying, it was useless nonsense, but she didn't care. She wanted him away from her, screw him and his room. Screw this place and to hell with them all. All she wanted was to go back home, she wanted to be with Soul, needed to see him, but she knew she couldn't. Even if he were here, he wouldn't be able to help her.

She suppressed a growing growl and tried think of a way to stop this wretched pain. If it were gone, she could fight back, a pointless action, but if she was going to die it sure as hell wasn't going to be this pathetic. Lying and at the mercy of this monster.

"Open your mouth."

Her eyes seemed to shot open at that command, narrowing dangerously. "Wha-" There was a hand on her shoulder and another at her jaw, gentle and firm. Panic once again seized her. No, no, no she wasn't going to fall prey to that sort of thing. She moved, wanting to shove away those deceiving hands and fight back. Screw the pain, she wasn't falling for this treachery, but the hand holding her jaw held her head also, keeping her struggle to a minimum.

Fingers began to gently pry at her lips to which she pursed them shut, defiant. Slowly, achingly slow, he tried to open her mouth again. He wasn't going to hurt her, but her struggle was. Starting to feel a tiny bity of agitation, Crona leaned a little closer, his body looming over hers. With him trapping her, he used his other hand to reach over and pinch her nose, disrupting her breathing.

Stunned and feeling deprived she opened her mouth wide and sucked in a huge breath. Releasing her nose, he shoved his waiting fingers into her mouth.

"Mmmphh!" she tried to jerk away, her arms and legs flailing and kicking, but he was obviously stronger than her. Finally, it was enough. She couldn't take it, she felt violated with the way his fingers probed inside her mouth, touching everywhere. Tears pooled and streamed heavily down her cheeks, sobs wracked at her chest as she tried to fight against her attacker weakly. Her cries were muffled and the pain rolling around in her stomach and spreading everywhere else made her feel all the more sick. Her teeth bit hard into his flesh, stopping him from moving any further. She shook her head, sinking her teeth deeper and while it did make the boy irked, he still continued to try and reach further.

He massaged the back of her tongue gently, ignoring the force of her bite. Maka jerked forward, her stomach flipping as she gagged. Another scream tore at her, opening her throat wider as that pain twisted her insides from the movement.

It wasn't enough, he noticed and continued, wriggling his fingers and gently brushing against her throat. Another gag and still nothing. He began to feel annoyed at this and decided to try and massage her throat with his other free hand.

She couldn't understand what he was doing, but it was painful. With each gag she made, the pain centering around her stomach stabbed at her viciously. She wanted him to stop, she would plead if she could, anything to make him stop, but her mouth was stuffed with his fingers, so all she could manage were whimpers and muffled sobs. She coughed weakly at the hand on her neck and tried grasping his hands to push away. An itch clawed at her and soon she was in a coughing fit, gagging and drooling until another lurch of her stomach finally pushed her over the edge.

"Mmph! Ack!"

She vomited into his retreating hand, a thick coating of clear fluid pooling in his hand along with something black, solid and slick with specks of bright blood covering it. Maka gagged again, coughing up small splashes of blood, but nothing more.

Unfazed by the abomination writhing around in his hand, Crona watched it curl and hiss about angrily. It was small and almost looked like a leech, but he's seen this thing many times before and he hated what it did. Forced to hear those damn screams and crying over and over again in the past was a horrible punishment. Medusa had said it was supposed to help him, but he hated it and it did nothing but make him feel sick inside. The black beady eyes glared at him fearlessly before he finally closed his hand over it, crushing it and watching as its body tore open in a gory mass.

Recovering from her ordeal, Maka coughed lightly before looking around with blinded tear filled eyes. His hand was finally out of her mouth and the sobs came out weakly, her chest heaved as her head dropped to the floor. She couldn't take anything else, please she wanted everything to just go away. She wanted to sleep.

And mercifully, it seemed she would get it. Her eyes were having trouble holding themselves open, her ragged breathing was calming down at an alarming rate and it was all nothing short of heavenly bliss. That is... until she felt those same fingers probe at her bare stomach once more. Fear gripped as she suspected he wasn't done.

"I-is it gone n-now?" he asked quietly, she had trouble trying to hear him.

"Wha...What are you..." Sudden realization struck her. The pain that ravished her entire body was slowly but surely diminishing. It was still there, but the intensity had dulled significantly, enough to ignore it and fall into sleep. The pressure at her stomach was nothing more than a dull ache compared to the excruciating hell from before. "Y-yes..."

With her answer, he pulled away and even pushed her clothing back over her naked stomach. A shuddering breath of relief left her as she heard him get up and move away from her, stopping and shuffling around again, but he was away from her at least.

Finally, she was done with the pain, her face didn't feel as hot as before, but she was still slick and sticky with sweat. The silence sunk back in and though she knew her company was bad, she also knew with whatever haze was clouding her mind, that her enemy had just helped her out. He cured whatever it was that ailed her. It was against her better judgment, but she felt that he at least deserved her thanks. She'd be dead if she was left on her own and she couldn't see Soul again if she was dead.

"T-tha..." she groaned, her breathing still a bit short. "Thank you..."

There was a thick tension, but it wasn't at all like before. It just felt... awkward. She thought he wasn't going to say anything back and truthfully, she'd have it no other way. She just had to get it out of the way so her mind would rest peacefully, or as peaceful as she could get it to be. She still had no idea how she got in this position in the first place. Right now though, all she really wanted was rest. As soon as her eyelids closed over gently, she fell asleep or as Soul would have said "Out like a light." She only hoped that her dreams would be kind to her, even if they were fleeting and fake; anything was better than the current situation.

Crona listened to her breathing, his accurate ears catching the change from short and ragged to slow and even. Sitting in a far corner, arms over his knees he pondered over her gratitude. Why did she thank him, he wondered. If anything, he just rushed her out of the frying pan and into the oven.

"You really shouldn't..." he mumbled, his head tucking into the pillow of his thin arms. "I-I..." he whimpered as he thought of all the possible atrocities the poor Scythe Meister was sure to experience. Things much worse than the pain that was killing her from the inside. "I'm r-really sorry..."

A/N: Soooo? How'd I do? This is just the beginning, I promise it'll get better as I go! Well then, please leave a review if you liked it and want to see more! Thanks for reading and see you guys in the next chapter!